Myths Are Made to Be Shattered

Myths about Preeclampsia

1. Preeclampsia is a disease of the first pregnancy.  It usually doesn’t happen twice to the same person.
2. Preeclampsia was common in the old days when women didn’t get proper prenatal care, but is less of a problem now in the age of modern medicine.
3. Preeclampsia only happens to women who are either overweight, advanced age, eating a poor diet, or in generally poor health.
4. Pregnant women don’t have to know about or watch for the signs of preeclampsia until after 30 weeks.
5. If you’ve had PE before, there’s nothing you can do to help reduce your chances of getting it again, you just have to wait and see.
6. A woman’s blood pressure has to be over 140/95 (or some specific number) before preeclampsia becomes an issue.
7. Headaches, swelling, sudden weight gain, vomiting and feeling generally ill are all just part of pregnancy and need not be reported to a physician.
8. In pregnancy, OB/GYN appointments are spaced so that any problems can be addressed in a timely manner.  As long as I attend my appointments, there is no need to call about a concern between appointments.
9. If there is a problem, someone at my doctors office will notice and inform me.  I don’t have to call to check on lab test results.

All of the above are FALSE, and potentially dangerous beliefs.  Many are common, not only among women, but among some health care providers.  They must be shattered.   I once believed all of them, and suffered the consequences.  If you know someone under any of these mistaken beliefs, please encourage them to educate themselves.  The Preeclampsia Foundation is a great place to start.  If your physician is one of those individuals, please enlighten him or her, and/or seek another physician.  There’s nothing wrong with changing physicians mid-pregnancy.  Take it from me—someone who failed to do so and lived to regret it.  Later, when I did make a physician change, it turned out to be the best thing for me and my baby, and may well have saved our lives.