Beyoncé, bed rest and blood pressure

Image credit: Beyonce via Instagram

Over a year after the birth of her twins, Rumi and Sir, Beyoncé has spoken out about the pregnancy complications she experienced, including pre-eclampsia.

Beyoncé had significant swelling (a common sign of pre-eclampsia) and was put on bed rest for over a month. The severity of her condition meant that the twins were born via emergency c-section following advice from her doctors.

“My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section.”

Following their birth, Rumi and Sir spent several weeks in NICU.

What is pre-eclampsia?

Pre-eclampsia is a condition that only occurs in pregnancy - typically after 20 weeks - and is a combination of hypertension (raised blood pressure) and proteinuria in pregnancy (the presence of protein in your urine).

How common is it?

• Pre-eclampsia affects up to 6% of pregnancies in the UK, and 2-8% globally.
• It is one of the major causes of premature birth.

Read more pre-eclampsia statistics.

What are the main symptoms?

Common signs of pre-eclampsia include:

• painful headaches that don’t go away with painkillers
• vision problems, such as blurriness or flashing before the eyes
• severe pain below the ribs
• sickness/vomiting
• heartburn that doesn’t go away
• sudden swelling of the face, hands or feet
• generally feeling very unwell.

Read more about the risks and treatments for pre-eclampsia.