Pre-eclampsia in first pregnancy....

[ashnbump]

i hope someone is able to give me a bit of advice, as im not sure of where else to look!lol!

I had my little girl on the 6th of July 2009, at 34 weeks & 6 Days gestation, i was induces due to severe PE. I had 3+'s of protein in my urine and my BP was very high (cant remember for sure what it went up to sorry!)

I spent the night in hospital the wednesday before i was induced, and although my BP and urine were both very high, i was allowed to go home as long as i submitted a 24 hour urine sample the following day, which i did, and never got the results for. My blood work came back ok on the Thursday i went home, and i saw my midwife on the friday, who also found my BP as high and my protein on the high side, she was supposed to do a home visit that sunday, but by the time she arrived i'd already taken myself to the maternity ward as i had extreme chest pains, severe pitting odema, headaches, sickness and diorreah, and baby hadn't been moving as she normally did.

when i arrived at the hospital, the midwife took some bloods and i was put on the monitors to keep an eye on my LO, she seemed fine, and i felt better knowing i was in safe hands.

I was taken to the delivery suite and told 'just incase' but the two midwives who were looking after me both agreed that it was unlikely the bloods would come back bad enough to warrant an induction.

Then the consultant came in, and literally said 'Take your trousers of im breaking your waters now!' and that was that. I had to take a drip of magnesium sulhate after my little girl was born, and i stayed under close observation on the delivery ward for 3 days, having blood taken every six hours.

I eventually got better, and my little girl spent two weeks in special care, she weighed 4lb 5oz's when she was born. She is now a healthy happy 6 and a half month old baby gilr who i could not live without! That is our story.

AAAAAANNNNNNNYYYYYYWWWWWAAAAAAAAYY! . . .

I wanted to ask:
-how likely am i to get pre-eclampsia in my 2nd pregnancy?
-i have been told close pregnancies reduce the risks of recurring PE, Is this true?

My OH and i would like to have four children in total, but i would feel more inclined to have our next one sooner if that reduces the risks of suffering from PE again.

I would REALLY appreciate ANY info at all on PE so thank you in advance!

xxxx

 

[MishC]

Hope this helps answer a couple of your questions
https://www.babyandbump.com/gestational-complications/204414-pre-eclampsia-hellp-syndrome.html

 

[ktsl123]

I was induced too at 35 and 2 days. My son is 6 months too and was born 5 1/2 pds. I saw a high risk Dr 3 months after having my son to see what my chances of getting it again are and they said 20%- 60% which is such a broad range. They base it on when you got severe. It is still not understood why women get Preeclampcia either which really sucks when you are looking for ways to prevent it. I was hoping for 4 babies too. It makes me real sad that I may decide that 2 is enough because once you have it the first time every time you get preg you have a high chance. Their is a theory that changing partners increases your chances for it again, but it is also contradicted because they say the older you are the higher chance you get it and usually it takes time to meet someone new and have a another baby. I personally believe if you do have babies the closer the better your chances. Make sure to interview high risk Dr's for your next pregnancy. Go to Preeclamcia.org and check out their forums.

 

[nov_mum]

There is a really great site dedicated to PET

w w w preeclampsia. org

I had PET in my 1st pregnancy and was admitted at 34 weeks and induced at 35. Bubs was healthy and happy thank goodness and I was medicated for a week before my BP was no longer responding to the meds, hence the induction. I did a lot of reading on it as I didn;t have many risk factors for it apart from it being my 1st pregnancy. The reading I did on it suggested that my risk was between 20-60% and having babies close together reduced risk. Well, I had my boy in Oct 2008 and got pregnant when he was 7 months.

