'High' blood pressure & giving birth naturally

[madmumNika]

Hi, just after any experiences....
I had severe pre-eclampsia with DS, resulting in an emergency c-section at 30 wks. I'm now 35 weeks pregnant with DC2 and so far everything has been going well. However, just under 2 weeks ago my BP crept up to around 140/90 where it seems to have remained steadily since (I am being closely monitored with home visits from the midwifes). I was hoping for a VBAC which my hospital consultant had agreed to so long as I was healthy. My midwife now informs me it is unlikely for them to allow me to labour naturally with a resting BP of 140/90. But as it hasn't increased any further & I have no other symptoms of PE I was hoping I might still get my chance of a natural birth.

Has anyone else had a natural birth with a fairly high resting BP?

Many thanks xx

an epidural can help lower bp - I'd ask about this.

Yep, sort of. My blood pressure didn't go up until I was in labour with ds3 (well, it might have been up before this but I didn't get an antenatal check in the week beforehand so I don't know!) I was actually having a homebirth after two previous cesareans and the midwives sent blood tests off to test for pre-eclampsia whilst I was actually in labour. They were fine, so they were happy for me to remain at home. At its highest my bp was 155/103 and I was advised to use my birthing pool to lower it which helped a bit. I had a very straightforward labour and birth at home and my bp came down gradually over the next few days.

It really is not up to anyone - doctor, midwife, hospital policies, to 'allow' you to do anything. They can explain the risks and the benefits of different choice but itis up to you what to do with thsi information and you also don't have to make any decision right away - you could wait and see what your blood pressure does in the next few weeks and even during labour and make a decision then based on the full picture of BP, blood tests and how you feel. HTH

Thanks DaisyMOO, I agree that ultimately it is my decision but after everything that happened with DS I feel a little 'out of control' of my body and reliant on the medics... (which is unlike me!). Luckily my consultant was quite pro-VBAC for me so I'm hoping she still will be- I'm seeing her tomorrow so will address it & BP issues then. The good news is my BP yesterday was 140/88 which is a bit better! And I hopefully still have a few weeks left for everything to stabilise.

I would love to have a homebirth, it's what I always wanted, but will have to wait until 'next time' as at the moment been told it would be very unwise...

Is that high? Mine has been around that all this pg. Last time I had pregnancy induced hypertension which never turned into preeclampsia luckily and had the same issue as you - enforced medicalised birth etc. This time I have realised that they cannot force you to do anything - if you feel well and your instincts are telling you that you can do a natural birth they can't stop you. Also I thought that it was the difference between your booking BP (the second number counts) and what it ends up as that counts so that if it goes 20 over their guidelines kick in. Was your booking BP less than 70?

I had an epidural and betablockers in labour to lower my bp - I still laboured naturally and had a normal (though assisted) delivery. Can't remember my highest bp, but an ambulance was called to take me into hospital before I started labour (after GP check up), so I think it was pretty scary. Bottom figure was over 100.

Thanks ladies
My booking BP was 120/70, and I have been monitored closely due to previous history and it was staying at that until about 3 weeks ago when it started to creep up. In the past 10 days most measurements are coming at 140/90 but it hasn't risen any more which I think is a good sign.
The problem is I developed HELLP syndrome last time, which happened very fast, and BP/protein in urine wasn't a good indicator- which is why they still have me on tenderhooks this time. However I have read that usually if it happened early before and hasn't happened within a few weeks after that gestation usually you are in the clear. But as so much about PE is still unknown the docs are treating my pregnancy with lots of caution! I have got a residual headache which I can't shift but it hasn't got worse over the past 2 weeks and certainly have no epigastric pain which is what happened last time. If I feel like I do currently I would like to give labour a good shot!

Last time my BP didn't start to significantly rise until after the birth, then it rocketed... But still if I give birth naturally in a hospital they should be able to monitor & treat that if it does happen.... I want my VBAC!!

Not necessarily any help I know but my friend had severe pre-eclampsia in her first pg tho gave birth naturally, ventouse etc at 36 weeks after being induced and in her second pg everything was fine so it is possible.

I had PE with my first and had her at 36 weeks. It was usually over 140/90 at the end and went up to 150/100 but my waters broke before they were going to induce. She was born naturally. Both my other 2 were also born naturally and I didn't have bp probs, had other probs instead!

TBH I hadn't realised just how high my BP was until I checked my notes for this thread and IU'm a bit that it did go up so much and still had a homebirth, but at the time it really didn't seem a big deal - the midwives didn't seem particularly concerned, certainly didn't put any pressure on me to go to hospital (although it was there as an option) the baby was fine throughout and I felt very well with no other symptoms apart from a little bit of protein in my urine.

HELLP is very scary though and I can understand why your medical team is anxious this time round. I hope it all goes smoothly though. I would recommend the vbac yahoo group for support on acheiving a VBAC though and I also had a doula which I found invaluable.

Did not have PE but had 'essential hypertension' during both pgs.
Was on mild medication and had regular monitoring - bp was usually 130-140 over 70-90 whilst on medication.
Was induced at 39 wks both times 'to be on the safe side' (as apparently you are more prone to develop PE if you have essential hypertention but I had symptom-free pg's, no headaches, no protein in urine etc) and had vaginal delivery both times.
Only had a pessary each time - did not have drips, epidurals or pain relief (except for a few whiffs of gas and air). Needed forceps to help DS out, DD came out on her own.
DS labour 8 hrs, DD 4 hrs.
Hope this helps and good luck xx

imo, liaise carefully with medics and midwives monitor your BP be aware of contraindications but dont take needless risks...what is important is your health and that of the baby too

on paper you are risky i guess they are being cautious

hope u have a satisfactory outcome that u are happy with, maybe a nice natural birth - fingers crossed

I also had severe PE and HELLP resulting in prem baby by cs. I had been in hospital for 3 weeks, was admitted with bp of about 140/90 (occasionally going up to 180/100ish - don't you get obsessed with bp when you have PE?!!), got worse and was on nifedipine and methyl dopa to keep it down (still getting 200/110 peaks) when ds was born - was delivered because of epigastric pain. Anyway, the doctor told me that the reason they were giving me cs instead of inducing me was because I was only 34 weeks and it was my first baby, so the induction was very unlikely to work. So I'm assuming from that that high bp does not automatically mean cs. Although I'm sure your consultant will be better informed!

Congratulations on getting to 35 weeks (almost magic 36!!) with no PE - best of luck with getting the birth you want!