Medicine is not just about diagnoses and protocols.

In obstetrics, every decision carries a story, a family, and a future.

Some days are joyful, some are heavy, and many are quietly exhausting.

Behind every ultrasound, every delivery, and every long night on call,

there is a responsibility we carry with humility and care.

I’m grateful for the trust women place in us during the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

This work reminds me daily that being a doctor is not about perfection 

it’s about presence, honesty, and doing your best, even when outcomes are beyond your control.

Dr Rabab Mustafa

Obstetrics & Gynecology | Medical Director

#DrRababCares 

#Obstetrics

#WomensHealth

#MaternalCare

#DoctorLife

#HealthcareWithHeart

 ⏳Uterine Artery Doppler and Preeclampsia: What Is the Link?

Preeclampsia is primarily a placental disease.

Its roots begin early long before blood pressure rises or symptoms appear.

Uterine artery Doppler helps us assess how well the placenta is forming and functioning during early pregnancy.

🔹 What is the connection?

In normal pregnancy, uterine arteries gradually adapt to allow low-resistance blood flow to the placenta.

In pregnancies that later develop preeclampsia, this adaptation may be incomplete or abnormal, leading to: 

• Increased resistance to uteroplacental blood flow

• Reduced placental perfusion

• Placental ischemia and dysfunction

These changes can be detected by uterine artery Doppler.

🔹 What abnormal Doppler findings suggest:

✔️ Higher risk of early-onset preeclampsia

✔️ Increased risk of placental insufficiency

✔️ Association with fetal growth restriction

✔️ Need for closer antenatal surveillance

Findings such as high resistance indices or persistent diastolic notching reflect impaired placentation  a key mechanism in preeclampsia.

🔹 What Doppler cannot guarantee:

❌ A normal Doppler does not rule out preeclampsia

❌ An abnormal Doppler does not mean preeclampsia is inevitable

❌ It cannot predict exact timing or severity

🔹 Why timing matters:

Uterine artery Doppler is most informative when performed in the first and early second trimester, when placental development is still ongoing.

Later in pregnancy, its value is limited for prediction, but may still support overall clinical assessment.

🎯 Key message:

Uterine artery Doppler does not diagnose preeclampsia.

It helps us understand risk early, before clinical disease appears.

It is a tool for risk stratification, not reassurance

and it works best when combined with clinical judgment and continuous follow-up.

Dr Rabab Cares

#DrRababCares 

#UterineArteryDoppler

#Preeclampsia

#HighRiskPregnancy

#AntenatalCare

#MaternalFetalMedicine

 🩺 Preeclampsia: How We Try to Protect 

 Even When Risk Is High

When a woman is at high risk of preeclampsia,

the goal of care is not to promise prevention 

but to reduce risk, delay progression, and protect both mother and baby as much as possible.

💥Protection starts before symptoms appear.

What protective care really means:

🔹 Pre-pregnancy assessment whenever possible.

Understanding baseline blood pressure, medical conditions, and previous pregnancy history matters.

🔹 Early antenatal booking

Care that starts late cannot undo processes that begin early in pregnancy.

🔹 Low-dose aspirin when indicated

Started early, at the right dose, for the right patient  not as a guarantee, but as risk reduction.

🔹 Calcium supplementation when appropriate.

Especially in populations with low dietary intake.

🔹 Tight blood pressure surveillance

Not just treatment  but trend monitoring and timely adjustment.

🔹 Focused placental and fetal surveillance

Growth scans, Dopplers, and clinical judgment  not assumptions.

🔹 Care in a high-risk setting

Where escalation decisions are made early, not after deterioration.

✌These measures do not eliminate risk 

but they change outcomes.

Protection in preeclampsia is about preparation, vigilance, and timing 

not reassurance.

Dr Rabab Cares

#DrRababCares 

#Preeclampsia

#HighRiskPregnancy

#MaternalHealth

#AntenatalCare

 🩺 Gestational Hypertension: What Should Never Be Ignored

Having gestational hypertension does not mean something will go wrong.

But ignoring warning signs is what allows complications to develop.

Not all danger signs are dramatic.

Many start quietly  and are easy to dismiss.

👁Symptoms that should never be ignored:

🔴 Persistent headache not relieved by rest or simple analgesics.

