Background characteristics
Maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes are presented in Table 1. Women with eclampsia were generally younger, less often cohabitating, more often registered as students, more commonly nulliparous and more likely to smoke. Women with pulmonary oedema were more commonly of black race, living in informal settlements, had shorter gestations and higher rates of termination of pregnancy before viability due to severe disease. Sixteen (26%) women with eclampsia and 6 (18%) women with pulmonary oedema suffered from HELLP. Eleven (18%) of women with eclampsia and 4 (14%) of women with pulmonary oedema developed renal impairment. None of the women had both eclampsia and pulmonary oedema.