Is DP mad?

[flic23]

Was talking to DP last night about how charities where trying to promote the education of pregnant women to the risks of DVT which just seems to be ignired in all the pamples we get. I myself suffered from a DVT post partum.
P.E is the largest killer of pregnant women in the UK not ie. placenta previs, but i knew all about that. If DVT is spotted early ie below the knee the chances of it embolising is practically nil. Surely if all the literature we are provided with included the symtoms needless deaths, motherless children and widowers could be prevented .
However my DP thinks that it would be a waste of time as women would just start running to the doc every ime their leg hurt , preventing someone who really did need treatment for something more important from being seen. So this balanced against the preventable deaths means it is not worthwhile.

Is it just me or is that stupid and insulting

[flamesparrow]

Surely seeing 20 worried women a day to save the life of one is a hassle worth taking!!!

[ponygirl]

Yes, flic23, he's mad. I think you're absolutely right and like to think that if I'd had the proper information and I would have been capable of spotting a potential problem without being at the gp's every five minutes. And anyway, so what if a few people go unnecessarily when you think of the alternative? What price a life?!

[MunchedTooManyMarsLady]

Men! Bless him! It's worth the hassle if even 1 life is saved IMO

[flic23]

nice to know its not me he reckons the NHS dont say anything to save money, however i think heparin and wafarin are probably cheaper than getting a surgeon to crack your chest to try and clear a P.E , and even if it wasnt, even i am not that cynical about the NHS

[starlover]

but surely you could say that about any illness???

That's like saying that no-one should be provided with information about meningitis in case they go to their doctor every time their child has a rash.

The key is making sure that women are PROPERLY informed so that they know ALL the symptoms and are aware of the problem... that means that they won't go every time their leg hurts.
And as the others have said, even if doctors do end up seeing loads of women with a hurt leg it's worth it if it saves just one life.

This is what we pay our bl*%dy national insurance for surely???

[starlover]

having said that, although women aren't given a huge amount of info on possible dvt, I was vaguely aware of the issue.
And during my stay in hospital (and afterwards at home) when the midwives did my daily obs they did ask me about my legs... although no mention was made of why they were asking!

[suedonim]

My mum's cousin, Helen, died of PE just 48hrs after giving birth. I was only a child but I recall how upset mum was. Helen's mother had just admired the baby in the hospital nursery and gone back to talk to Helen. Helen said something like "Isn't he beautiful, mum?" then apparently flopped back onto her pillows and passed away in minutes, to her mother's horror. Anything that can prevent that sort of tragedy has to be worth it.

[flic23]

Agree with starlover the only reference i found to DVT in all the stuff i was given was that midwives would check my legs incase of clots. Gee that is informative if you develop one whilst in ante-natal care or after your post-natal checks have stopped as mine was. I put my life down to the fact I had knowledge of DVT through radiographic training. It still scares me to think of what might have happened if i had put it down to a pulled muscle.

[Tinker]

Um, what are the symptoms exactly?

[starlover]

bump...
only symptom i know is pain in the leg

[handlemecarefully]

It is stupid and insulting.

Was he serious or just trying to get a rise out of you?

It is scandalous that there isn't more information and prevention on this issue

[handlemecarefully]

flic - out of interest do you know what percentage of post partum women suffer DVT?

[bundle]

I'm hoping to do a piece on this in one of my programmes (I'm a radio producer) as I believe it is a sadly neglected area

[flic23]

As far as symptoms go I saw;

• leg pain coming from within the leg and over veins often in calf (mine was over my hip though)
  -swelling
  -change in colour mine was kinda purple but can be red too
  -Leg feeling warmer than the other
  
  There are others but i would say these are the main ones. Basically if you have a red or off colour, sore and swollen leg its worth checking out.
  
  MY DP reckons people only look at the first symptom in a list so everyone will want to see the doc if they are pregnant with leg pain. However i feel that one page in all the books we get outlining the conditions and the symptoms could inform women and save lives.
  
  With regard to numbers i am unsure of how many are postpartum it is so hard to find info on the subject i have been on net loads but overall the national average is 2 women in every 1000

[starlover]

well then make sure pain in leg isn't first on the list!
easy

[flic23]

good point and besides i think women even in their pregnant or new mum state are capable of processing more than one piece of information before coming to a decision. Just coz some men cant do this doesnt mean that we cant!

[fastasleep]

This thread's scared me! When I had DS I had the most amazingly swollen and sore foot afterwards, I couldn't put a sock on it....I asked a midwife and she didn't even look but said water retention was normal, thankfully after about 3 days of sticking it in the air the swelling went down....god knows what it was but if it happens this time I'll kick up a fuss!

[flic23]

cant believe midwife didnt check it. Water retention is a cause of swelling but how could they know that without looking. The fact that it went away is good these things dont go away if they are ignored.