Dipsticks cannot quantitatively measure - and in pregnancy, they worry about numbers. For pregnant women, below 150mg in 24h is normal, below 300mg is worrisome, and above 300mg is diagnostic for preeclampsia when coupled to two readings above either of 140/90. Outside of pregnancy, 0mg is normal - so pregnancy stresses your kidneys a bit.

In women with a history of preeclampsia they will often run a baseline test of proteinuria so that if you've got a bit of underlying damage (even a high fever in childhood can cause this) it can be considered in later pregnancy when higher numbers are more worrisome. I suspect your dipstick reading is just a good reason to run a baseline.

Any woman with a history of severe preeclampsia is at higher risk of preeclampsia in subsequent pregnancies so of course you'll want close monitoring - like a baseline - but I wouldn't take a +1 dipstick as an indication of much of anything!

Hello,
I'm new to the forum. Just some background on me, I had PreE with my son a little over 2 years ago. I was put on bedrest at 33 weeks with bp of 150/95 which eventually went to 170/110 before being delivered at 35 + 5 weeks. I'm not sure what my protein levels were, but it was the bp that was the most concerning. After delivery, my bp went crazy and at one point reached 205/120. At five weeks post partum, all signs of the PreE were gone.

I'm now pregnant with our second child and I had my 20 week check up Monday. The baby looked great, but my urine tested at +1 for protein. My OB said with normal patients he wouldn't worry about it, but since I'm the last pregnancy was so crazy, he wants me to start a 24 hour urine screening. My SIL is also an OB and she thinks everything is fine and the test probably had an error. My bp is 115/65 and I have no signs of swelling.

I just wanted to get your thoughts on what you think this means. I know no one has a crystal ball, but I can't help but be worried. I read some things on the internet that said the test they do in the office can have errors and depending if you aren't well hydrated or have a urinary tract infection the test can come back positive. Is this true? If so, should I do anything in particular before I start the test to try to help the results.

Thanks!