Step 1: Frame the problem around two dangers in severe pre-eclampsia: sudden swings in blood pressure and a swollen, friable airway.
Step 2: A continuous epidural lets the anaesthetist build the block slowly, keeping pressure steady, improving placental blood flow and blunting stress catecholamines, all without touching the airway.
Step 3: By contrast, general anaesthesia risks failed intubation from airway edema and a hypertensive response to laryngoscopy. Per the printed key the favoured technique here is the epidural.
\[\boxed{\text{Epidural}}\]