A nurse from the University of Illinois Medical Center asked the Preeclampsia Foundation, "What do you think we, as nurses, could do to support patients when they are in a situation (preeclamptic pregnancy) similar to yours?"

We wondered aloud and nearly three dozen survivors responded via Facebook and our online Community Forum to share their experiences and provide their suggestions to the nursing profession. While there was very vocal appreciation for the majority of nurses who have cared for our women, there were also many helpful suggestions. Based on patient input, here are:

Top 10 Ways Nurses Can Support Preeclampsia Patients: 

1. Know the symptoms, educate your patients. Know how dangerous preeclampsia can be, know the full breadth of possible symptoms, and be proactive about diagnosing and managing it. The Foundation's motto "Know the Symptoms, Trust Yourself" is targeted at pregnant women, but as healthcare ...

Preeclampsia Foundation volunteers in different parts of the country have been taking advantage of Perinatal Outreach Educator Networks to disseminate information about the Preeclampsia Foundation and advocate for more patient education.

An unexpected outcome from one of these discussions came from Maripat Zeschke, RNC-EFM, MSN, LC who is the Perinatal Network Administrator at the University of Illinois Administrative Perinatal Center. She asked a simple, but powerful, question of the preeclampsia survivors who were presenting: "What do you think we, as nurses, could do to support patients when they are in a situation similar to yours?"

Zeschke said that her question "comes from a long history of being committed to patients. Nursing is the perfect blend of art and science, and being at the bedside is the essence of the art.  I've seen so many patients with devastating preeclamptic stories, and I think it's amazing when survivors can relive it on a regular ...

May and Mother's Day are so intertwined that it's hard to think about one without the other, especially here at the Preeclampsia Foundation, where we've built a nationwide campaign at www.promisewalk.org/campaign to get the word out about preeclampsia - the "thing" that for many survivors turned our entrance into motherhood into a nightmare.

I believe celebrating mothers is a commemoration of extremes. Not just because preeclampsia is an extreme condition, but because the mothers I am ...

Perinatal Outreach Educator Networks (POENs) are generally funded by individual states to provide perinatal (the care offered to a mother and child just before and just after birth) medical education to health care providers in the region, enhancing the quality of care for mothers and infants and reducing morbidity and mortality. Specialists share their experience and knowledge with other physicians and community hospitals across regions by offering or facilitating programs such as physician and nurse consultation services, continuing education for health care professionals, emergency medical transport for referring hospitals within the region, consultation and technical assistance on emerging perinatal issues, and sometimes even lending libraries.

For example, in Illinois, there are 10 perinatal centers designated by the state. Rush Hospital in Chicago is home to the the largest network, involving 18 hospitals delivering more than 30,000 infants. The Rush Perinatal ...

  Although the literature is scant, research has shown that lack of patient information is correlated to poor health outcomes.  Our own research shows that fewer than half of pregnant women are educated about the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia by their health care providers.  (As an aside, we've been working with epidemiologists at the University of Iowa to conduct deeper analysis of our data; this research has been deemed compelling enough that we'll be sharing our findings via an oral presentation at the ISSHP World Congress in Melbourne, Australia.)

Thus, patient education is high on our list of priorities. This includes involving a broad spectrum of health care providers in this effort.

There are many occasions where pregnant women come in ...