High blood pressure

[imreadyforababy]

Hi - i was at the midwife the other day and she said my blood pressure was a litle bit higher than it had been previously. She told me it wasn't high enough for them to worry but she would keep an eye on it. She hasn't asked me to come back any sooner so i'm not too worried about it.

Does anyone know of anything i can do to keep it down. Does regular light exercise help, what i'm eating or anything like that help.

Cheers

Just have a bit of rest if possible

were you nervous about the appointment, or rushed to gt there? that can sometimes do it.

regular exercise, a healthy diet, plenty of sleep and no stress will help.

yes being worried about the appointment could have pushed you bp up a little

you can ask the midwife to visit at home instead they recongnise white coat syndrome now so that helped in my third pregnancy and kept it down alot and sitting with your feet up helps too

I had this last summer when pg.

I recommend a nightly dose of BB (big brother) ensuring that you recline on the sofa and put your feet up. Sip healthy drinks to keep hydrated and have your dp/dh cook dinner. (Assuming you have exercised sufficiently during the day, I'm not recommending that you become a complete couch potato )

Tell your DH/DP that you absolutely have to rest for an hour each evening, dr's orders.

Worked a treat for lowering my bp and ensuring I remained at work until 2 weeks before my due date despite the hot weather we had last summer.

Thanks thats great - i'm liking theput your feet up answers. I'm trying not to get stressed at work and i'm also trying to take a day off work every week, which is good. Fingers crossed next time my bp will be fine

Thanks again

Imready I had the same thing a couple of weeks ago but m/w made an appt for 5 weeks as I had no symptoms of high bp & just told me to try & get a wee bit of me time to rest each day if possible. Mine was 125/88, do you mind saying what your was? I was really scared as mine is always 115/70 but she didn't seem too fussed. I had struggled to find a parking space & the clinic was unfamiliar to me so maybe she expected it somewhat.

imready - how many weeks pregnant are you? Apparently it's quite common for blood pressure to go up slightly in the last trimester. My midwife told me that they only want to do further testing if the diastolic reading - the lower one - raises by more than 20 from the last few readings.

HI

Jbck my blood pressure was 120/80 - and i'm 22 weeks pregnant - have no other symptoms so i'm sure it isn't anything to worry about - Its great asking for advice on here. I always find that everyone is supportive and always manage to put my mind at rest.

I do also get really nervous and worked up by the midwife appointment - not sure why and i think this may be why my bp is a little higher.

Trying really hard to find at least half an hour to relax with my feet up. DH is being great too and helping about the house. Work is also being really good with me. I'm so lucky.

Hiya. I was hypertensive for the second half of my pregnancy too (and I'm alive and well and have a healthy 2.8 year old DS). I had a history of high blood pressure which did seem to be partly white-coat-hypertension, also was very stressed in late pregnancy due to losing my job, no money etc. Make sure you eat well, rest - and take gentle exercise (aquarobics is good particularly when you're in late pregnancy and it's hot outside). If it stays high they will keep an eye on you and probably do more frequent checks on your wee - I was having weekly appointments for most of the last trimester, and a blood test or two which found nothing much wrong.
But if your hands and feet swell, or you throw up or get a bad headache, call the docotr or midwife straight away and bear in mind that you won't be let go long past your due date if your BP is high. Also, if you do show any signs of protein in your urine they will have you in for observation etc and may induce you a little bit early. I just stayed hypertensive, no pre-eclampsia or anything and actually went a week past my due date before the BP started climbing and I was sent in to be induced - but, as I say again, I'm fine and so is DS (My record-breaking score just after DS was born was 200/120 which was mostly due to sicking up the beta-blocker they gave me midway through labour).
Blood pressure does sometimes rise in late pregnancy, especially if you have any history of it going up or any family history of it, but it's usually nothing to worry about as long as you're OK otherwise.
Good luck.