Pre-eclampsia may be diagnosed if blood pressure is raised and protein shows up in urine at a antenatal check-ups, or if there are other symptoms of pre-eclampsia. If your doctor thinks you have pre-eclampsia you will usually need to go to hospital for more tests. You may need to stay in hospital until the baby is born.
You will probably have the following tests if you have been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia:
blood pressure checks about every four hours, or more frequently depending on how serious your condition is
urine collection over 24 hours to measure the exact amount of protein in your urine
blood tests, including kidney, liver and blood clotting tests
ultrasound scans to check for intra-uterine growth restriction, blood flow in the umbilical cord and the volume of liquid around your baby

Pre-eclampsia can only be 'cured' when the baby is born. However, a mother might be given blood pressure lowering medicines such as methyldopa or nifedipine, which can help reduce the risk of complications.

Before the birth, doctors and midwives will closely monitor you and your developing baby in hospital, so that they can deliver your baby before any serious problems develop. If your condition is stable, it's better to wait for labour to start normally because an induced labour is more likely to be long or result in an emergency caesarean section.

If you do develop severe pre-eclampsia or eclampsia you may be given medicine called hydralazine or labetalol to reduce your blood pressure. This will be given through a drip. You may also be given a medicine called magnesium sulphate, which stops and also prevents fits.

If your condition is severe, your baby may need to be delivered immediately. This will often be by caesarean section. If the pregnancy is premature, you may be given steroid injections the day before the delivery. This encourages your baby's lungs to develop and reduces the risk of him or her experiencing breathing difficulties.

If you're not at increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia, you don't need to do anything specific to help prevent it it really is not something that you can control.

A daily low dose of aspirin may reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia in women who have had severe pre-eclampsia in a previous pregnancy, which resulted in premature birth. But you should only take aspirin if your doctor has advised you to, because it can cause bleeding during pregnancy.

Daily calcium supplements of at least 1g may reduce the chance of pre-eclampsia in high-risk women and in those who don't have enough calcium in their diet. Again you should only take supplements if your doctor has advised you to.