LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ELENI TSIGAS

It's hard to imagine the impact that a public awareness event like The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia™ can have on the consciousness of the public, our elected officials, health care providers and researchers, but with 44 walks scheduled in major markets across the United States, we are making strides and delivering hope!

Ten years ago, I daresay not too many people had heard the word "preeclampsia."  Now the media often cover the latest research or provide helpful education, for example, CNN's February article on five things you need to know ...

It's March... which in Florida means spring training for Major League Baseball. In fact, I can practically hear the crack of the bat just ten minutes from our headquarters! But the real home runs are happening for the Preeclampsia Foundation all across the country. We're halfway to Preeclampsia Awareness Month, and our Promise Walk teams all across the United States are knocking it out of the ballpark! 

Fundraising teams have used our new tools and are doing a superb job, putting our Promise Walk $7,000 ahead of where we were last year. And not only will we be celebrating our first-ever national designation, but 16 states and cities have declared May Preeclampsia Awareness Month in their jurisdictions. Read on for an interesting article that describes why that is so important to our advocacy ...

Awareness that good outcomes don't always happen helps us prepare while hoping for the best.

Just because a pregnancy is classed as high-risk doesn't mean that it will become medically complicated - and just because a pregnancy is classed as low-risk doesn't mean that it won't. Many of us know this firsthand; we were low-risk right up until the complications developed in our first preeclamptic pregnancy, or went into a subsequent pregnancy classified as high-risk, only to breathe a sign of relief as we delivered a full-term healthy baby.

We've all seen the list of risk factors for preeclampsia: first pregnancy, personal or family history of preeclampsia, underlying conditions like chronic hypertension or lupus or autoimmune conditions, obesity, history of infertility or prior miscarriage. Awareness of your ...

One of the wonderful aspects of living in the United States is that you can directly influence the government process at the local, state, and federal levels. This influence only requires passion and persistence. While the Preeclampsia Foundation is thrilled that our collective passion and persistence led to May 2013 becoming the first federally-recognized National Preeclampsia Awareness Month, our work is far from over. We still need your help to secure more state and local preeclampsia awareness proclamations.

You may be asking why a local or state proclamation has value if the federal government already designated the month of May for preeclampsia.

Be aware of your long-term health risk factors and communicate them.

We've all seen the risk factors for cardiac disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, inactivity, obesity, smoking, and history of preeclampsia. Awareness of your own risk factors is key to managing them as you age and might lower risk of cardiac disease.

A recent analysis of the accuracy of our recall of our pregnancy histories by a team of researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health showed that we may not remember our complicated pregnancies well enough for questions about them to be a useful part of a screening tool. For our recall to be useful as a clinical tool in screening for heart disease, we need to be mostly accurate in our recollections years after delivery. (Imagine a 55 year old in her internist's office this week, asked for details of her pregnancy 30 years ago...) But the analysis also showed that as severity of our pregnancy complications increased, accuracy of ...

Writing about any situation will help you gain perspective on it. Many people find they can identify and express their feelings through journaling. This expression not only contributes to our self-awareness, it also contributes to healing through the letting out of emotions, self-acceptance, and the identification of any negative self-talk patterns that we should and can intentionally replace with positive ...

If you're a new mom, your own heart health may be the furthest thing from your mind, but if you're a preeclampsia survivor, it's something you and your physician should discuss. Why? Because research has shown that preeclampsia, along with a few other pregnancy complications such as fetal growth restriction and preterm birth, may predict your future heart disease. 

Studies have found the following associations between pregnancy complications and cardiovascular disease: 

• A history of preeclampsia increases future risks of high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, blood clots, and kidney disease.
• Women who have repeat or severe preeclampsia, or preeclampsia accompanied by still birth are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease than women who have high blood pressure only and during a single pregnancy. 
• Women who had growth restricted babies or who delivered preterm were found to have higher blood pressure 18 years after ...

Remember the moment when you embraced maternity clothing? After a few months wearing "roomy" jeans and shirts, you made the leap into a wardrobe consisting of blouses with an empire waist. 

There are very few times in our life you wear a patient status so conspicuously. Walking around in maternity clothing informs everyone of your current status. Unlike most other conditions, random strangers remark upon your wellbeing. When things are going well, these remarks can be appreciated as well intentioned. When things are not going well, these random comments can be heartrending.

It is hard to wear our medical status in public. It is hard to bear our soul. But pregnancy is finite; we only have a few months of "showing." Sometimes we have been blessed and become the parent of a new baby and sometimes a life ends before it begins.

The body returns, but a story remains. And I ask you, "Are you showing?"

There is a patient art movement spreading around the ...

Unless you have been completely untethered from all media this week, you know that a popular character on British historical drama Downton Abbey died from postpartum eclampsia, shocking and devastating over 8 million devoted viewers. In her death, Lady Sybil became our unwitting celebrity spokesperson!

With advance knowledge of this surprising plot element, thanks to our sister organization in the UK where the show aired last fall, our team developed a simple but savvy public relations campaign, including an Op-Ed piece in the Daily Beast, a press release, a newly released