The news of pregnancy becomes a time of change in the life of every woman. In addition to joyful expectation, a review of all her plans, cheerful troubles, the task of bearing and giving birth to a healthy baby rests on her shoulders. Proper nutrition, rejection of bad habits, regular visits to antenatal clinics, avoiding nervous situations - many ladies have heard about this long before two strips on the test. However, there is a silent threat to the life of the mother and the fetus, about which most women who have seen a blood pressure monitor only at medical examinations are unaware. Every expectant mother needs to know her own rate of pressure during pregnancy. Deviations in blood pressure, which in an ordinary person cause only malaise, can be fatal for a pregnant woman. But warned - it means armed, therefore, we will consider in this article the signs and causes of pathological pressure in expectant mothers, as well as methods of dealing with them.
Pregnancy Pressure
Blood pressure is one of the main diagnostic indicators of a person. The heart with its contractile activity creates it in large arteries, due to which the blood fully saturates the tissues and organs with oxygen and nutrients. There are two parameters for measuring blood pressure - this is systolic (upper) and diastolic (lower). In a healthy person, the range of normal pressure varies within the figures 100/60 - 140/90, but 110/70 - 120/80 is considered optimal. It is these numbers that allow the body to stably maintain an active metabolism in its cells.
The future mother's pressure should normally remain at about the same level as in the non-pregnant state, but hormonal changes in the female body can make their own small adjustments. If a woman had a tendency to increased (hypertension) or decreased (hypotension) pressure before pregnancy, then this fact should be taken into account and should be monitored by a gynecologist and cardiologist from the moment of registration. In this case, the pregnant woman should be aware of what pressure indicators are normal for her, and follow all the doctor's recommendations.
Pressure Measurement Methods
In order to know your norm of blood pressure level, you should have a tonometer in your home medicine cabinet. The most common types of tonometers are mechanical and electronic. If you do not have the skills to work with a mechanical tonometer, it is better to buy an electronic one. Despite the cost, the electronic blood pressure monitor is much simpler and more convenient to use, you can take measurements yourself, without any help.
Pressure should be measured in a calm environment, it is better to sit before it for a few minutes and relax. The hand and blood pressure monitor should be placed to the right of yourself on a table, not higher than the level of the heart, so as not to disturb blood circulation in the limbs. The cuff needs to be fixed on the forearm and perform further actions according to the tonometer instructions. Blood pressure control is best done daily, at the same time, and record values ββfor yourself and your doctor.
Pressure may increase after exercise, eating, certain medications, under the influence of stress. Such a phenomenon as βwhite coat syndromeβ is encountered in medical practice - a condition where a pulse is increased in an absolutely healthy person at the sight of medical workers and pressure rises, and anxiety appears. A future mother, taking regular measurements, knows what pressure during pregnancy is the norm for her, regardless of various life situations.
The female body during the waiting period for the baby may behave somewhat differently than usual. Often in the early stages of pregnancy, the pressure decreases, and this is not a deviation. As soon as the hormonal background is improved - usually by the end of the first trimester - the pressure also returns to normal.
However, if the numbers on the tonometer display are much higher than usual, the pregnant woman should be seriously worried. High blood pressure at any time the child is waiting is a dangerous sign of a malfunction in the body and requires urgent medical advice.
Low blood pressure in expectant mothers
In a healthy person, lower blood pressure is considered below 100/60. If he is not prone to hypotension, then in this case his body will be tired faster, feel weak, unwell, up to the loss of consciousness and the need for medical help.
During pregnancy, lowering blood pressure has several other mechanisms of action. The first trimester is often accompanied by toxicosis, fainting, weakness. The reason for this is a change in the hormonal background, which also contributes to low pressure during pregnancy. This condition is physiological and in the vast majority of cases does not pose a danger to the mother and fetus. With the beginning of the second trimester, the volume of circulating blood increases, and the pressure returns to normal numbers. But the expectant mother should remember the signs when low blood pressure poses a threat to the normal course of pregnancy and she should immediately consult a doctor:
- well-being worsens significantly;
- persistent weakness;
- severe headaches appeared;
- dizziness, nausea and vomiting are often disturbing;
- the pressure level does not steadily rise above 90/60.
Undoubtedly, each of these signs can be a consequence of commonplace toxicosis, but regular monitoring of pressure will help you to be more careful about your health. Pathologically low blood pressure during pregnancy can cause circulatory disorders in the placenta and early placental insufficiency, which can lead to fetal hypoxia and developmental retardation. Inadequate blood supply to the uterus can result in gestosis for the pregnant woman, weak labor in the future.
Reasons for Pressure Drop
Hypotension in expectant mothers can cause:
- hunger;
- lack of sleep;
- stress;
- low body weight;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- ARVI;
- hypotension before pregnancy;
- physical overwork;
- general diseases of the body, etc.
It should not be forgotten that constant low blood pressure during pregnancy can cause collapse (sudden cardiovascular failure with depression of consciousness up to its loss), which can cause serious pregnancy complications. Also, the syndrome of the inferior vena cava is often found when the position of the future mother lying on her back causes the uterus to compress this same vein and impairs the nutrition of the fetus. At the same time, a woman may feel a blurred consciousness, tinnitus, dizziness. This syndrome is characteristic of later stages of pregnancy, when the fetus becomes heavier. It is preferable for good work of the heart and blood vessels to sleep on the left side.
Symptoms of Hypotension
Reduced blood pressure during pregnancy reveals the following symptoms:
- weakness;
- drowsiness;
- Dizziness
- fast fatiguability;
- lack of air;
- tachycardia;
- shortness of breath during physical exertion;
- tinnitus and darkening in the eyes, especially with a sharp change in body position;
- fainting.
