Post birth & pre eclampsia

[suzi2]

Not sure where to post this! My cousins girlfriend was induced on Monday due to PE and had a wee boy that evening. Things were going well and she got hom on weds. Today (or last night, not sure), she became very ill again with little feeling in her legs/mouth, nose bleeds, blurred vision etc so was taken back in. Her BP is sky high and it's taking a lot of medication to stabilise it. A frought time for all I think (she really wanted to bf too but has had to put him on formula).

Anyway, I just thought I'd ask abouton her behalf as it wasmy understanding that the cure all for PE was giving birth. Is there anything that could be causing this? She had an epidural, foreceps & episiotomy if that makes any difference.

[LaDiDaDi]

Pre-eclampsia can occur post delivery, up to about 4 weeks afterwards although it is rarer than in pregnancy.

nhs link.

Hope that your cousin'd girlfriend makes a good recovery. xx

[whomovedmychocolate]

I was induced and had a caesarian for Pre-eclampsia in 2006. Five days post partum my liver failed because of it. I felt absolutely fine and dandy up to that point.

She will be okay but the hormones from the placenta peak five days post partum I'm afraid, so she is right on time for this. BTW she can start breastfeeding again. I felt bloody awful but your milk sticks around a long time and as long as she gives it a go it'll come back.

I'm amazed they let her out so soon TBH - I was kept in nine days (despite being a complete pain in the arse to get myself discharged.) In retrospect it's probably a good thing they did.

Has got sod all to do with birth method btw, it's a placenta thing - when the placenta is removed/delivered the symptoms abate, BUT unfortunately you then get a five day window when further symptoms can kick in. As in my case and your unfortunate friend.

Go see Action on Pre Eclampsia and learn all about it. She'll probably appreciate knowing how common post partum problems are. (I'll post a link in a sec)

[whomovedmychocolate]

Actually instead go here and click on 'share your story' - mine is up there too. Post partum PE is very common.

[suzi2]

Thanks. My mum is going in to see her tomorrow so I'll pass this info onto her.

[LiegeAndLief]

Agree with WMMC. I was due to go home five days after ds was delivered due to pre-eclampsia, but my blood pressure rocketed and I had to stay in a bit longer. I was on medication for high BP for about four months but it went down steadily and I was able to breastfeed with the medication (oxprenolol and nifedipine I think). Best of luck to yoru cousin's girlfriend and her baby, hope she manages to kick start the breast feeding again if that's what she wants to do.

[ScaryHairy]

I did not have pre-eclampsia, but my blood pressure was sky high before my daughter was born, stabilised for a couple of days and then shot up even further after I went home (at which point I was shipped back into the hospital). I ended up being treated for high blood pressure for a month afterwards, and had to get my BP checked regularly until it came down.

The hospital took it all very seriously, although none of them could explain how pre-eclampsia (effectively a disease of the placenta) could happen after it was removed, so I shall go have a look at those links!

It is good that your friend is back in hospital. One friend of mine was discharged without being given meds to bring her BP down and she ended up having an eclamptic fit 5 days after her baby was born. She's fine, but it was traumatic for everyone and it is a manageable condition so this should not have happened to her.

Also, I should mention that the meds they give for this (Atenolol in my case) are absolutely fine when breastfeeding, so if she wants to give it another shot the medication should not be an obstacle.

[2sugars]

No - it isn't giving birth that's the cure all. Where abouts is she? I was made - and this was 8 years ago - to spend a week in hospital after giving birth to dd2. You/she should call someone now.

[LieselVonTrapp]

i had full blown eclampsia with dd1 and recovered after a week in intensive care but i lost my vision two months later (just for a week)

[2sugars]

LVT, that must've been more than effing awful. TBH, I didn't (and still don't) know the difference between eclampsia and pre-eclampsia. Poor you - I don't remember that - were you on MN at the time? xx

Just for a week = "Just for a week" blimey, wish I hadn't been so complacent about it.

[2sugars]

That reads terribly - I meant I wish I hadn't been so complacent about it.

[suzi2]

Thanks everyone - she's in hospital and her spirits are improving I believe. We're in Fife and the hospital here are happy to let you go when things are OK and your baby is feeding well - for some people that's just a few hours. Her BP was OK after birth, but I've since been told that it may have been her blood loss that 'masked' the high BP. I think the hospital were maybe a bit quick to discharge her, but then again I have other friends who have had the same and had no bother.

My mum's in to see her today and I've told my mum about the breastfeeding thing. I do some peer support locally so have numerous contacts that could help her with establishing it again if she wants. My mum said that if she mentions breastfeeding, she'll let her know but if not they're probably all happy with the formula. I think Dad and Gran are happy to be able to help out with feeds, especially if she is going to be ill for a while.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Suzi2 - glad she's okay but the hospital were bloody stupid - an epidural will cause your blood pressure to plummet until it's removed and they should monitor for a decent period afterwards in cases of suspected PE.

In most cases, women are fine to leave hospital a few hours after birth but when a birth has been difficult or complicated by prior illness (ie if she has been induced because of PE) there is no bloody way she should be allowed to leave until she has been correctly monitored - if nothing else they should have given her liver function tests for three days - even if that meant the midwife coming out and drawing blood daily

It amazes me that when we know how to prevent death in the mother we still decide to follow economic protocols because 'it'll probably be okay'.

But I'm really glad she's got a friend like you around to help out.

[2sugars]

Lovely post, WMMC.

For some reason I used to always read the obituraries in the papers, and one - about three years ago - really hit me, because the woman was so young.

It was posted by her husband, and all it said was:

Risky business, childbirth.

suzi, I'm so glad your friend's got you to look out for her, and I echo what wmmc says - I think she was released too early.