Low blood pressure during pregnancy: what to do, what to take? How does low blood pressure affect pregnancy?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Pregnancy is a special, very delicate state of the female body. Right now you need complete care. Any changes that previously could simply be ignored now acquire serious meaning and significance. You are responsible not only for yourself, but also for the future baby. At the same time, the issue of blood pressure is no less important than the level of hemoglobin or dietary habits. The doctor must take measurements from the expectant mother in order to track her condition. Moreover, any indicators that differ from the norm should alert the specialist. However, today we are interested in low blood pressure during pregnancy. What should a future mother do, how to raise blood pressure without harm to the baby?

Norm limits

What can be taken as a starting point? Normal pressure for a person is 120/80. However, your working condition may be somewhatdiffer. If the indicators are consistently slightly higher or lower, and at the same time you feel good, then everything is in order. You can be calm. However, there is a lower limit of normal. This is 95/65, the maximum allowable mark at which the doctor must hospitalize the patient. In this case, the figures already need to be corrected with the help of certain external conditions (warm clothes, hot tea, quality food), as well as medications. Do not give up the possibility of a relaxing holiday in the hospital. This is important for you and your baby right now.

Reasons

Why are we interested in this topic? Because it is a fairly common occurrence. Every second mother has low blood pressure during pregnancy. What to do, we will analyze today. Most often this is due to hormonal changes. From the first days in the body of a woman, progesterone is produced. This causes a weakening of vascular tone and a decrease in blood pressure. That is, this is a physiologically determined phenomenon.

Factors causing hypotension

In one woman, the pressure drop can be insignificant, by about 5-10 units. For others, it becomes very tangible. Especially pronounced decrease in pressure occurs in mothers prone to hypotension. Therefore, warn the doctor at the first consultation. He will definitely tell you why low blood pressure is diagnosed during pregnancy, what to do in thiscase, and what kind of prevention can be. So, the main factors that cause hypotension are as follows:

• Improper nutrition or hunger provokes a decrease in blood pressure. The expectant mother should definitely forget about diets.
• A hot bath or shower.
• Long stay in a stuffy room or in the heat.
• Physical or mental overwork.
• Stressful situations.
• Colds with high fever.
• Pathologies of internal organs. These are peptic ulcer, adrenal and thyroid insufficiency, allergies and cardiovascular pathologies.

Clinical picture

Very important point. Every woman should have a complete understanding of how to determine low blood pressure during pregnancy, what to do and how to help yourself. Most often, a woman feels dizzy and nausea, general weakness and drowsiness. The symptoms are very unpleasant, since most expectant mothers are still working at this time and cannot afford a good rest.

When can I take low blood pressure during pregnancy as a conditional norm? The 1st trimester is characterized by a sharp change in hormonal levels, so there is nothing surprising in this. However, severe drops in blood pressure can cause blackouts and ringing in the ears, a feeling of lack of air, and even loss of consciousness. Most often, these are one-time phenomena that do not require medical intervention, but it will not be superfluous to tell a specialist about it.

Diagnosis

What do you need to do to determine your blood pressure? The most important thing is to find a working tonometer. In any medical institution there is a therapist's office where you will quickly take your blood pressure. Large city pharmacies also offer a similar service. The device can also be used at home. This will relieve you of unnecessary worries and quickly indicate the cause of the ailment.

However, there are also false tonometry. This happens if the cuff is poorly inflated, or air is released too quickly. In addition, incorrect numbers can be when a woman is in a supine position, or her hand has a very small volume. In any case, there is nothing to worry about if you have low blood pressure during pregnancy. 1st trimester is a difficult period of body restructuring. In order to alleviate your condition, you need to listen to the doctor's advice as much as possible.

Therefore, having recorded a decrease in pressure once, the physician is likely to prescribe monitoring, that is, daily measurements for a certain time. If, having fallen, it soon rose, then nothing terrible happens. It is also not an alarming symptom if the pressure is stably kept at one level, which is slightly below normal. Much more dangerous than his strong fluctuations. But that's not all. Every expectant mother should know that the most common symptom of low blood pressure is morning sickness. It is manifested by profuse vomiting and dehydration. As a result, this leads to a large decrease in pressure. Excessive fatigue, noise and ringing in the ears, palpitations are satelliteshypotension.