Usually, to eliminate the above symptoms, it is enough for a pregnant woman to lie down with a roller under her feet, drink sweet weak tea, wash herself with cool water - to make the blood flow to the head increase.
Treatment and prevention
A future mother should not self-medicate if her condition seriously suffers at low pressure - all medications and therapy should be prescribed strictly by a doctor. Many drugs are prohibited during pregnancy because they have a teratogenic effect on the fetus, which is especially fraught in the early stages, for which hypotension is most characteristic.
For most pregnant women, to increase pressure, it is enough to follow simple rules of the daily routine, nutrition, and physical activity. For instance:
- compliance with the regime of the day;
- diet. You should also take something sweet with you (chocolate, fruit), so that if you feel unwell, increase your blood glucose level or have a banal snack;
- full sleep: itβs better to open the window at night to access fresh air, and lie down a bit before rising in the morning, so that a sudden change in body position does not provoke pressure surges;
- daily walks;
- avoidance of stressful situations;
- avoid prolonged standing in one place;
- adequate physical activity;
- regular airing of rooms;
- the volume of drinking water is at least 2 liters per day (in the absence of edema).
Pressure Boosting Products
A woman can normalize low blood pressure during pregnancy with products such as:
- salty foods: fish, lard, nuts, etc. But you need to remember that a large amount of salt is harmful to the body and can provoke swelling during pregnancy, so you should not abuse them;
- some fruits: lemons, grapefruits, carrots, black currants;
- beef liver;
- cheese;
- butter;
- tea, coffee (weak);
- fatty fish;
- sweets.
Doctors observe the frequent relationship of low blood pressure during pregnancy with anemia, which can be tracked by blood tests. Some foods that help increase blood pressure (such as beef liver) also normalize hemoglobin levels.
High blood pressure in pregnant women
During the second trimester of pregnancy, a uteroplacental circle of blood circulation forms, blood volume, heart productivity increase, and therefore, blood pressure may slightly increase, but not higher than 120/80. If a pregnant woman who does not suffer from hypertension holds figures 30 units higher for systolic and 15 units higher for diastolic pressure, call an ambulance or consult a doctor. High pressure during pregnancy in the early stages, entails a serious danger to the mother and the fetus: the walls of the vessels narrow, the organs supply blood worse, including the placenta. If the process is not taken under control, a delay in the intrauterine development of the child, fetoplacental insufficiency, placental abruption may develop.
Reasons for pressure increase
A woman can have health problems that complicate the course of pregnancy:
- hypertension;
- excess weight;
- diabetes;
- stress;
- kidney disease
- bad habits;
- hormonal disbalance;
- heredity.
Often, a woman who has never had health problems faces high blood pressure during late pregnancy. This becomes a complete surprise for her and usually comes to light by accident at a doctor's appointment. What signs can there be at high pressure?
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure
If these signs are found, a pregnant woman must seek medical help at a clinic or hospital, often to normalize the condition, therapy with droppers and injections of drugs is required:
- feeling worse;
- headache;
- noise in ears;
- visual impairment, the appearance of "flies";
- cardiopalmus;
- nausea, vomiting;
- hyperemia of the skin.
Often high blood pressure occurs without symptoms, the woman does not even suspect that at any moment she and the unborn baby may overtake a dangerous condition called gestosis.
Gestosis
Gestosis is a pregnancy complication that has the following triad of main symptoms:
- high pressure;
- swelling
- proteinuria (protein in the urine).
Gestosis is also called late toxicosis of pregnant women. As a rule, it manifests itself in the second or third trimester, diagnosing it in the first months of expectation of the baby often has an unfavorable prognosis. Gestosis is considered the main cause of death of pregnant women and women in childbirth in developed countries, significantly increasing perinatal mortality. If measures are not taken in time, preeclampsia can go into preeclampsia (increased blood pressure above 160/100, severe swelling, the amount of protein in the urine from 5 g per day, symptoms of central nervous system damage, thrombocytopenia, jaundice, etc.) and eclampsia (convulsions join and there is a real threat to the life of the pregnant woman and the child). The expectant mother should remember this condition, she should measure blood pressure every day, take a urine test every one to two weeks, and monitor edema. In case of any deviations, you should inform your doctor about them and then use his recommendations. Preeclampsia is by no means a fatal condition, it often accompanies high blood pressure during pregnancy in the later stages and, with proper supervision, has a favorable outcome. In subsequent pregnancies, the likelihood of gestosis may be higher than in women who have never encountered it before, but the fact of its recurrence is optional.
Preventive measures for high blood pressure in pregnant women
The tonometer shows high blood pressure during pregnancy. What to do to expectant mother? Even with a single increase in pressure, you need to inform your doctor. You should have in your home medicine cabinet the drug recommended by the doctor to lower the pressure with instructions for taking it. Not all antihypertensive drugs are allowed during pregnancy, so only a doctor is responsible for their prescription.
There are simple rules that will help a pregnant woman with high blood pressure:
- daily regime;
- normalization of nutrition. Spicy, spicy foods, smoked meats, pickles, cheese, butter, strong tea, coffee, chocolate, energy, etc. should be excluded from the diet;
- sleep with an open window;
- walks in the open air;
- stress reduction;
- avoid a sedentary lifestyle;
- control the level of drinking water.
Pressure Reducing Products
There are products with hypotensive effect:
- cranberry juice;
- beetroot juice;
- bananas
- spinach;
- garlic;
- baked white potatoes;
- skim milk, etc.
High pressure cannot be "endured", letting the situation go by itself means creating a real danger to the health of mother and baby. But knowledge of simple rules of behavior with high blood pressure will help a pregnant woman to take control of the situation on time and give birth to a healthy baby on time.