Q: Good evening Doc, I am 38 weeks pregnant. On my last ANC visit the doctor detected a trace of +1 protein in my urine and my blood pressure was high. Please ma’am what food and things can I do to reduce protein and high blood pressure?

A: A high blood pressure reading in pregnancy with protein in urine is a worrying situation. Blood pressure readings are interpreted as same, pregnancy or no pregnancy. Any level more than 140/90mmHg is seen as hypertensive. This of course has some slight changes with the new classification of high blood pressure. A woman may already be hypertensive before pregnancy and on medication. She may be found to be hypertensive before 20th week of pregnancy in which case it is believed she had previously undetected high blood pressure or she may be discovered to have high blood pressure after the 20th week, in which…