Preeclampsia Warning Signs: Headache, Swelling, and Blood Pressure

By Dr. Prithivi Perum, Obstetrician, Gynecologist, Fertility Expert & Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeon at Mathrutva Women Healthcare, Manikonda, and Medicover Women & Child Hospitals, Hyderabad.

Quick answer: Preeclampsia is high blood pressure in pregnancy, usually after 20 weeks, often with effects on the kidneys, liver, or brain. A headache that will not settle, flashing lights, pain under the right ribs, or a sudden puffy face needs a same-day blood pressure and urine check. Swollen ankles after a long day are common and are not, by themselves, preeclampsia.

Dr. Prithivi Perum includes blood pressure at antenatal visits at Mathrutva Women Healthcare, Manikonda, and watches women who already have hypertension more closely through high-risk pregnancy care.

What Preeclampsia Is

Blood pressure that is high on repeat readings after mid-pregnancy, with other findings such as protein in the urine or symptoms, is assessed as preeclampsia or a related hypertensive disorder. It can develop in a first pregnancy or a later one. A normal reading last week does not rule it out this week. That is why the check is repeated through the third trimester, as set out in trimester-by-trimester antenatal care.

Symptoms That Need a Check

• A headache that is severe or will not settle with rest and the pain relief your obstetrician has already allowed
• Flashing lights, blurred vision, or spots in front of the eyes
• Pain under the right ribs or high in the abdomen
• Sudden swelling of the face or hands
• Breathlessness, or much less urine than usual
• Fewer baby movements than usual

One home reading on a wrist machine is not a diagnosis. A high reading with any symptom on this list is a reason to be seen the same day, not at the next routine visit. The wider list of problems that should not wait is on the page about high-risk pregnancy warning signs.

Swelling That Is Common

Feet and ankles often swell in late pregnancy, in heat, and after standing in traffic. That swelling, on its own, with a normal blood pressure and no headache, is usually reviewed at the next visit. Swelling that arrives suddenly in the face, or with a headache, is a different story.

How the Visit Is Assessed

Blood pressure is repeated after you have been sitting quietly. Urine is checked for protein. Blood tests look at the kidneys, the liver, and the blood count when the history suggests preeclampsia. The baby is checked with a heart-rate tracing or an ultrasound when the dates and the symptoms call for it. Medicine, admission, or a plan for birth is decided in hospital when the readings or the symptoms are severe. Those decisions are not made from a blog.

“Swollen feet after a Hyderabad afternoon are common. A headache with visual change in later pregnancy is a blood pressure check today.”

- Dr. Prithivi Perum

After the Birth

Blood pressure can rise in the first days after delivery as well. A severe headache, visual change, or pain under the ribs after birth still needs a check, even if pregnancy readings were normal. If you were treated for high blood pressure in pregnancy, keep the postpartum review your obstetrician booked.

Call +91 9949666905 for a stable concern during evening hours, Monday to Saturday, 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Go to a hospital emergency the same day for a severe headache, visual change, shortness of breath, or a seizure. Dr. Prithivi Perum also consults at Medicover Women & Child Hospitals.

Summary

Preeclampsia is found by blood pressure, urine, and blood tests, read with your symptoms. Ankle swelling alone is usually ordinary. A new severe headache, visual change, or pain under the ribs in later pregnancy is not something to sleep on.

Key Takeaways

• Preeclampsia is usually considered after 20 weeks, and it can also start after birth.
• Severe headache, visual change, and pain under the right ribs need a same-day check.
• Swollen ankles without other symptoms are common in late pregnancy.
• A single home blood pressure reading does not diagnose it, and it does not clear it either.