As her intake of protein falls, her liver becomes less able to manufacture circulating serum proteins, such as albumin, and albumin levels start to fall. Edema caused by this fall in albumin levels is abnormal, a sign of the disease of metabolic toxemia. Her blood pressure should be rechecked several times before making a diagnosis, and her diet must not be ignored. Her BP may be high because she's not eating well - not having enough salt, fluids or protein to expand her blood volume as needed for pregnancy. Again, see the Blue Ribbon Baby web site for more on this.
Many women become anxious during physical examinations or during laboratory testing.
Women whose blood pressure has been normal throughout pregnancy may develop hypertension at the time of admission to the hospital for labor and birth. However, many black teenagers have already developed the condition and will continue to have it the rest of their lives. These mothers require exactly the same diet as mothers with normal blood pressures including the use of salt to taste since their blood volumes must expand, too, as pregnancy advances. Sodium deficiency can trigger hypertension, as mentioned previously. Obese women are often incorrectly diagnosed as hypertensive when a standard-size blood pressure cuff is used to take a reading.