About Action on Pre-Eclampsia
Pre-eclampsia is the most common of the serious pregnancy complications affecting both the mother and her unborn baby.
About one pregnant woman in 10 or approximately 70,000 women each year are affected by the condition.
Tragically, almost 1,000 babies die every year as a result of pre-eclampsia. In its severest form, it also kills three to four women annually.
Action on Pre-Eclampsia (APEC) was set up in 1991 to:
- raise public and professional awareness of pre-eclampsia, improve care, and ease or prevent physical and emotional suffering caused by the condition
- educate, inform and advise the public and health professionals about the prevalence, nature and risks of pre-eclampsia
- campaign for greater public awareness of the disease and for action to improve methods of detection and treatment
- provide support for people who suffer or have suffered from pre-eclampsia and their families
- promote research into the causes of the disease and appropriate screening techniques and treatment methods.
This is achieved by:
- supplying comprehensive information about pre-eclampsia to pregnant women, affected families and professionals involved in their care
- maintaining a high public profile through media campaigns and nationwide distribution of literature
- publicising and promoting relevant research findings and encouraging new research into all aspects of the condition
- providing a national telephone helpline, a network of local befrienders and access to expert care and advice.
The helpline can be contacted on 020 8427 4217 Monday to Friday between 10am and 1.00pm.