Pregnancy headache leads to severe preeclampsia diagnosis and early delivery

Jennifer Tavares, a nurse practitioner at a New Jersey hospital, ignored a headache at 31 weeks of pregnancy, assuming it was ordinary. Swelling and a spike in blood pressure later that morning led her to suspect preeclampsia, which was confirmed after she and her husband visited Morristown Medical Center. Doctors spent three days stabilizing her before deciding on a preterm delivery nine weeks early; the baby was placed in the NICU.

After birth, her blood pressure continued to rise, moving her to the cardiac floor under the care of Dr. Amy Ahnert, director of the Women's Heart Program. Experts explain that severe preeclampsia can persist postpartum and raise the risk of chronic hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart disease for years. The condition’s incidence has doubled since 2014, partly due to later pregnancies and better monitoring. Now seven months later, Tavares remains on medication and uses her experience to push for broader education on preeclampsia for patients and providers.