You are in Parenting and Pregnancy . That's according to research published in the October issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. If the disorder continues to progress, it can lead to eclampsia, which is characterized by seizures in the mother and sometimes death, if left untreated. Thadhani is a nephrologist with Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
Delivery is the only certain way of ending the condition.
Thadhani and colleagues looked at more than 15,000 women who were part of the national Nurses Health Study II, which is based at the Harvard School of Public Health. When the study began in 1989, the women were aged 25 to 42 years had delivered at least one baby, and had no reported history of high blood pressure. They completed questionnaires every two years with self-reported information about body weight and history of elevated cholesterol levels, verified with medical records. The researchers confirmed 86 cases of preeclampsia. A history of elevated cholesterol was not associated with the risk of developing gestational hypertension.