Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy that occurs with little warning and can be deadly for mothers and babies, but vitamin supplements may make a difference.
Twenty-two-month-old Rachel got a rocky start in life. She was born three-and-a-half-months early because her mother developed preeclampsia.
"I didn't even know anything about preeclampsia. I didn't even know it existed," mother Deb Graham said.
Deb's condition wasn't recognized until her husband rushed her to the hospital in severe pain. Doctors delivered baby Rachel immediately.
"They pulled my husband aside and they told him there was a pretty good chance that neither one of us was gonna make it," Graham said.
Preeclampsia is responsible for about 15% of pre-term births. It's most common in first pregnancies and doctors don't know exactly what causes it.
“We're beginning to understand that there's a contribution from the baby and the placenta and that has to interact with something the mother brings to the pregnancy to end up with the disease. And the question is: what is it that pulls those two together?" said Dr. James Roberts.
Recent research suggests large doses of vitamin C and E can prevent preeclampsia. A U.S. study hopes to replicate the promising results of a small British one.
Source
Twenty-two-month-old Rachel got a rocky start in life. She was born three-and-a-half-months early because her mother developed preeclampsia.
"I didn't even know anything about preeclampsia. I didn't even know it existed," mother Deb Graham said.
Deb's condition wasn't recognized until her husband rushed her to the hospital in severe pain. Doctors delivered baby Rachel immediately.
"They pulled my husband aside and they told him there was a pretty good chance that neither one of us was gonna make it," Graham said.
Preeclampsia is responsible for about 15% of pre-term births. It's most common in first pregnancies and doctors don't know exactly what causes it.
“We're beginning to understand that there's a contribution from the baby and the placenta and that has to interact with something the mother brings to the pregnancy to end up with the disease. And the question is: what is it that pulls those two together?" said Dr. James Roberts.
Recent research suggests large doses of vitamin C and E can prevent preeclampsia. A U.S. study hopes to replicate the promising results of a small British one.
Source
