What it is
If you have a bad headache after birth that will not quit, or your vision is blurry or spotty, or someone just told you your blood pressure is high, read this now. Postpartum preeclampsia is high blood pressure after birth that can harm the brain, liver, and kidneys. It can cause seizures and stroke. It is a leading cause of maternal death, and most of those deaths are preventable with fast care.
It can happen to mothers who had normal blood pressure the whole pregnancy. It is more common after high blood pressure in pregnancy, a first baby, twins, age over 35, or a family history.
What's typical
Most cases show up between 48 hours and six weeks after birth, with a peak around day three to six. Signs: a headache that is severe or will not ease, blurry vision, spots or flashing lights, light hurting your eyes, pain under the right ribs or in the right shoulder, nausea or vomiting, sudden swelling of the face and hands, shortness of breath, and a blood pressure of 140 over 90 or higher.
Treatment happens in the hospital, with medicine to lower blood pressure and medicine to lower the risk of seizures.
What's known
ACOG recommends that any mother who had high blood pressure in pregnancy has a pressure check within three to ten days of birth. The Preeclampsia Foundation and the CDC both say the same thing: when you call or go in, say the words 'I had a baby on this date.' Emergency staff who do not know you are postpartum can miss it.
What helps
- If you had high blood pressure in pregnancy, get a home cuff and check twice a day for two weeks. Write the numbers down.
- Know the signs and tape them to the fridge. Tell your partner, so someone else is watching too.
- When you go in, say 'I gave birth on this date' before anything else.
- Keep your provider's after-hours number and the labor and delivery unit in your phone. L&D answers at 3 a.m.
When to call someone
- Now (911 or go in): a severe headache or one that does not ease, vision changes, pain under the right ribs, trouble breathing, a seizure, confusion, or a blood pressure of 160 over 110 or higher.
- Nownausea and vomiting that start days after birth, or sudden swelling of the face and hands.
- Todaya blood pressure of 140 over 90 or higher on two readings, a headache that keeps coming back, or no pressure check since birth after high blood pressure in pregnancy.
- At your next visitany history of preeclampsia. Ask about long-term heart health follow-up.
Who helps
Tools: Postpartum Prep Checklist · My Birth Team
Related
- High blood pressure and preeclampsiaPregnancy: Your Body
- Headaches after birthPostpartum: Your Body
- Swelling after birthPostpartum: Your Body
- Postpartum warning signs: the one-page listPostpartum: Your Body
- Heavy bleeding after birth (hemorrhage)Birth and the First Days
What mothers here say
No one has posted under this topic yet. The first experience here will help the next mother who searches for it at 2 a.m.
Experiences and questions are their authors' own, not reviewed advice. The topic's steward lists the ones that help most in a credited digest once there is one. Unusual experiences stay, with a note.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Patient FAQ on preeclampsia and high blood pressure during pregnancy
- Preeclampsia Foundation — Postpartum preeclampsia: patient information
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Hear Her campaign: urgent maternal warning signs
- Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses — POST-BIRTH Warning Signs patient handout
Sources are named, not yet linked. The steward verifies each one and adds the link.
Steward this topic
Birthworkers listed in our directory can claim a topic, verify its sources, and curate what mothers share here. Your name and credential go at the top of the page. Takes about an hour the first time.
Find your directory page