MACON, Ga. — According to the National Institute of Health, preeclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in Georgia. However, a new test that could find the pregnancy-related risk sooner.
The Mayo Clinic defines preeclampsia as a pregnancy complication. If left untreated, it can lead to serious problems for the mother and baby.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a bio-marker screening test that can determine if an expecting mother has preeclampsia.
Katherine Sylvester is a mother of two. She says she can't imagine what would happen if she hadn't called her midwife to let her know she was experiencing contractions at 40 weeks.
"She checked my blood pressure and it was 128 over 78," Sylvester said. "And for some people, they may say 'That's not a high blood pressure, that sounds good,' but because she had known me for seven years she knew that my baseline was 100 over 60."
Sylvester says her midwife ran several tests and told her she had preeclampsia. She says she had a successful birth because her midwife caught the red flags.
For the last six months, Wellstar MCG Health in Augusta has been using the test to make sure expecting mothers have successful and healthy pregnancies.
"This adds on yet another layer to see are these patients at higher risk for forming severe features of preeclampsia," said the medical director of the regional perinatal center at Wellstar MCG Health, Dr. Padmashree "Champa" Woodham.
Woodham says this test can help OBGYNs meet more frequently with expecting mothers who are at risk.
"This test is meant for hospitalized patients who are coming in either with a known diagnosis of chronic hypertension, preeclampsia, or what we call gestational hypertension," Woodham said.
To add another helping hand, Sylvester said, is Operation M.I.S.T., an organization helping mothers from conception through their first pregnancy journey. She says she loved spending time with her kids and she wants mothers to be able to do the same.
"I wanted them to have the support before they even ran into a problem," Sylvester said.
Right now, the test is only offered at Wellstar MCG Health. She hopes other doctors will recognize the potential the test has and utilize it in their office. She wants rural hospitals to have access to the test to help expecting mothers not travel far.