Preeclampsia: A unique human pregnancy condition

Preeclampsia is the most common serious medical disorder of human pregnancy. It affects both mother and her unborn baby and accounts for up to 75,000 maternal deaths worldwide each year. It usually arises during the second half of pregnancy, and can even occur some days after delivery.

In the mother, it can cause several problems such as high blood pressure, leakage of protein into the urine, thinning of the blood and liver dysfunction. Occasionally, preeclampsia can lead to convulsions which is a serious complication known as eclampsia. Also, when a pregnancy is complicated by preeclampsia, the baby may grow more slowly than normal or suffer a potentially harmful oxygen deficiency.