That nasty pregnancy toxicity

Experts believe that normally, from the moment a new life is born in the womb, the immune system of a pregnant woman… “falls asleep”. This is necessary so that the fetus develops normally, and the mother’s body does not take it for a “foreign body” and does not reject it. Therefore, some women do not feel the manifestations of toxicosis of pregnancy for the entire 9 months of pregnancy. Unfortunately, recently, there are fewer and fewer such lucky ones. And the number of those expectant mothers who are familiar with such symptoms as nausea, dizziness, vomiting, weakness is steadily increasing.

The causes of toxicosis in pregnant women can be:

• history of traumatic brain injury;
• severe diseases of various organs;
• hormonal imbalance before pregnancy;
• chronic diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine, and digestive systems.

Since few women can boast that by the time they become pregnant they do not have any of the above-mentioned diseases, it becomes clear why Kyiv gynecologists so often write down "toxicosis" or, scientifically, gestosis in the cards of pregnant women.

In medicine, it is customary to distinguish two types of toxicosis of pregnancy:

1. Early toxicosis - occurs approximately from the 5-6th week of pregnancy and disappears without a trace by the end of the first trimester. Its manifestations are profuse salivation, nausea mainly in the morning hours and vomiting. If such symptoms do not occur every day and do not affect the general well-being, this condition is not a pathology and does not require special treatment. Multiple daily vomiting (from 6 to 10 or more times a day) requires close monitoring by specialists in gynecological clinics. And uncontrollable vomiting - immediate hospitalization, since it leads to dehydration of the body and the appearance of acetone in the urine.
2. Late toxicosis is no less unpleasant than early toxicosis. Its appearance is provoked by a violation of the blood's ability to clot normally. Therefore, the work of capillaries and vessels is disrupted, which leads to pathologies of placental blood flow. Immune antigens enter the kidneys and cause damage to their structure, which worsens the work of the filtering organ. Symptoms of late toxicosis are:

• edema - persistent swelling of the ankles that "rises" upwards. Fluid is retained - weight increases sharply;
• increased blood pressure – above 85/130 mm Hg. The same processes occur in the vessels of the placenta, which leads to placental insufficiency. The baby does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, suffers from intrauterine hypoxia and growth retardation. If a woman experiences headaches, dizziness, “flickering spots” before her eyes, nausea – immediate medical attention is needed, since this condition is fraught with premature birth;
• excretion of protein in the urine (proteinuria) – detected during laboratory testing of urine.

Treatment of a pregnant woman with late toxicosis of pregnancy takes place in a maternity hospital and includes a diet (limited consumption of salt and liquids), taking kidney herbal teas and medications.