What is Pre-Eclampsia?

Pre-Eclampsia is a disease which only occurs in pregnancy. About 6-10% of all pregnant women in Western European countries suffer from this disease, however, the number may be considerably higher in other countries.

Its main symptoms are swollen extremeties (edema), rising blood pressure (hypertension) and protein spills in the urine (proteinuria). Therefore it was called also EPH-Gestosis but this name has not really been accepted worldwide. The preferred name for it is still pre-eclampsia or pregnancy-induced-hypertension.

This disease may lead to premature birth in varying degrees, often the affected children are small for date, malnourished already in the womb. Some of them even die and are stillborn.