Scientists say they have identified genetic errors that appear to increase a pregnant woman's chance of getting the potentially life-threatening condition called pre-eclampsia.
Around four in every 100 women develops this problem of high blood pressure and leaky kidneys during pregnancy.
Now researchers have found faulty DNA may be to blame in some cases, PLoS Medicine journal reports.
The discovery could lead to new ways to spot and treat those at risk, they say.
The US researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis analysed DNA from over 300 pregnant women.
Sixty of these were otherwise healthy women who were hospitalised because they developed severe pre-eclampsia.
The remaining 250 were women who were being monitored for other health complications. Forty of these also went on to develop pre-eclampsia.
DNA analysis revealed a few genetic errors shared by five of the 60 otherwise healthy women and seven of the 40 "higher-risk pregnancy" women who developed pre-eclampsia.
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