Uterine Dopplers - will it happen again?

[bevlin]

Hi,

I had a High Risk PG with my DS and am now 8 weeks PG with my second. The closer im getting to my scan the more nervous i am getting as with my last PG every scan and appointment gave me worries and more bad news. One of the many problems I had was notching or uterine dopplers. It meant growth scans every 2/4 weeks and I ended up with high blood pressure and odemea that made me resemble princess Fiona from Shrek! Obviously Pre-eclampsia was the threat there and apparently uterine dopplers can cause this. What I need to know is, is this notching a chance thing or if you have had it before is there more chance of getting it again?

[JumpingJellyfish]

Did you actually develop PE? If you did then yes, it does make you at higher risk of developing it again. PIH- pregnancy induced hypertension- which sounds like what you had- can also I think mean a slightly higher risk of getting PIH and/or PE in subsequent pregnancies. As I'm sure you know notching in uterine doppler scans can be an indicator of higher risk of developing PE but it doesn't mean it's inevitable.

Your best bet is to push for an early consultant apt at your maternity unit- your GP (or possibly midwife) should be able to refer you urgently- to disucss what happened last time and what this might mean for this pregnancy, and how they plan to manage your care e.g. with extra scans etc.

I also recommend looking on the US pre-eclampsia foundataion website www.preeclampsia.org/- they have lots of info there and the forum is very popular- it's likely someone on that would know if uterine artery notching in a previous pregnancy coupled with PIH and oedema makes you at higher risk this time.

Good luck and I really hope this pregnancy is long and healthy xx

[bevlin]

Thanks jumpingjellyfish. I hadn't heard of PIH before I will look it up and check out the website.

[SympatheticConsultant]

Hi If you had severe or early onset PET last time then you should push for an early medical booking appt.They may opt to start you on junior aspirin this time to reduce the risks. The uterine artery doppler screening test is done at 22-23 weeks and if negative should reassure you that this time things should be much less complicated. If the uterine artery dopplers are increased or show the presence of 'notches' on the waveform then you have approximately a 30-60% risk of developing severe PET.
Try not to worry as often in second or subsequent pregnancies the risks of developing PET are much lower anyway!

[bevlin]

Oh thanks SympatheticConsultant, Im glad to hear that. Im 9 weeks so my scan/booking is less than 3 weeks away now. I will run that by them re the junior asprin to see what they think.