Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Pre Eclampsia Stories?

11 replies

ThirdTimeLucky27 · 03/12/2023 16:44

Hi all..
Currently 36 + 4 weeks and resting at home with pre eclampsia. I'm booked for induction at 37 + 1 so not long now..

Has anyone been in a similar situation, if so how did your induction and labour go? Did pre eclampsia have an impact on your labour or how you felt afterwards? I've been told babies blood sugars will have to be monitored for 48 hours after birth..

My blood pressure seems to be controlled with 800mg labetalol daily.. It does occasional go slightly over the 140/90 when medication is due but mostly stays in 130s/80s..

Any advice or experiences much appreciated thank you 🙏🏼

OP posts:
catsnore · 03/12/2023 17:10

My induction and labour went fine. My pre-eclampsia seemed to go away and then magically came back after I was sent home (with no meds!!!). So please be aware it can reoccur after labour. I had to take labetalol for around 4 months and gradually come off it. All fine now, back to normal!

ThirdTimeLucky27 · 03/12/2023 17:32

catsnore · 03/12/2023 17:10

My induction and labour went fine. My pre-eclampsia seemed to go away and then magically came back after I was sent home (with no meds!!!). So please be aware it can reoccur after labour. I had to take labetalol for around 4 months and gradually come off it. All fine now, back to normal!

Thank you. I have a blood pressure monitor so can keep an eye on it at home.

OP posts:
SparkyBlue · 03/12/2023 17:39

I had pre eclampsia and wasn't favourable for induction at 36 weeks so had a c section (I'd been in hospital for monitoring for about four weeks on and off weeks previously). Anyway my blood pressure still wasn't great so I had to be kept in high dependency for 24 hours and have an infusion of magnesium (can't remember exactly) and lots of monitoring while they found the meds that worked for me. I was kept in after the delivery for 11 nights and was still on meds for about two or three months afterwards.

ThirdTimeLucky27 · 03/12/2023 17:46

SparkyBlue · 03/12/2023 17:39

I had pre eclampsia and wasn't favourable for induction at 36 weeks so had a c section (I'd been in hospital for monitoring for about four weeks on and off weeks previously). Anyway my blood pressure still wasn't great so I had to be kept in high dependency for 24 hours and have an infusion of magnesium (can't remember exactly) and lots of monitoring while they found the meds that worked for me. I was kept in after the delivery for 11 nights and was still on meds for about two or three months afterwards.

Sounds like you has a tough time bless you!

OP posts:
SparkyBlue · 03/12/2023 17:48

Honestly I recovered no bother and had such a long stay in hospital in a private room I was well rested and in great form when I finally got home . I'd similar drama on dc2 and then not even one high blood pressure reading on dc3. Best of luck OP

MuchTooTired · 03/12/2023 17:50

I had severe pe with my DTs and had a surprise elcs at 36+5. I was amazed how much better I felt even by the evening of their birth, it was quite amazing how much I could bend my leg the next day when I couldn’t at the end of my pregnancy. I had injections for my tummy afterwards for about 10 days or so, and my DTs and I were kept in for 2 days so they could monitor their blood sugars which were all ok.

Good luck!

ThirdTimeLucky27 · 03/12/2023 17:51

SparkyBlue · 03/12/2023 17:48

Honestly I recovered no bother and had such a long stay in hospital in a private room I was well rested and in great form when I finally got home . I'd similar drama on dc2 and then not even one high blood pressure reading on dc3. Best of luck OP

Thank you! Glad to hear you've recovered well. This is my 3rd and I had no issues with first 2 pregnancies.

OP posts:
ThirdTimeLucky27 · 03/12/2023 17:53

MuchTooTired · 03/12/2023 17:50

I had severe pe with my DTs and had a surprise elcs at 36+5. I was amazed how much better I felt even by the evening of their birth, it was quite amazing how much I could bend my leg the next day when I couldn’t at the end of my pregnancy. I had injections for my tummy afterwards for about 10 days or so, and my DTs and I were kept in for 2 days so they could monitor their blood sugars which were all ok.

Good luck!

Glad to hear you felt better so quickly! I'm really hoping I will be the same, I just don't know how I feel at the moment 🤷🏼‍♀️

OP posts:
Dyra · 03/12/2023 20:53

Not on a third baby, but both my two pregnancies were 37 week induction for pre-eclampsia. Pretty sure I've already mentioned my experiences in one of your other threads already, but I'll run through them here too.

Both babies I started with a low Bishop score. Wasn't expecting it to be anything but though. I had gels to get things started with both. First because it was standard at my trust at the time, second because baby was positioned too high for a balloon. A single gel got me to the requisite 2cm for ARM with my second, so hopefully it will be the same for you.

No signs of labour with either, so then it was a matter of waiting for a bed on delivery suite. Be prepared to wait, as triage comes into play here. I had to wait 4 days for a bed with my second due to how busy it was. If things had happened like: contractions started, waters gone, or baby and/or I had started showing signs of deterioration, then naturally the process would have been expedited, but none of it did, so I was kept in the holding pattern.

Had ARMs with both. Nothing happened, so I had the drip. As it was gradually cranked up, so did labour. Maybe not as slow as natural labour, but that hour or two before strong contractions set in helped. Since I've no regular labour to compare to, I wouldn't know if the pre-eclampsia affected it. You'll have continuous monitoring, but hopefully your trust will have wireless too. I spent the first two thirds of labour with my second trundling around my room (drip in tow), and trying out different positions next to the bed. Very different to my first where I hated everywhere but my bed. You'll have frequent BP checks too.

As for afterwards? Well, tired obviously. Delighted, happy. Again, no natural labour to compare to, but I doubt I would have felt any different. And it was the same feeling for both babies, even though they were born different times of day, and via different methods (DC1 vaginal delivery mid afternoon, DC2 em. C-section (baby got stuck, nothing to do with pre-eclampsia) middle of the night). I felt I went into labour faster, and coped better with my second. I was just one of the unlucky few whose second delivery was not quicker or easier.

I then stayed 2 nights postnatally with both for the blood glucose checks for baby, and to keep an eye on me. My BP immediately went back to normal, and I felt like I otherwise had before, albeit a bit sore in my vagina/abdomen. I had meds for a couple of weeks after my first (weaned off quickly), and didn't need them at all with my second.

Always happy to answer any questions.

Wishing you the best of luck for your induction.

Dyra · 03/12/2023 20:54

Oh, I had the fragmin injections for 10 days too. And while I was in hospital, but not in labour. I found it better to inject myself than to let others do it.

rainbowtea23 · 04/12/2023 20:05

My first pregnancy I had preeclampsia from 30 weeks. Very nearly delivered then but stabilised and I made it to 36 weeks had a routine midwife appointment for my blood pressure it was high so sent to triage. I was already dosed up to the max on Labetalol so had something else but it didn’t make a difference. They did bloods and said you’ll be induced tonight. Thought that’s a positive sign baby will be here soon. Within the hour they started to prep me for an emergency section as I’d developed HELLP syndrome and my liver was failing. I was lucky I got seen in time. Once baby had been delivered and I’d had the magnesium drip and a few nights on high dependency I was absolutely fine and all my levels recovered really quickly.

Second pregnancy no blood pressure issues until after delivery they thought I had it post birth but luckily not.

Good luck OP

New posts on this thread. Refresh page