Assessment of Nurses' Practical Skills during Providing Care for Mothers Medically Diagnosed with Preeclampsia

Abstract

Pre-eclampsia is associated with significant morbidity and mortality for mother and baby, but it resolves completely post partum. Despite a steady reduction in maternal mortality from the disorder in more developed countries, it remains one of the most common reasons for a woman to die during pregnancy. The disorder starts with a placental trigger followed by a maternal systemic response. Because both this systemic response and the woman's reaction to it are inconsistent, the clinical presentation varies in time and substance, with many different organ systems affected. With the increasing understanding of the disease process, there have been advances in management, such as antihypertensive therapy, magnesium sulphate, and fluid restriction. Maternal mortality is the health indicator that shows the greatest differential between developing and industrialized countries. The lifetime risk of death as a result of pregnancy or childbirth is estimated at one in 23 for women in some countries in Africa, compared with about one in 7000 for women in Northern Europe. Less reliable information exists on levels of serious morbidity related to pregnancy and childbirth, and on differentials between developed and developing countries. However, it is clear that those conditions that can lead to maternal mortality occur much more commonly in developing countries, and/or give rise to far higher case fatality rates.