So far, my BP has risen from my baseline of 110-120/70-80 to 140-150/90/100's. My bloods never deteriorated last time or this time. My protein creatinine ratio has risen to a diagnostic level (plus 30) but so far is about 43 rather than last time where it was over 900!! This time I haven't even been medicated but some of that is to do wit hthe inconsistent care at the hospital. For instance I was admitted 2 weeks ago for medication management and induction only to be discharged 2 hrs later when a different doctor came on. I have made it 38 weeks and I know my baby is fine as I have had lots of scans and he is on the bigger side rather than smaller. I am quite disappointed in the care I have received and feel I almost know more about my condition and progress than half the staff I have seen. If I felt my wee one was at risk I would be jumping up and down!!!

I think reading up on it, getting a good MW who understands your history and monitors you closely are important. There is still a widespread belief that it doesn't happen in 2nd pregnancies which is rubbish. The good news is that it generally happens later and slower in subsequent pregnancies. Don't let it put you off having more children, it's manageable and and once you have been down the road of PET, you know what to expect and can be prepared. I think the worst part of it for me was not having any control over what happened and that my plan for a different birth went out the window and before I knew it I had a baby and a pile of medications to take. This time I was prepared for anything and can't believe I have got this far.

Good luck. I have found the website above very helpful.

 

[Cazzyg]

I recently had a review with one of the consultants as I wasn't sure what had really happened with my LO and I wanted to be able to make an informed choice about whether to stick at one or go for no 2.

The main message she seemed to want me to go away with is that having PE shouldn't stop me from having another baby. She said that for a woman who has had PE in a previosu pregnancy, then statistically there is a higher risk of developing it in a subsequent pregnancy than there is for anyone who has never had it. However she was also very quick to point out that it is unlikely to be as severe and to develop later if it happened again.

She also went on to say that it is a manageable condition and in her opinion there was no reason not to have another baby. That if you have already had it, then you know what to look out for and monitoring would generally be started more quickly because of the history.

It's a very personal choice. I'm not sure what to do and my daughter is 14 months now. With me, the onset was pretty quick and it now turns out that I was becoming eclamptic so was actually worse than I thought.

You can go back and speak to a doc in maternity and ask the questions. I found it really helpful. You might not get concrete answers to everything, but it might help you get your thoughts together.

 

[KKSARAH]

I had DD 10 years ago at 32 weeks due to PET by emergenacy c-section, she weighed 3lb 4oz.

This pregnancy they advised me I would be classed as high risk and most likely have PET again and expect an early baby but I had no sign of my blood pressure rising and no trace of protein in my urine thoughout this pregnancy and I had planned c-section at 39 weeks.

She weighed a healthy 6lb 15oz and was very happy to stop in there if she could have

Good Luck and dont let this put you off Hun

Sxxx

 

[ashnbump]

Thanks for all of your advice ladies, i think im going to have a word with my doctor and see if he can tell me who to speak to etc, as i've moved out of the are that i gave birth in, into a new district altogether! So im abit lost with it all still settleing in really!

I dont think i could have another baby if it meant that he/she would be born really early, i admire all the parents who have had to endure that pain, but my baby girl was only 5 weeks early and 4lb 5oz, and it really affected me! I dont think i could go through it again, and even worse!

like you have all advised though i need to speak to a professional before making decisions. I think ive decided to have another summer baby though, so probably start TTC this August-November!

anyway thanks again girls i appreciate the advice!xxxx

 

[mrsty]

hiya.. i also had pet in my first pregnancy.my son as born at 34 weeks (emergency c-section) in july 08. i am now 27 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and so far (touch wood) all is running smoothly. my bp has remained low and my wee is showing no protein (all of which had been problematic by this gestation last time) i am being monitored very closely by m/w and go into day assesment every week for a 'trace'
fingers crossed everything keeps going well but so far the 2nd pregnancy is a breeze compared to my first when i just felt rotten throughout!
Before i concieved this child i got my gp to write to my obgyn to find out if he considered it 'safe' for me to do so.. (the answer was yes but we never can tell what could happen) so maybe its worth doing that so that you know where you stand?

xx