INTRODUCTION

serious,

statistically

important

disorder

characterized

by

the

development after the twentieth week of gestation of hypertension, with proteinuria or

edema or both. These symptoms should be progressive in severity to actually make the
diagnosis of pregnancy-induced hypertension. If coma or convulsionnot caused by
coincidental neurologic diseasecomplicates the course of the illness, it is then called
eclampsia.
Guided by our enlarging view of severe preeclampsia, nurses are in a prime
position for aiding in promoting the optimal level of wellness in our patients. This begins
with thorough assessments. Blood pressure measurements should be accurate, and
never be treated as trivial. Other objective assessment data may include monitoring
pertinent laboratory values, proteinuria, and fetal surveillance. Subjective data such as
visual disturbances and headaches, which may be precursors to seizures, should also
be assessed. All of these assessments are important.
Nurses also should relish their role as patient advocates and patient educators.
As patient advocates, and armed with the knowledge of recent research, nurses are in a
position to promote care that is both evidence-based and appropriate. As patient
educators, nurses are able to increase their patients' ability to understand and
participate in their own care to achieve the optimal level of wellness.
A database of hospital discharge data from approximately 300,000 deliveries in
the United States found the overall incidence of severe preeclampsia was about 1
percent of pregnancies. Studies of preeclampsia report about 5 percent of nulliparous
women develop preeclampsia and 40 to 50 percent of these women develop severe
disease. Chief causes of the maternal death are aspiration (pneumonia), cerebral
hemorrhage, cardiac failure with pulmonary edema, or obstetrical hemorrhage
associated with premature separation of the placenta.
In the Philippines, according to Department of Health, Maternal Mortality Rate
(MMR) is 162 out of 10,000 live births (Family Planning Survey 2010). Maternal deaths
1 | Page

account for 14% of deaths among women. For the past five years all of the causes of
maternal deaths exhibited an upward trend. Preeclampsia showed an increasing trend
of 6.89%; 20%; 40%; and 100%. Ten women die every day in the Philippines from
pregnancy and childbirth related causes but for every mother who dies, roughly 20 more
suffer serious disease and disability. The UNFPA office in the Philippines declared that
family planning can help prevent maternal deaths by 35%.
Treatment of preeclampsia depends on the severity of the symptoms
encountered, the philosophy of the physician, and the understanding of the compliance
of the client. She and her family deserve careful teaching regarding her problem, its
observation, and its treatment. Regular, adequate prenatal care is the best insurance for
control of the complication. Magnesium sulfate is the first-line treatment of prevention of
primary and recurrent eclamptic seizures. It reduces transmission of nerve impulses
from brain to muscles.
We decided to use this as a subject for our case study because as what we all
know this kind of illness is said to be a silent killer if prompt medical attention is unmet.
That is why we want to know the root cause of such disease in order for us to know how
we could intervene and play our role as a nurse. We believe that by studying this case
we will gain more information and knowledge about the disease and will lead us to a
certain perception as to how we will manage and care if ever we will experience again
patients with the same disease.

2 | Page