Screening for preeclampsia -
best combined with Combined Test or with NIPT
The old name toxaemia (German for: pregnancy poisoning) is somewhat misleading. It suggests that there is some kind of toxic reaction in the pregnancy. Fortunately this is not completely true.
Preeclampsia is pregnancy complication affecting 2-5% of all pregnancies and has a high likelihood of reappearing in consequent pregnancies or if female family members (your sister or mother) were also affected by it.
Together with gestational diabetes, preeclampsia is the most common pregnancy complication.
Preeclampsia presents only in pregnancy, mostly in the late second or third trimester of pregnancy. Feeling good and having normal blood pressure values before and at the beginning of pregnancy unfortunately does not mean you can not be affected by preeclampsia.
The most common symptoms appearing only in the course of pregnancy are:
Preeclampsia seems to be caused by a reduced compliance of the maternal cardiovascular system during pregnancy which is augmented by different maternal and placental metabolic factors.
Once preeclampsia has appeared current treatment protocols can not cure it, at best the progression can be slowed. The condition is caused by the pregnancy and can only be cured by removing the placenta, that means delivery. Depending on how late or how early in pregnancy preeclampsia appears, we are faced with different challenges.
In contrast to foregone times, today it is possible to determine your individual risk for preeclampsia as early as the first trimester (11-14 weeks). All other methods, like taking your history can at best identify half (50%) of pregnancies at risk of developing early preeclampsia. With the screening test we offer you we can correctly identify as high as 95% of all pregnancies at risk for early preeclampsia. Starting a prophylactic treatment before 16 weeks can reduce the risk close to normal levels again.
Further risk factors include (allow detecting max. 50% of cases):
Short take