1. Stages of Pregnancy Slideshow Pictures
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3. Early Pregnancy Symptoms Quiz

Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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No one knows exactly what causes preeclampsia. It is believed to be a dysfunction in the lining cells of blood cells (endothelial cells).

Since what causes preeclampsia is not known, no effective tests predict when preeclampsia will occur, and no treatments prevent preeclampsia from occurring (or re-occurring).

Some factors are known to increase as woman's risk of developing preeclampsia.

• Multiple gestations
• Women older than 35 years of age
• History of high blood pressure before pregnancy
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy
• Other medical problems (such as connective tissue disease and kidney disease).

For unknown reasons, African American women in the US are more likely to develop preeclampsia than white women.

Preeclampsia may run in families, although the reason for this is unknown.

Preeclampsia is also associated with problems with the placenta, such as too much placenta, too little placenta, or how the placenta attaches to the wall of the uterus. It also may be associated with a hydatidiform mole, in which there is no normal placenta and no normal baby.

There is nothing that any woman can do to prevent preeclampsia from occurring.

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