Why is pain under the right ribs one of the symptoms of preeclampsia?

Описание: You've heard that one of the symptoms that can be associated with preeclampsia is pain underneath the ribs, especially on the right side. It might even just be in the middle, just right underneath your ribs. And a lot of the time, this is normal during pregnancy, because the baby is squishing your ribs. They're also expanding to account for your growing uterus, and so it can be normal to experience a little bit of pain here. But if you've had elevated blood pressure, your doctor has been monitoring for preeclampsia, and then you have this symptom, you should let your doctor now about it. What it's related to is your liver. Your liver sits there on your right side underneath your ribs, and preeclampsia can affect all organ systems of your body, including your liver.

And as this process progresses, this is oftentimes one of the later symptoms that we see. Someone has pain here [pointing to the liver], and that might mean that their liver is being damaged from this process. And this is also evidenced by the fact that when we draw their blood, we see that their liver enzymes are elevated. This is one of the things we monitor when we watch for preeclampsia. So the two can go hand in hand. But people who have preeclampsia, don't always have this (we call it) right upper quadrant pain. It's just one of those things that it's always worth talking to your doctor about if you have it, especially if you've had high blood pressure. It's just something they'll note, and take into account, and add to the overall puzzle.

And after your doctor has asked you about symptoms you're experiencing, looked at your blood work, run a urine test (maybe even one where you've saved all of your urine for 24 hours), they also monitor your baby, and then they see if you need to deliver, or if you can stay pregnant for a little while. The answer to this question is more complicated if you're preterm, because then we have to decide: Is the risk to the baby being born early higher than the risk of the mother staying pregnant? And once the risk to both the mother and the baby is higher if she stays pregnant, then it's time to deliver, no matter what the gestational age is. Good luck with everything in your circumstances, and if you have any other questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at   / intermountainmoms  , and recommend us to your friends and family too.