Introduction

Preeclampsia is a common problem during pregnancy. The condition — sometimes

referred to as pregnancy-induced hypertension — is defined by high blood pressure and
excess protein in the urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Often, preeclampsia causes
only modest increases in blood pressure. Left untreated, however, preeclampsia can
lead to serious — even fatal — complications for both mother and baby.

Preeclampsia also referred to as toxemia is a condition that pregnant women can get It
is marked by high blood pressure accompanied with a high level of protein in the urine
Women with preeclampsia will often also have swelling in the feet legs and hands
Preeclampsia when present usually appears during the second half of pregnancy
generally in the latter part of the second or in the third trimesters although it can occur
earlier

Eclampsia, a dramatic and often unpredictable complication of pregnancy-induced

hypertensive disorders, is characterized by sudden hypertension, proteinuria, edema,
and seizures.
A relatively rare syndrome, eclampsia complicates approximately 3 in 100 pregnancies,
with higher incidence rates in preeclamptic or twin pregnancies,

• women of low socioeconomic status or in developing countries, and

nulliparous patients younger than 20 years or multiparous patients older than 35
years of age.
• However many medical disorders can occur during pregnancy, childbirth, and
in the post delivery time. One of those disorders in pregnancy is eclampsia.
• Eclampsia is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality and can
present during the antepartum, intrapartum, or postpartum periods. Late postpartum
eclampsia presents as convulsions, with onset occurring at more than 48 hours
postpartum.

There is increasing evidence to suggest that patients who develop complications of

pregnancy demonstrate 'abnormal adaptation' to the pregnancy process prior to overt
signs of the disorder itself. In 1986 Murphy and colleagues1 introduced the concept that
the cause(s) of pregnancy-induced hypertension are operating and exerting detectable
effects as early as the first trimester. It is recognized, for example, that proteinuric
hypertension is associated with raised haemoglobin levels at booking. Furthermore both
pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) are
recognised to be associated with abnormal haemostasis. A number of researchers have
shown that blood flow and blood viscosity are also abnormal in these conditions and may
in turn be related to the histological evidence of placental intravascular changes.