Memphis Tennessee Promise Walk for Preeclampsia

08/15/2026

For today's we are sharing Cora's story with

Cora writes, "In January 2024 I had my daughter. We had found out that we were expecting a couple weeks after our wedding, on our way home from our honeymoon in Italy, the morning sickness began. From that point on, I threw up five times a day every day, the entire pregnancy. I had to go to the hospital once a week for fluids, ate very little, and gained 80lbs. When I got pregnant I was 100lbs and very healthy so it was a big change. I had no signs of preeclampsia until I when into labor at 40+0 weeks. My blood pressure was in the mid 200s and my protein was off the charts. We live in a very rural area with a small hospital so they immediately transfer me 2+ hours away to a major hospital. I had an emergency c section. It caused heart damage and a hard recovery, but baby was great.

I got pregnant with our second in April of 2025 and had an amazing pregnancy with no complications until 38 weeks when checked labs and found that my liver was not working and I was severely anemic along with protein in urine. However my blood pressure was great. I had 3 iron infusion but my numbers remained the exact same. I went into labor trying for a vbac on 39+6 and after 8 hours and everything going great I started to push. A long 4 hours later I spiked a fever and my blood pressure started to rise, they ran labs and my platelets were in the single digits. We decided to do a c section and my placenta had been so infected it was full of puss and the baby was covered in it. After the surgery they ran more labs that showed preeclampsia getting worse along with the infection. After transferring to the larger hospital again, they were able to get things under control and I went home. With everything, baby was thriving and I am so thankful."

Read more: https://www.preeclampsia.org/our-stories/grateful-1

08/14/2026

Researchers are exploring whether a protein called placental growth factor (PlGF) could help better predict, diagnose, and treat preeclampsia.

Placental growth factor is a protein produced by the placenta that helps blood vessels develop properly during pregnancy. In healthy pregnancies, PlGF levels rise as the placenta grows. However, in pregnancies affected by preeclampsia, PlGF levels tend to be much lower because the placenta does not develop normally. These lower levels may serve as an early warning sign that complications are developing.

Researchers in Toronto reviewed multiple studies examining how PlGF testing performs in clinical practice. They found that measuring PlGF levels can identify people who are at high risk for preeclampsia much more accurately than relying only on traditional risk factors like obesity, diabetes, age, or previous pregnancy complications. One striking result was how closely low PlGF levels were linked with early delivery: the analysis showed, 43% of people with low PlGF delivered their babies within two weeks of a low result, and 63% delivered within four weeks. By comparison, only about 1% of those with normal PlGF levels delivered during the same time frames. Not surprisingly, low PlGF was also tied to more pregnancy complications. In some cases, PlGF testing helped clinicians diagnose preeclampsia more than two days earlier than standard approaches.

For patients, this research suggests that a simple blood test could someday help doctors recognize preeclampsia earlier, identify those at greatest risk, and make more informed decisions about monitoring and treatment. Earlier detection could potentially reduce complications, improve pregnancy outcomes, and provide better long-term cardiovascular care for women who experience preeclampsia.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Placental growth factor testing represents a promising new tool for pregnancy care. Additional research is needed in the U.S. and Canada to determine how best to incorporate this test into routine prenatal care and whether early identification of low PlGF levels can improve long-term outcomes for both mothers and babies.

Read more here: https://www.preeclampsia.org/the-news/research/how-can-placental-growth-factor-improve-preeclampsia-diagnosis-and-management

08/14/2026

08/13/2026

Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy complication. It can happen to anyone, but some people are more at risk.

Matthew J. Blitz, MD, FACOG, shares important things to know about preeclampsia, including the most important risk factors, in our new Expert View article.

Read the full article to learn why it’s important to talk with your ob-gyn about your potential risk for preeclampsia and follow their recommendations: https://bit.ly/3TTV0Sd

08/11/2026

Magnesium sulfate (given intravenously) is the treatment of choice for severe preeclampsia to prevent eclampsia, or after eclampsia develops to prevent more seizures. Magnesium treatment is generally continued for 24-48 hours after the last seizure or beyond delivery. You may receive magnesium sulfate in an intensive care unit or a labor and delivery unit. While magnesium is given you should be observed closely, receive intravenous fluids, and may have a catheter placed in your bladder to measure urine output.

