BP and homebirth

[LooL00]

I went to see the consultant yesterday as I'm planning a homebirth and the mw couldn't be sure baby is head down and I have spd so she was having trouble pressing without me hurting. Baby is head down and 3/5 engaged which is fine.
HOWEVER my BP was up a bit when I went to the hosp. It was 130/90 and the registrar said that I had to have it checked again and if it wasn't down they 'wouldn't allow a homebirth'. It was then checked again, was 130/80 and the consultant wrote ok for homebirth on my notes. (consultant didn't speak to me)I don't really understand BP and why a difference of 10 makes so much difference.

Can anyone give me a quick lesson on what the numbers mean and what is the bottom line (top line?) on BP?

the top number is your systolic blood pressure. It is the highest level your blood pressure reaches when your heart beats.

The bottom number is your diastolic blood pressure. It is the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats.

the top number is much more variable - if you are stressed/out of breath from exercise etc it'll shoot up and come back down quickly.

the bottom number is more stable and more indicative that there could be a problem. so that one going up is the main concern.

I was induced because my bp was creeping up (started at 110/60 and finished at 120/90) but I think they very much over reacted.

basically the thing they're scared of is pre eclampsia, but it was clear I didn't have that (no protein or oedema/water retention) and they still induced at one day past my due date "as there was nothing to be gained by carrying on"

I don't know much about HB though, but hoping to have one this time, so will be interested to hear what others say in case my bp goes up again!

Bump.

Anyone know how high it can go?

It depends on your initial BP and what it is normally. I had a similar situation when I planned a homebirth.
If your normal BP in early pregnancy is 120/70 (for example, as mine was). If your BP rises significantly they will suggest you dont have your homebirth (mine went up to 140/90 by 35 weeks).
It is normal for your BP to rise near labour and your BP can rise due to stress or 'white coat' hypertension (fear of doctors!).
As I had no protein in my urine and my BP was only moderately high, if I had my ti9me again I would probably have stuck to my guns with the homebirth, but its always easy to say that in retrospec!
More info here-
www.patient.co.uk/health/Pregnancy-and-High-Blood-Pressure.htm
Selina

Thanks Selina. The community mw is coming to take it again in the morning as last week she took it as 120/74 so she thinks it's just stress from rushing about to appointments.

Glad to see your BP's restored itself LooLOO

I've got white coat syndrome exacerbated by some know it all health care professionals insisting that I don't need a large cuff for BP checks which gives me an automatically higher reading, which stresses me, which makes the re-test high... I literally have to go away and come back again. Luckily, if you get to 90-99 then NICE suggests that you go away for half an hour to chill out and come back to be rechecked. Make sure they alternate arms for checks and that they try out the manual BP machine - I get 10% lower results with manual. I was also borderline hypertensive before being pregnant so this is "normal" for me... Trying to convince others with their policies and guidelines though remains difficult.

NICE guidelines seem to suggest that 90 is the point of being interested in you (just go with the flow if you can) and 100 requires significant attention. If you asymptomatic for pre-eclampsia, have good clotting results at blood test, then if you've got a friendly consultant and supervisor of midwives, then you could still be "allowed" for a homebirth (they can't actually deny you one - they can just be extremely difficult/unhelpful). You could always insist... which is currently my plan.

Because I've been hovering around 85-95, I've had about 9 checks in the last three weeks including seeing the Consultant who was very pleasant and down to earth. I'm seeing him again this Friday which is officially 41+0 to discuss induction on the Monday (41+3). I'm open to the idea, but if it's just because of my BP, then unless he can come up with something hard and fast and evidence based, then I'm digging my heels in until 42weeks. I'm taking DH with me too so that I can be sure I'm making an informed choice, not being stubborn and silly.