Preeclampsia is pregnancy-associated hypertension. Since it is a condition caused by carrying a baby, delivering the baby is the only cure. It effects up to 8 percent of all pregnant women in their second or third trimesters in the United States.

If preeclampsia is not caught early through regular prenatal visits, the mother is at serious risk of fatality.

Symptoms of preeclampsia include:

• Severe headaches, most often occurring in the back of the head 
• Swelling of the hands and face 
• Pain in the upper abdomen 
• Nausea 
• Sudden weight gain 
• Blood pressure higher than 140 over 90

Since some of the above symptoms can occur during normal pregnancies, it is important to have a doctor monitoring the pregnant woman during regular office visits. A doctor will be able to determine if a pregnant woman is at risk for preeclampsia through testing blood pressure and looking for proteins in urine samples.

Preeclampsia was previously referred to as toxemia. Bed rest, which lowers blood pressure and increases the flow of blood to the placenta, can often manage preeclampsia.

If properly treated, pregnant women with preeclampsia can deliver their babies without major side effects. If preeclampsia is untreated, it can lead to eclampsia, which can cause seizers and strokes.

Doctors say that pregnant women, who are older or younger, are at higher risk for preeclampsia. Women who are pregnant for the first time, pregnant with multiples, have a history of high-blood pressure, have a history of diabetes or obese are also at a high risk for preeclampsia. There is currently no known cause of preeclampsia.

If your child, or the child of a loved one, has suffered birth defects or birth trauma as a result from improper guidance or diagnosis by their doctor, contact a preeclampsia attorney at Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP at 1-800-460-0606. An experienced birth trauma lawyer will be able to evaluate if you are eligible to seek compensation.

Obesity during pregnancy may be a contributing factor to birth trauma and birth defects, such as spina bifida.

Many consider it normal for women to gain excess weight during pregnancy. It is assumed that women should eat more and rest. This can lead to excess weight gain, much more than what is healthy during pregnancy.

Pregnant women should only increase their calorie intake by 100 to 300 extra calories.

Obesity during pregnancy can contribute to other serious ailments, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes or caesarean section. Babies of obese mothers may suffer from jaundice, hypoglycemia or respiratory distress syndrome.

Birth defects may consist of spina bifida, heart defects, anorectal atresia and birth trauma. Birth trauma can lead to brain damage, cerebral palsy, erb’s palsy or shoulder dystocia.

It is imperative to follow a doctor’s direction regarding weight. In turn, it is imperative for doctors to monitor and encourage the proper weight for pregnant mothers.

If your child, or the child of a loved one, has suffered birth defects or birth trauma as a result from improper guidance by their doctor, contact a birth defect attorney at Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP at 1-800-460-0606. An experienced birth trauma lawyer will be able to evaluate if you are eligible to seek compensation.

Ten percent of women deliver their babies before completing 37 weeks of pregnancy. The pre-term infants delivered before 40 weeks are at higher risk for problems, such as cerebral palsy, which is caused from damage to the area of the brain that controls movement.

The risk of cerebral palsy in full term babies is about one in 1000. The risk for pre-mature babies is about 50 or 60 in 1000.

Obstetrician John Thorp at the University of North Carolina conducted a study to determine if previous indications of the benefits of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) help to decrease the risk of cerebral palsy in pre-mature babies.

Epsom salt is typically used to stop seizures in women who develop them as part of their pregnancy.

Thorp’s randomized clinical trial involved 2000 women at risk for premature birth. Half of the women received a dose of Epsom salt during birth. The other half received a placebo.

Thorp and his colleagues then followed up on the children after two years, which is when the earliest a diagnosis of cerebral palsy can be made.

The researchers discovered that the children of the women who received Epsom salt during childbirth were 50 percent less likely to develop cerebral palsy.

Research is still needed to determine why Epsom salt has this effect and what dosage levels are the most effective.

If your child, or the child of a loved one, has endured lifelong suffering resulting from cerebral palsy, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a cerebral palsy attorney at Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP at 1-800-460-0606. An experienced cerebral palsy lawyer will be able to evaluate if you are eligible to seek compensation.