Pregnancy induced hypertension

[Gemie]

Has anyone had this/ does anyone have it and experiences welcome. I was diagnosed yesterday after persistent high Bp readings.

I've started medication and thankfully it's down to the lowest it's ever been now.

Just wonded what the implications might be further along.

 

[vtjess423]

My case is a little bit different than yours, as I was being watched for high blood pressure before I got pregnant with DS#1, though never put on medication as my doctor thought I could control it with weight loss. But then once I got pregnant, it seemed to steady out. It was on the high side of normal but it stayed pretty steady for the first half of my pregnancy. And then around 31 weeks, it started spiking and my OB had me monitor it for a few weeks. When it stayed high, she put me on labetalol and we had to change the dosage a bit before it went back down. In my case, the biggest concern with my son was his growth. My doctor did a growth scan at 33 weeks to check on his growth and his abdomen was smaller than the rest of him and so ended up sending me to a fetal and maternal specialist. In the end I got two more scans and everything ended up fine. He was growing as he should (2 weeks worth of growth in 2 weeks time) but he was on the small side. I also started weekly Fetal Non-stress tests just to make sure baby was OK starting at about 35ish weeks. In the end I had my baby boy at 39 weeks and though he only weighed 5lbs 4oz, he was perfectly healthy. My doc said that it was due to my high BP that he was so small. Unfortunately for me, I stayed on bp medication after birth and am on it as well now (though in a smaller dose than with my previous pregnancy). So far everything is looking good; he was on the 44th percentile at my 20 week scan. So I'm hoping with it being better controled this time I won't have any growth concerns but only time will tell. I hope everything goes will for you the rest of your pregnancy. If I can help answer any other questions, feel free to ask!

 

[jammers77]

You asked about implications further along. Just because you have it this pregnancy doesn't mean you'll have it in another pregnancy or after your pregnancy is finished. I had hypertension my whole pregnancy with DS2 and was on medication the whole time and a couple of years after I had him. It gave me the impetus to get healthier, and soon I was off the medication. I tend to get very hypertensive at doctor appointments (due to stress) though so I keep track of my BP every day at home just to make sure it doesn't develop into an every-day problem.