Silent Signs of Pre-eclampsia: What Every Pregnant Mom Should Know

Gabby Zezatti was 8 months pregnant and eagerly awaiting the birth of her first child. Little did she know that her blood pressure was silently creeping higher, putting her baby and her at risk. 

At her 33-week doctor’s appointment, Gabby’s blood pressure registered 170. A scan revealed that her amniotic fluid was dramatically low and her baby girl weighed only 3 pounds, 12 ounces.

"I felt completely normal, but my baby wasn't growing. I never had headaches, nor blurred vision, or any preeclampsia signs at all," Gabby said. She was admitted to St. Luke's Health - Sugar Land Hospital, where she worked as a postpartum nurse. She received IV fluids to increase her amniotic fluid and was discharged with doctor’s orders to stay in bed.

Gabby drank lots of water in hopes of increasing her amniotic fluid levels. "I was chugging water, thinking that my poor baby needed fluids, and I started going into pulmonary edema. Fluid was backing up into my lungs," she recalled.

All weekend, it got harder for Gabby to breathe. She fell victim to what she called the "nurse curse" and disregarded her symptoms, thinking she could diagnose herself. By Monday morning, she could breathe only while standing. "I couldn’t have breakfast because I couldn’t breathe. I told my husband, Ruben, ‘this isn't normal,’" she recalled.

Gabby was admitted to St. Luke's - Sugar Land. "I came in with stroke-range blood pressure, which was critically high. They took an X-ray that showed my lungs were filled with fluid."

The care team rushed Gabby to the operating room, where Obstetrician Gynecologist Jamie Hernandez delivered her baby at 34 weeks. Little Aunyx weighed 3 pounds, 10 ounces. Fortunately, the infant was relatively healthy but Neonatologist Cecilia Torres Day admitted Aunyx to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for two weeks. "Just because she was small, they wanted her to gain weight," Gabby explained.

Today, Aunyx is 4 years old and healthy. “She's a firecracker,” her proud mother said. Gabby and Ruben have since had another child and are expecting a third in March 2026..

Hypertension disorders of pregnancy are one of the leading contributors to premature birth, according to Pamela O'Connell, MSN, RN, Director of Women's Services at St. Luke's Health - Sugar Land Hospital Family Birthing Center. She urges expectant mothers to see their obstetrician throughout their pregnancy so they can detect complications in a timely fashion.

“If the patient has an understanding of the treatment regimen for hypertension, she can work with her doctor to control her blood pressure for the safety of herself and the baby and can identify whether she's in a crisis and needs to contact her doctor,” O'Connell said.  

Hypertension Symptoms include:

• A severe headache that is not relieved by Tylenol
• Swelling of the hands and feet
• Unexplained immediate weight gain
• Blurred vision, flashes or stars 
• Pain underneath the right breast that doesn't go away

Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to a condition called pre-eclampsia that can develop into eclampsia, which can lead to seizures. “It is vital that patients follow their prescribed medical regimen to control hypertension complications,” O’Connell explained. 

The St. Luke’s Health - Sugar Land Level II maternal and neonatal intensive care units are equipped to treat mothers and infants at 32 weeks and above and work with Houston area neonatal partners to arrange higher levels of care when necessary.

Gabby realizes how lucky she was that the team at St. Luke’s Health - Sugar Land was there for her. She advises expectant mothers to be on the lookout for any unusual symptoms. 

“If you have any sort of feeling that something's not right, go in, just go in. It's better to be safe than sorry,” Gabby said.