Preeclampsia

Medicine for preeclampsia may be used to:

• Control high blood pressure. Lowering high blood pressure doesn't prevent preeclampsia from getting worse. That's because high blood pressure is only a symptom of the condition, not a cause. Your doctor may recommend blood pressure medicine if your blood pressure reaches high levels.
• Prevent seizures. Reference Magnesium sulfate is usually started before delivery and continued for 24 hours after delivery for women with pregnancy-related seizures (Reference eclampsia Opens New Window) and those who have moderate to severe preeclampsia.
• Speed up fetal lung development. When possible, Reference steroid medicine is given to the mother prior to a premature birth (up to 34 weeks of gestation). This medicine matures the baby's lungs over a 24-hour period, which lowers the risk of breathing problems after birth.

Blood pressure medicines

Medicines used to control chronic high blood pressure during pregnancy include:

• Reference Methyldopa.
• Reference Nifedipine.

Some high blood pressure medicines are dangerous during pregnancy.^{Reference 3} If you take high blood pressure medicines, talk to your doctor about the safety of your medicine. Discuss this before you become pregnant or as soon as you learn you are pregnant. Make sure that your doctor has a complete list of all medicines that you take.

Other blood pressure medicines that may be used include:

• Reference Hydralazine. This is an Reference intravenous Opens New Window medicine for quickly lowering severely high blood pressure during pregnancy.
• Reference Labetalol. It's an intravenous medicine for quickly lowering severely high blood pressure in the hospital. It's also an oral medicine for controlling high blood pressure during pregnancy.

Lowering blood pressure too much or too fast can reduce blood flow to the placenta, causing problems for the baby. So medicine is reserved for preventing severely high blood pressure levels that may be life-threatening to you or your baby.

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