Risk Factors of Preeclampsia (Nursing)

00:01 There are certain risk factors that go along with preeclampsia.

00:04 Family history.

00:05 So especially the history of a sister, or a mother that may have had preeclampsia, that's going to be a very strong indicator of a risk, for preeclampsia.

00:16 First pregnancy: Genetic predisposition Having more than one fetus or multifetal pregnancy.

00:24 I want to talk about this one for just a second.

00:26 What in the world does that have to do with increasing your risk of preeclampsia? Well, what we understand about preeclampsia is that there's something that's going on in the placenta.

00:35 Well, if you have more than one fetus, you probably have a lot of placental tissue.

00:40 So anything that increases or creates irregular placental tissue is going to increase your risk for preeclampsia.

00:48 Maternal age. Being over the age of 35.

00:51 Now, it's not just being over the age of 35 is an arbitrary number.

00:56 But the chances of having other complications or having hypertension in general increases as we age.

01:01 So that also increases the chances of preeclampsia.

01:05 And in vitro fertilization.

01:07 And the reason why in vitro fertilization falls under this categories because anytime you've had to have assistance getting pregnant, it might be related either to abnormalities in the reproductive system, or it may be age related.

01:21 Both factors may increase your chances of having complications.

01:25 Pre-existing hypertensive disorder.

01:28 So if you've had hypertension before, you have an increased risk of developing preeclampsia.

01:33 Diabetes.

01:34 Because diabetes can cause an abnormal placental development, which increases your chances of preeclampsia.

01:41 Chronic kidney disease, obesity, having a hydatidiform mole.

01:46 So a hydatidiform mole or gestational trophoblastic disease, those terms can be used interchangeably.

01:53 It creates an abnormal placenta and a lot of placenta.

01:57 So remember, anytime you have an abnormal placenta for any reason, the chances of preeclampsia goes up.

02:04 And finally Trisomy 13. And that's within the fetus.

02:08 Because if you have an abnormal genetic makeup, the possibility of having an abnormal placental makeup is also very high.

02:17 Now there are risk factors that increase your chances of preeclampsia.

02:20 But there are also some things that are interestingly protective.

02:23 So unlike chronic hypertension, maternal smoking, which when we think of smoking, we think, "Gee, that doesn't sound like that would protect you from anything." But what we actually have found is that clients who smoke, assuming they don't have chronic hypertension are actually less likely to develop preeclampsia.

02:40 The other protective factor is what we call prolonged sexual cohabitation.

02:45 What the heck does that mean? Well, I'm going to tell you.

02:47 It means that you've had the same sexual partner over an extended period of time.

02:51 So remember, nulliparity is a risk.

02:54 So anytime you have a new partner, you have an increased risk for preeclampsia.

02:59 If you're with the same partner subsequent pregnancies with that same person will actually decrease your risk.