-Obstetric prognosis after pre-eclampsia, eclampsia or HELLP syndrome-

Preeclampsia, eclampsia and the HELLP syndrome are serious pregnancy complications associated with increased maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. The question of subsequent pregnancy outcome in these patients is of great importance for the patient and the obstetrician. The risk of recurrence of hypertensive complications during subsequent pregnancy is related to the time of the onset and the clinical signs of hypertension during the first pregnancy. Patients having hypertensive pregnancies should be examined for chronic hypertension, kidney disease and other internal diseases. The recurrence risk is for preeclampsia between 19.5% and 25.9% and for eclampsia between 21.9% and 46.8%. Patients developing the disease early in pregnancy and with chronic hypertension are at higher risk. For the HELLP syndrome the risk of recurrence is between 3% and 5%. These patients should be considered to be at increased risk for obstetric complications in subsequent pregnancies and close perinatal care is indicated in subsequent pregnancies.