Risk to mother and fetus

This question is of interest to all women, because the most important thing for us is that the long-awaited pregnancy ends with the birth of a he althy child. Low blood pressure occurs in many people. And, it would seem, you can not pay attention to it. But everything is not so simple. The pressure can drop even at night when the expectant mother is sleeping. This is especially true when a woman is lying on her back. The fetus compresses the vena cava and blood circulation is disturbed. In this case, the problem may be not only in the poor he alth of the mother, but also in violation of the development of the crumbs. Although toxicosis, preeclampsia and anemia, which are the result of hypotension, are unpleasant phenomena. To avoid this problem, doctors advise a woman to sleep on her side, not on her back.

Reduced pressure leads to oxygen starvation of the child. Prolonged hypoxia can lead to miscarriage, slow growth and development, and he alth problems after birth. Worst of all, the child's brain reacts to the lack of oxygen in the first place. In addition, the baby is also deprived of nutrients, which means it will grow more slowly than it could.

Second trimester

If up to 16 weeks low blood pressure is still considered a variant of the norm, then later it is definitely an indicator that there are certain problems in the body. Usually the second trimester is much calmer. The expectant mother already ceases to worry about the upcoming changes and interacts with the baby with great pleasure,which is moving more and more noticeably inside. At this time, apathy is replaced by a surge of strength and energy.

However, low blood pressure during pregnancy (2nd trimester) dramatically changes the picture. It is hard for the expectant mother, she constantly wants to sleep. The reasons for this phenomenon are the same. And as at the very beginning of pregnancy, arterial hypotension can lead to miscarriage and impaired fetal development, as well as birth weakness, if the condition is not corrected before the baby is born. Low blood pressure during pregnancy (2nd trimester) may be due to the increased severity of the fetus. With its weight, it affects large vessels. To reduce it, you need to sit in one position as little as possible, walk more, sleep in a comfortable position, preferably on your side, placing a pillow under your stomach.

What to do?

In fact, the doctor must find out the cause of what is happening. This is the only way to prescribe effective therapy. If the decrease is caused by a certain disease, then it requires constant monitoring and treatment. And of course, you do not need to seek advice from friends and acquaintances. Women love to practice a similar method of treatment - to consult their neighbors on the phone and ask: the pressure has dropped, what should I do? You will receive a lot of advice. But will they be safe for your child?

Analyze the above factors that provoke a decrease in pressure. Whether they are capable to play a decisive role in your case. If the attack occurred due to stuffy air, it is enough to open the window and drink sweets.tea. Do not forget about caffeinated drinks if the pressure has dropped. What to do after drinking coffee? Lie down, preferably raising your legs above head level, and relax. Condition will return to normal soon.

The diet of a pregnant woman greatly affects her well-being. The more monotonous and poor the diet, the more likely hypodynamia. Speaking about how to raise low blood pressure during pregnancy, it is necessary to note the role of a he althy diet. The menu should contain vegetables and fruits, berries and nuts every day. Particularly useful are carrots, lemons and grapefruit, as well as black currants. Be sure to include beef liver and butter in the diet.

In the morning

To feel better during the day, you need to properly “refill” your body. To do this, it is good to drink sweet tea or coffee and have a good breakfast. These foods increase blood pressure and improve well-being. However, you can drink no more than 2-3 cups per day - this is a safe dosage. In addition, it is very important for a pregnant woman to eat small portions. Long breaks between meals help lower blood sugar. We have already told how low blood pressure affects pregnancy, which means that you need to pay special attention to this.

Basic methods of increasing blood pressure

If each measurement with a tonometer shows low readings, and neither proper nutrition nor he althy sleep helps, then you need to resort to other means. let'sLet's talk about what to take with low pressure during pregnancy. Laurel, basil and rosemary essential oils work very well. Massage with their use will additionally give a great mood. Enriching the body with oxygen is another way to safely raise blood pressure. For this, there are special pressure chambers, oxygen cocktails. A simple walk in the park also helps a lot.

Phytotherapy

And what if the above methods do not help? How to raise low blood pressure during pregnancy? Reviews emphasize that folk remedies work quickly enough and are safe for the fetus. These are eleutherococcus extract, ginseng tincture, leuzea extract, Pantokrin tablets. However, we must remember that each of these remedies has its own contraindications, so it is very important to consult a doctor.

In addition, it is recommended to consume celery root regularly. It can be chopped into salads or boiled in soup. It is very good to use ordinary strawberries. It is able to normalize blood pressure and increase hemoglobin. To stabilize blood pressure, a decoction of onion peel is well suited. More serious drugs are prescribed individually by the attending physician. If the indicators do not normalize for a long time, then hospitalization is mandatory.