What to do if you have protein in your urine during late pregnancy

Various symptoms may appear in the late pregnancy, which is also what expectant mothers worry about the most, because they are about to face the birth of the baby. However, if there is a problem with the body, it will always cause expectant mothers to have great psychological pressure. Among them, urine protein in the late pregnancy is a relatively common symptom, but it has physiological and pathological differences. Since we know less about medical knowledge, we are often particularly worried when such symptoms appear. In order to let expectant mothers put down their worries, let’s learn about what to do with urine protein in the late pregnancy.

Generally speaking, it is normal for pregnant women to experience this phenomenon, but it will be different if you have kidney disease before pregnancy. It is best to go to the hospital for examination and treatment.

The protein in the urine of normal pregnant women may increase slightly, which is related to increased body position, renal flow and glomerular filtration rate. If the pregnant woman is in good health, her kidneys will undergo some normal changes after pregnancy, such as increase in length and weight. At the same time, the glomerular filtration rate of pregnant women will increase, so the protein filtration will also increase. The 24-hour proteinuria quantity can reach 300-500 mg, and the incidence rate is about 20%. During pregnancy, the spine is lordotic, the liver compresses the inferior vena cava, resulting in increased renal venous pressure, and the enlarged uterus compresses the renal vein, which are the causes of physiological proteinuria during pregnancy. Adopting a lateral lying position often reduces urine protein.

Therefore, if a pregnant woman does not have kidney disease during pregnancy, it is normal for her to have proteinuria and there is no need to worry.

What to do if you have protein in your urine during late pregnancy

1. If you have gestational hypertension

Balanced diet: Expectant mothers should eat more foods rich in protein, vitamins, iron, calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc and other trace elements, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits. And pay attention to reducing the intake of fat and excess salt.

Pay attention to rest: ensure adequate rest and maintain a happy mood.

Left side lying position: Insist on lying on the left side to increase blood supply to the placenta.

Appropriate calcium supplementation: For those with high risk factors for gestational hypertension, daily calcium supplementation of 1g~2g can effectively reduce the occurrence and development of the disease.

When symptoms of gestational hypertension appear, expectant mothers should seek medical attention promptly and receive treatment as early as possible to prevent large amounts of protein in the body from being lost in the urine, thereby reducing serious harm to mother and baby.

2. If you have kidney disease

Pay attention to rest: From the early stages of pregnancy, you need to arrange your work and rest schedule reasonably and ensure you get enough rest.

Control salt intake: Normal people only need to consume 5g of salt per day, but expectant mothers with kidney disease must strictly control their salt intake and can only consume 1g~2g per day.

Terminate pregnancy promptly: If the kidneys are severely damaged, it is irreversible. Therefore, expectant mothers with kidney disease should terminate the pregnancy promptly at 34 weeks of pregnancy to protect the mother's kidney function.

3. When you have essential hypertension

Control blood pressure: During pregnancy, you must receive treatment under the guidance of a doctor and try to keep your blood pressure within the ideal range.

There is no need to worry too much about proteinuria in pregnant women. The judgment is mainly based on whether the woman had kidney disease before pregnancy. If not, it can be considered benign. If you are not sure, you can go to a regular hospital for a check-up to confirm.

2 Causes of proteinuria in pregnant women

The symptoms of proteinuria in pregnant women are a group of syndromes with systemic arteriolar spasm as the basic lesion, mainly manifested as increased blood pressure, proteinuria and edema. Because of spasm of small arteries throughout the body, peripheral vascular resistance increases, which in turn increases the afterload of the heart. Due to ischemia and hypoxia of glomerular capillary spasm, kidneys may have edema and proteinuria. At the same time, cerebral blood vessels also spasm, leading to dizziness, headache, and vomiting. What's more serious is that when the motor center of the brain is ischemic and hypoxic, patients may have local or systemic convulsions, coma, and even cerebral edema and cerebral hemorrhage.

The above is an introduction to what to do about urinary protein in the late pregnancy. After understanding it, we know that we must find the cause of such symptoms. Some phenomena are also normal. In addition, in order to avoid such symptoms, pregnant women must pay attention to diet in their daily lives and replenish the trace elements needed by the body in time. This will also effectively avoid such symptoms.