For some women, expecting a child is the best time of their lives – but for some, pregnancy becomes a life-threatening risk.

That's what happened to singer and fitness trainer Fernanda Brandao, once a member of the pop group Hot Banditoz.

She recently made it public that the birth of her first daughter in April became a hell of a scenario.

Actually, she wanted a home birth in Lapland, but in the ninth month she was hospitalized.

Diagnosis: severe pregnancy poisoning.

But what is behind this disease?

Johanna Kuroczik

Editor in the "Science" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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In medical jargon, pregnancy poisoning is called preeclampsia, it is one of the hypertensive pregnancy diseases.

Around three to eight percent of pregnant women are affected.

The mother-to-be develops high blood pressure over the course of the pregnancy, usually after the 20th week of pregnancy.

This can be as high as 140/90, but is typically 120/80 or lower.

There are also traces of protein in the urine - a sign that something is wrong with the kidneys.

Water retention can also occur, for example in the legs, hands or face.

Some women notice that the rings suddenly no longer fit them or that they gain enormous weight.

These symptoms are part of the criteria for a diagnosis, but overall preeclampsia is a complex clinical picture,

Some women hardly feel the disease.

Symptoms of severe preeclampsia include severe headaches, blurred vision, confusion, but also nausea and vomiting.

Urination may be disturbed, pain in the upper abdomen may occur.

What causes preeclampsia is unclear.

Disorders of the immune system or genetic causes are discussed.

It is assumed that at the beginning of pregnancy, the implantation of the embryo does not proceed smoothly and that the blood vessels that run through the placenta, the placenta, are damaged as a result.

Older women are more at risk

However, various risk factors are known: if the mother-to-be is older than 35 years, this is the first birth or multiple births are expected.

Preeclampsia also appears to be more common in women who suffered from high blood pressure, obesity or diabetes mellitus before pregnancy.

The disease can be very dangerous for mother and child.

There is a risk of premature detachment of the placenta.

Then the child can no longer be cared for and it is important to carry out the birth as quickly as possible by caesarean section.

In around 21 out of 1000 cases of severe preeclampsia, the child dies in the womb.

Even if it doesn't come to that, the newborns are mostly affected by preeclampsia - some are born small because the placenta was not functioning properly or they were born very early.

Eclampsia, which is preceded by preeclampsia, is also feared.

This also usually occurs towards the end of pregnancy, in the last trimester.

In addition to the pre-eclampsia symptoms, the expectant mother also suffers from seizures, which can be accompanied by loss of consciousness.

The shift in the salts in the blood is probably to blame.

Fortunately, this complication is rare, occurring in about two percent of women with severe preeclampsia.

The most severe form of pregnancy diseases with high blood pressure is the so-called HELLP syndrome, which is particularly rare - an estimated 0.1 to 0.2 percent of all pregnant women are affected and about 10 to 20 percent of women with preeclampsia.

This leads to liver damage with increased liver enzymes, which is why women suffer from severe upper abdominal pain.

The blood coagulation is disturbed, the thrombocyte count decreases.

At the same time, the red blood cells are increasingly broken down, which is known as haemolysis.

There is no causal therapy for preeclampsia.

Women who have few symptoms and are less than 37 weeks pregnant do not necessarily need hospital treatment.

However, you should take it easy and remain as inactive as possible – stop working, avoid stress and rest a lot.

You should also see a doctor at least once a week.

However, those affected are usually treated as inpatients in the clinic.

There they receive some medication to lower their blood pressure.

To prevent seizures, pregnant women are often treated with magnesium sulfate, which relaxes muscles.

The most effective treatment for preeclampsia is delivery, according to obstetricians.

This is then enforced from the 37th week of pregnancy, sometimes even earlier if the preeclampsia is severe or complications occur.

Although some continue to have preeclampsia for a few weeks after birth, they are still at risk of seizures and need regular medical check-ups.

For most, however, the spook is over with the confinement.

Blood pressure returns to normal over time.

However, pre-eclampsia is associated with an increased risk of suffering a stroke - studies also indicate that this risk persists years later.

The newly minted mother Fernanda Brandao, like daughter Aurora, is now doing well again – she also shows this on her Instagram account.

However, online magazines report that she still wants to ensure that pregnancy complications do not remain a taboo subject.