Reading your blood pressure at home
Detect early signs of preeclampsia with a simple home routine.
Video coming soon
The full lesson is written out below, so you can read it now and watch or listen later.
Read the transcript
Rest quietly for five minutes first. Sit with your back supported and your feet flat, your arm resting at the level of your heart, and the cuff on bare skin just above the elbow.
Take two readings a minute apart and write down the second one, with the date and time. Bring the written record to your antenatal visits, because a pattern over weeks tells your midwife far more than one number.
A reading of 140/90 or higher, taken twice, is high in pregnancy. Combined with swelling of the face or hands, a bad headache or blurred vision, it can point to preeclampsia, which needs care quickly.
Key points to remember
- 1Rest five minutes before measuring, and measure on bare skin.
- 2Record the second of two readings, with the date.
- 3140/90 or above, twice, is high in pregnancy.
When to get help
Go to a clinic the same day if your reading is 140/90 or higher, and immediately if it comes with headache, blurred vision or swelling of your face and hands.
Ask privately