A Possible Shift in the Standard of Care for Delivery in Women With Preeclampsia?

Sheila Chavis

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I recently delivered a healthy baby boy this past December. I suffered from post-partum high blood pressure, but luckily managed to avoid preeclampsia, a condition during pregnancy identified by high blood pressure and protein in the urine. The condition apparently affects approximately 8 percent of pregnancies here in the U.S.

A report indicates that Norwegian physicians induce deliveries earlier for pregnant women with preeclampsia and demonstrate a significant increase in the survival rates for babies. The study reviewed the records of single births to first-time mothers from 1967 to 2003 in Norway.

It is debateable whether or not inducing deliveries earlier for pregnant women with preeclampsia is considered the current standard of care in North Carolina. However, if you or someone you know has had a bad result from a pregnancy or delivery where the mother had preeclampsia, it is certainly worth taking a closer look at the timing of events after the health care providers became aware of the mother's dangerous condition and before the less than optimal outcome occurred.