Most people know that blood pressure is a serious health issue, but I didn’t realize how dangerous it can be during pregnancy. The World Health Organization recently shared a plan to help prevent deaths caused by high blood pressure in pregnant women, known as pre-eclampsia.

According to WHO, these problems affect about 10 to 15 percent of pregnancies around the world. In some places, pregnant women cannot get tests or the medicine they need to prevent this from happening. This can turn into a very serious problem that doctors know how to treat.

I think it’s surprising that something as basic as checking blood pressure is still not available to everyone. Having a baby should not be more dangerous just because someone lives far from a hospital or doesn’t have a way to check their blood pressure. Hopefully, this new plan helps more women get care before it’s too late.