Magnesium sulfate can be used by a skilled healthcare provider with appropriate support facilities. Overdoses can occur and lead to harm to your kidneys, so you should be closely monitored.

Side effects of magnesium sulfate may include drowsiness, redness, flushing or overheating, muscle fatigue or weakness, dizziness, and trouble concentrating. Symptoms typically go away shortly after the medication is stopped. Its use can be VERY uncomfortable, but your provider has likely included it in your treatment to prevent a worse outcome - seizures. Some patients report that magnesium feels like the worst flu they ever had on steroids.

Learn more: https://www.preeclampsia.org/what-is-eclampsia

08/08/2026

For today's we are sharing Alexis's story with

Alexis writes, "I went in to be induced the day before my due date. My pregnancy had been smooth, my blood pressure perfect at every appointment, and I was so excited to finally meet my son.

Still, preeclampsia had always lingered in the back of my mind. A nursing friend once told me about something her OB instructor had said, that the highest blood pressure she had ever seen in pregnancy was 180/120, and neither the mother nor the baby survived. That story stayed with me.

So when I arrived for my induction and my blood pressure measured 239/126, I was stunned. Terrified. It didn’t feel real.

The strangest part was that I felt completely normal. No headache. No vision changes. No upper abdominal pain. No warning signs at all.

My medical team sprang into action, working quickly to bring my blood pressure down. The night that followed was long and frightening, blood pressure checks every fifteen minutes, medications, alarms, and the constant fear of what might happen next. At one point my pressure dropped so quickly that I nearly passed out.

By morning, I was given blood pressure medication and an epidural. But the combination didn’t go as planned. My son’s heart rate suddenly dropped, and within moments everything shifted. I was rushed into an emergency C-section.

My son suffered hypoxia and damage to his right lung. He spent two weeks in the NICU recovering from meconium aspiration and lack of oxygen.

I stayed in the hospital for a week after he was born. On the fourth and fifth nights, my blood pressure spiked again in the middle of the night, reaching 190/100. Even after going home, I remained on blood pressure medication for about a month.

To this day, having my blood pressure taken can still trigger panic attacks. The experience left its mark in the form of PTSD and OCD because I now have a hard time believing my body will tell me when something is wrong.

But above everything else, what stays with me most is gratitude. The outcome could have been so different. My son and I both made it out alive, and that is something I will never take for granted."

Read more: https://www.preeclampsia.org/our-stories/preeclampsia-is-silent

08/04/2026

August is Wellness Month. One aspect of wellness is taking care of your physical health. As moms, caregivers, and women, we often put ourselves last when it comes to attending yearly well-woman visits. As preeclampsia, eclampsia, and HELLP syndrome survivors, it is very important to talk to go to a well-woman visit to check up on your physical health.

Talk to your doctor every year at your well-woman visit about your preeclampsia risk factor. Annual monitoring of your weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol is an important way to stay healthy.

Access our free "Beyond Pregnancy" worksheet to bring to your appointment to start the conversation about your health after pregnancy here: https://www.preeclampsia.org/beyondpregnancy

08/03/2026

New bipartisan legislation could help expand access to innovative testing for patients at risk of developing preeclampsia. The Preeclampsia Risk Evaluation and Evidence-based Management through Personalized Testing Act, or PREEMPT Act, would provide state Medicaid programs with important guidance on using blood-based biomarker tests throughout pregnancy.

These tests can help healthcare providers identify patients at elevated risk earlier and make more informed decisions about monitoring, treatment, and care. With hypertensive disorders of pregnancy remaining a leading cause of maternal illness and death, improving access to timely and effective testing is an important step toward protecting pregnant patients and their babies.

We need your support to help advance this legislation and ensure more families can benefit from innovative tools that may improve preeclampsia detection and management.

Contact your U.S. Representative and urge them to cosponsor the PREEMPT Act to accelerate access to tools and technologies that improve the care of pregnant women and reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Use our tool to contact your Representative: https://powerslaw.quorum.us/campaign/163936/

Please act now and share this with your networks!