Does the intake of multivitamins reduce the risk of preeclampsia - Dissertation Example

In the developing countries, the preeclampsia related mortality figures for pregnant women shows a high score, accounting for almost 20–80 % of all the maternal mortality cases (Roberts, 1998). In the developed nations, there has been a steady rise in the mortality figures of infants with preeclamptic mothers, where the risk factor increases almost five times. Researches also show that almost 15 % of all the premature deliveries result from preeclampsia related conditions (Goldenberg and Rouse, 1998), while figures further reveal that preeclampsia, at an average estimate, affects almost 7 % of the mothers that are experiencing first time pregnancies (Roberts, 1998).

Preeclampsia or toxaemia forms to be a part of a spectrum of physical conditions also referred to as the known as the hypertensive disorders related to pregnancy. At present, there are four types of hypertensive disorders that may occur during the pregnancies, and these are: ? Preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is the condition of high blood pressure and proteinuria detected in a pregnant woman during the second half of pregnancy (post 20 weeks’ gestation) (Meads, et al., 2008, 1). ? Gestational hypertension or pregnancy induced hypertension.

This is the condition of high pressure noted for the first time after 20 weeks’ of gestation with a lack of proteinuria, and generally disappears within 3 months of delivery. This condition of gestational hypertension that does not disappear after delivery is c6agorised as the chronic hypertension (ibid). ? Chronic hypertension. This is high pressure present in the patient even before her pregnancy, or is found just 20 weeks’ before the gestation. It is an essential hypertension if no causes are detected, or labelled as.

The study “Does the intake of multivitamins reduce the risk of preeclampsia?” focuses on the discovering new means of preventing the preeclampsia condition. Preeclampsia or toxaemia forms to be a part of a spectrum of physical conditions also referred to as the known as the hypertensive disorders related to pregnancy. Oedema or swelling of body parts was originally seen as the primary symptom of preeclampsia; however, this has now been removed from the definition of the disorder, owing to the fact, that oedema is commonly seen even during normal pregnancies.

It has been noted that patients with severe preeclampsia or eclampsia may not show any oedema or swelling of the body parts, thus misleading the clinician. Preeclampsia has persistently remained as a grave issue in the arena of the public health, encompassing both the developing and the developed countries, and significantly increasing the perinatal and maternal mortality figures globally. The effect of the disorder is greater in the developing nations where, the medical interventions are often applied late, owing to a late case presentation, thus turning the medical help into a failure.

Furthermore, adding to the problem is the fact that the major part of the aetiology of the disorder remains unknown, while the disease remains highly unpredictable in nature. The aim of this paper is to seek effective control measures against this challenging disorder, through the intake of multivitamins that is hypothetically known to alleviate the preeclampsia risk.