Preeclampsia: when to worry

Preeclampsia can affect the brain, liver, kidneys, blood vessels and placenta. A rapid change may signal that closer monitoring is needed, even when an earlier appointment was reassuring. It can first appear after delivery, so the warning signs matter during pregnancy and in the postnatal period. A normal home reading does not explain away severe symptoms.

Call your maternity unit or obstetric team as soon as concerning symptoms appear and describe when they began. If you have been given a home blood-pressure plan, follow it without delaying care. Take your medicines as prescribed and bring your medication list and recent readings to assessment. Do not drive yourself if you feel faint, confused or visually impaired.

Call emergency services for a seizure, collapse, confusion, severe chest pain or major difficulty breathing. Contact maternity care urgently for severe headache, visual symptoms, severe upper-abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, sudden swelling or reduced baby movements. Do not wait for the next antenatal appointment or for symptoms to settle.

Ask which symptoms your team considers urgent, where to attend outside clinic hours, whether home monitoring is suitable, and how your urine and blood tests will be followed. Ask what findings would change the plan to induction of labour or caesarean section.