Rising Pregnancy Hypertension

Sara McGinnis, nine months pregnant with her second child, felt something was wrong. Her body was swollen, she was tired and dizzy, and her symptoms worsened. Despite telling her doctor and nurses, and even going to the emergency room, she was dismissed with the response: “It’s summertime and you’re pregnant.” Two days later, Sara suffered a massive stroke followed by a seizure on the way to the hospital, where she was heading due to a splitting headache. She never met her son, Owen, who survived through an emergency delivery, but died the day after his birth. Sara had eclampsia, a stroke in pregnancy caused by persistent high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.