Page 179 - Critical Maternity & Newborn Health Nursing

can worsen rapidly and can be life-threatening to the mother and her fetus,

it's important to have regular checkups during pregnancy.

A prepregnancy blood pressure reading is used to:

• Screen for chronic high blood pressure (hypertension). It's

important to know whether the mother have chronic high

blood pressure before becoming pregnant, since it increases

the risk of developing preeclampsia

• Provide a baseline measurement that can be compared with

later readings during pregnancy.

• Routine prenatal tests

Certain tests are given at each prenatal visit to monitor for high blood

pressure and preeclampsia. These include --Blood pressure reading.

• Urine test for excess protein in the urine (proteinuria), a sign of

preeclamptic kidney damage.

• Weight measurement. (Rapid weight gain can be an indicator of

preeclamptic fluid retention.)

Tests for pregnant women considered at high-risk for preeclampsia

Additional tests may be used to monitor for signs of preeclampsia,

including:

• Blood tests to check for blood abnormalities (as in HELLP
syndrome) and for signs of kidney damage. (Elevated uric acid

in the blood is often the earliest sign of preeclampsia.)

• Creatinine clearance test, which requires both a blood sample and

a 24-hour urine collection, to assess kidney function.

• 24-hour urine collection test to assess protein in the urine.

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