Pregnancy

Preeclampsia: the warning signs worth knowing by heart

4 min read · MyBloomingBelly editorial

Preeclampsia is a blood-pressure condition that can develop after 20 weeks of pregnancy, affecting roughly 5–8% of pregnancies. We tell you about it not to frighten you, but because it is one of the few complications where knowing five symptoms genuinely changes outcomes.

Call your doctor the same day for any of these: a severe headache that painkillers don’t touch; vision changes (flashing lights, blurring, spots); pain high in your belly on the right side, under the ribs; sudden swelling of the face or hands (different from the slow ankle swelling of late pregnancy); or feeling suddenly, distinctly unwell.