🔴 Visual disturbances (blurred vision, flashing lights, spots).

🔴 Upper abdominal or epigastric pain

🔴 Sudden swelling of face or hands

🔴 Reduced fetal movements

🔴 A feeling that “something is not right”.

💥Behaviors that increase risk:

⚠️ Skipping follow-up appointments

⚠️ Stopping BP checks because readings were once normal

⚠️ Dismissing symptoms because “labs were fine”

⚠️ Waiting for symptoms to become severe before seeking help.

Gestational hypertension does not usually worsen overnight 

but warning signs are often present before serious complications occur.

Early reporting changes outcomes.

If something feels wrong, it deserves assessment  not reassurance.

Dr Rabab Cares

#DrRababCares 

#GestationalHypertension

#PregnancyWarningSigns

#AntenatalCare

#HighRiskPregnancy

 World Cancer Day  4th February 2026

Early detection saves lives.  

Awareness drives prevention and timely

Access to care makes the difference.

#DrRababCares

#WorldCancerDay

 🩺 Gestational Hypertension: High-Risk — and Why “No Risk” Does Not Mean Safe

When we talk about gestational hypertension, we often focus on identifying high-risk women.

This is important but it is only part of the picture.

Yes, some women carry a higher baseline risk.

Women considered at higher risk include:

• First pregnancy

• Age over 35

• Obesity

• Family history of hypertension or preeclampsia

• Multiple pregnancy

• Pre-existing metabolic or vascular conditions.

These factors help us anticipate risk.

But they do not define the whole story.

🎯The critical point:

The absence of risk factors does not exclude gestational hypertension.

Many women who develop gestational hypertension:

 • Have no medical history

• Are young and healthy

• Have normal early-pregnancy blood pressure

• Do not fit the “high-risk” profile

Pregnancy itself is a physiological stress test.

It can unmask vascular vulnerability even in women who appear low-risk.

✌This is why: 

✔️ Blood pressure must be monitored in every pregnancy

✔️ Normal early readings do not guarantee ongoing safety

✔️ Follow-up protocols should not depend on risk labels alone.

👍Risk assessment guides care 

but surveillance protects outcomes.

Gestational hypertension is not a condition limited to “high-risk” women.

It is a possibility in any pregnancy.

Dr Rabab Cares

#DrRababCares 

#GestationalHypertension

#HighRiskPregnancy

#MaternalHealth

#AntenatalCare

 🩺 Gestational Hypertension: More Than “Just High Blood Pressure”

High blood pressure during pregnancy is often minimized  especially when it does not meet the criteria for preeclampsia.

However, gestational hypertension is a distinct clinical entity that deserves careful attention, structured follow-up, and informed decision-making.

👏Gestational hypertension is diagnosed when: 

• Blood pressure is ≥ 140/90 mmHg

• Develops after 20 weeks of gestation

• Occurs without proteinuria

• And without signs or symptoms of preeclampsia.

Because it lacks dramatic features, it is often labeled as “mild” or “not concerning.”

This assumption can be misleading.

🎯Gestational hypertension is not a benign diagnosis.

🔹 It may progress to preeclampsia at any point

🔹 It can impair placental function and uteroplacental perfusion

🔹 It is associated with fetal growth restriction and preterm birth

🔹 It requires active surveillance, not passive reassurance

Blood pressure in pregnancy is not just a number.

It reflects the dynamic interaction between maternal vascular health and placental adaptation.

✌A diagnosis of gestational hypertension should trigger: 

✔️ Accurate and repeated BP measurements

✔️ Regular urine screening

✔️ Maternal symptom assessment

✔️ Fetal growth and wellbeing surveillance

✔️ Individualized clinical decisions  not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Pregnancy does not tolerate “wait and see” medicine.

👁In this series, we will explore gestational hypertension in depth: 

• How it differs from preeclampsia

• Why “mild” does not mean “safe”

• How to monitor it properly

• When and how to intervene

• And what it means for long-term maternal health.

Because awareness, timing, and follow-up are what truly protect both mother and baby.

#DrRababCares 

#GestationalHypertension

#HypertensionInPregnancy

#MaternalHealth

#AntenatalCare

#HighRiskPregnancy

#BeyondPreeclampsia