Pre-eclampsia post-birth (TW)

[KatieKat88]

Can I please hear other people's experiences of pre-eclampsia that persisted after birth? DD is 17 months now and we're both fine but I don't feel like I've come to terms with what happened. I was induced at 38 weeks after elevated protein in urine (BP had been up for a few weeks but not much, lots of swelling for weeks which I'd asked about and was told was normal). Waters broke, meconium and baby's heart rate meant I had an EMCS. DD went to special care for about half a day a few hours after birth as she had a lot of fluid but otherwise absolutely fine. I was put on BP meds and eventually discharged 3 days later. Midwife was meant to check my BP at home every 48 hours and didn't - I realised this in my newborn haze and got her back out the next day (3 days after discharge). BP had risen again so was sent back to hospital, given more meds, these didn't stop BP rising so was taken back down to the labour ward in the middle of the night to be put on a magnesium sulfate drip and constant monitoring so I was close to operating
theatre if needed. Told I was at risk of stroke, death - all pretty overwhelming. Spent another few days in hospital while they got the meds right (thankfully DD was with me the whole time, we were given a side room so DH was there until 3am each day to help me with her) and then spent 6 weeks-ish on meds as they gradually reduced them down.

I think I'm still in shock about it all. I'd really appreciate hearing from others about their experiences. This was a first baby - I don't know if we want a second at some point but could this happen again? I was told that the pre-eclampsia would be resolved with giving birth which clearly didn't happen! The thought that the outcome could have been bad for DD or I is so scary to think about and I can't quite process what happened.

Hey, I had mildly raised BP and some protein in my urine pre delivery (they’ve since labelled it as pre eclampsia now I’m pregnant with my second). I was also induced at 38 weeks pregnant but the real issues with my BP didn’t happen until after he was born.
I went to the doctors 1 week post partum feeling generally feverish and started on ABX for a possible post delivery infection but the GP sent me up to delivery thinking that I’d need to be admitted.
The only concern that they had while I was there was my raised BP. They gave me anti hypertension medications and monitored me and then I had to go back the next day. I was also on them for 6 weeks when they gradually weaned me off them.
I didn’t have to be admitted thankfully but still spoke to the midwife about a referral for support about the whole delivery and post delivery situation. I was referred to have a debrief (which I think you may be able to self refer to if your hospital has similar services) in preparation for having another baby and it really helped me understand.
I’m now 32 weeks pregnant and having weekly blood pressure and urine monitoring to check for early stages of pre eclampsia.
There should definitely be some support out there for you as you’re still so affected by the experience of it all. X

@Humpty11 thanks for sharing - I'm so glad you weren't worse affected and hope everything continues to go well with your second, congratulations I've thought a couple of times about a debrief- it's not like I'm thinking about this everyday and I haven't had any mental health issues post-birth so it's something I keep putting off (covid has also not helped!) It's more like something I circle back to every few months and I just can't comprehend what happened (or more why it happened I suppose).

Very similar to your story happened to me, admitted at 36 week appt for very high BP and sudden incredible swelling, after drawing attention to my swelling for weeks with no reaction to it. Dc1 born by emcs 6 days later, taken to special care where he ended up staying for a week due to just jaundice. My BP didn't go down so I was put in special care on that drip and BP monitored every 15 to 60 mins, so no sleep! I was kept in for a week, told I was at risk of stroke, that they couldn't let me home until my BP came down significantly, but they kept forgetting to change my meds when the ones I was on weren't working, etc. I was on 1 hour BP checks all night every night, had panic attacks, had a midwife absolutely eat me alive when I asked for help during a 3am panic attack. Was on meds for 10 weeks after birth.

It's 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with ptsd from it 2 years later. Had dc2 3 years later, didn't get pre eclampsia that time but battling with them at appts trying to explain I had ptsd and begging for help I didn't get added to my ptsd.

Definitely get counselling, I didn't get enough but I was sick of going through the whole story over and over with different counsellors.

I had pre-eclampsia with my first (and only) which was caught at 28 weeks, cs delivery at 30 weeks, I was in hospital for 4 weeks. Dd was in nicu for about 50 days.
I was on bp meds for 6 months afterwards.

The whole experience was surreal and for a while I was somewhat effected. When I was discharged I still visited nicu everyday for dd and at the beginning I cringed when walking past the maternity wing door, I was convinced a nurse would recognise me and drag me back in.

Afterwards I had to drive past the hospital every week and had to look away when I passed by. Certain food smells would bring back memories of the maternity wards.

Dd needed a hernia repair at 3 months and I couldn't face staying in hospital overnight again so my dh did it instead.

This was 6 years ago. The memories have faded for me luckily. My sister had a baby last year and I was a bit jealous of how easy it seemed for her. All the things she got to do that never happened for me; did nct classes and made friends with other pregnant women, went to term, was in hospital for only 1 night, baby groups etc etc.

Talking here is good! Take care of yourself!

I had pre-eclampsia pre & post delivery in both my pregnancies. The first time was a real struggle to bring my BP back under control. At one point I was on four different BP meds simultaneously. I didn't even see DD for the first 24 hours as she was in SCBU and I was so ill. They initially kept me on the labour ward for 48 hours post birth I think, but I remember being transferred from maternity ward back to the labour at around 5am on day three as they were concerned about me and didn't have the staffing for hourly monitoring on the May ward. I was eventually discharged after 7 days.

It wasn't as bad with DS as they were monitoring me more closely and he was delivered much earlier before I got I'll. with him my BP came back under control more easily and I was discharged after 4 days on the condition I would be monitored daily. I think ideally they would have kept me in longer but it was Christmas Eve and they knew we had DD at home and also that we'd be visiting DS in SCBU. When I went to the mat ward Christmas Day to get checked they ended up keeping me for over an hour for monitoring, I remember being stressed because I'd left DH, DD and DM in SCBU and also my handbag/phone so couldn't even let them know why I wasn't straight back.

Overall I think I was pretty well looked after, but the memories of DD's arrival are pretty hazy and I don't think I realised how ill I was. I'm thinking of getting a copy of my notes so that I can look back on what happened.

@KatieKat88 I’m glad it’s not affecting you everyday but it might be worth trying to speak to someone anyway, even if over the phone, because it might help you come to terms with it better. Especially if you are concerned about another pregnancy, and as you’re posting about this and questioning everything 17 months post delivery.

I do think that pre natal monitoring is definitely better with subsequent pregnancies because they know your background and would rather manage the issues before they escalate as they know you’d be a higher risk pregnancy. But talking about it with professionals would definitely help you understand more too, especially as they see it so often in mild and extreme cases.

Thank you all for your stories, you've all been through so much! It has really helped to read them. Does anyone know what the process is for having a debrief on the birth?