Pre-eclampsia Worries

[Cakeface123]

Hi I'm new to Mumsnet and am 15 weeks pregnant with my second. Last time I developed pre-eclampsia at about 35ish weeks which went full-blown and baby was induced 6 days early.

I found it all quite frightening as didn't really have many symptoms and found childbirth and afterwards quite distressing although luckily had a normal delivery.

I'm already starting to panic about this one. Has anyone had PE in first and subsequent pregnancies? The midwives and doc I have asked have all said different things - I guess because not much is known about it.

Thanks for listening ;)

Hi Cakeface, I was worried about pre-eclampsia as my sister had it with her first, the midwife I had was a bit of an expert so really helpful. They don't really know why it happens, but they know its particularly common in young or older mums, for some reason around Aberdeen there is a slightly higher prevelance.
It appears to be the baby that causes it as opposed to the mother. We have no family history of PE but there is on my bil side, bit strange.

Anyway, what I logged on to say is my sister has had 3 dc and only had PE with her first, no problems at all in subsequent pregnancies.

A friend of mine also had PE although it wasn't picked up and she had a seizure just after giving birth, but all was fine and she
didn't have any problem with her other 2 pregnancies.

I am 11 weeks pregnant with my second, I have a 19month old DS maybe I'll see you on some of the antenatal threads, goodluck and try not to worry.

xxx

Hi Cakeface, i had Pe from about 31wks and had to have a crash c-section at 34wks. I was soooo nervous about gettig it with my second pregnancy but everytyhing was fine. I'm sure there is a web site for pre-eclampsia advice/support. I was told that you are more likely to get it again if you had it very early on in your pregnancy. Don't ever ever worry about seeing your midwife/gp if you are slightly concerned - i saw my midwife most wks to check my ankles etc.

hi cakeface

i think the worst thing you can do is worry about it easier said than done.

I think generally it happens more in first pg's than second pg's, so you could be lucky.

Although i did have it twice. but didn't get bad till the very last week. My Ob. did put me on extra calcium supplements and asprin for my last pg and I think this really helped for 99% of the pg as my bp was the lowest it's been in a decade (it always jumps straight up when pg).

Have a look into the calcium, I took pg vitamins with calcium as well as an extra calcium tablet. My induced labour was also much better this time, and i didn't get post eclampsia as Ob induced me straight away. you will be probably monitored more this pg as a precaution and if it does start to go up get a bp machine and check it yourself saves a lot of hospital visits.

Hi cakeface, congratulations on your pregnancy! I was hospitalised with PE at 31 weeks and had ds by cs at 34 weeks. I can really symapthise with you as I also found it pretty distressing and would be very worried if I was pg again. However, I was very lucky to be under the care of Professor Redman who is a pre-eclampsia expert, and he told me that in 25 years he had seen only a handful of woman who had worse pe in second or subsequent pgs than the first - it is very rare. As you got almost to term with your first I think it is very unlikely that you will have any major problems with this one. I am actually going to see him in December for a pre-conception consultation - if there is anything you would like me ask him (if I can make it sound vaguely relevant to me!) I would be happy to.

I think the website numptysmummy is thinking of is www.apec.org.uk, I found it very helpful.

Hi Cakeface

Could write loads but MUST go to bed...
I had PE v severely with DS, crash c-section at 30 wks, and had PE again but much milder with DD- c-section at 36 wks. There are lots of potential causes but many are yet unknown so it's a hard disease to detect or predict unfortunately. I put my second pregnancy down as a great success in spite of PE as it was much milder etc.- I had daily low-dose aspirin prescribed from conception to 35 wks and was very regularly monitored from 20 weeks (blood pressure & protein in urine). Make sure you get taken seriously!

The APEC website is brilliant, and their support forum & helpline are wonderful- well worth a good look:

Action on Pre-Eclampsia:www.apec.org.uk/home.htm

Forum: www.apec.org.uk/forum/

Also for recent updates on PE research see: www.pre-eclampsia.blogspot.com/

Good luck with your pregnancy- I hope you have a long, healthy & uneventful one.
xxxx

Thank you soo much for all your advice it's making me feel quite emotional as have talked about it a lot to my friends and family but noone who's ever been through it.

I really appreciate your thoughts thank you and do feel a bit more reassured. It's wierd one minute I'm totally fine and confident it'll all go well and the next I'm a nervous blubbering wreck!

I'm intrigued by the aspirin and calcium theory and will ask my midwife next appt. Is that something you could mention LiegeandLief to your consultant? It's v kind of you - are you thinking of trying again? Good luck if so. The things we women go through....

Here in Norfolk we don't see obs or consultants unless things go wrong - it must be nice to have the chance to talk things through with an expert. Saying that my midwife is lovely.

Thanks again, I will look at those websites - hopefully speak again soon xxx

Hi Cakehead, I can write a little more now!
I would push to be seen by a consultant obs as early as possible as it would be of great help to you to have their reassurance and a plan in place for additional monitoring etc in the third trimester. If you speak to your midwife about this and explain your concerns I'm sure she could arrange a referral. Like others have said it is highly unlikely you will get PE again as severely or any earlier in pregnancy (although of course there are always exceptions to the rule). It is only natural to be worried after such an experience but with good care you can relax a lot more. There are now nationally-accepted guidelines for the management & care of PE patients and those with a history of PE and I really recommend you read these and ensure your care providers are complying with them (some still don't as yet!)- take a look at:
www.apec.org.uk/documents/elearning/precog.htm

and www.apec.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=18&sid=7fa9fa640d70be17b453fd5b61b97848

There is more on recommended practise at:
www.rcog.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=312

Don't be afraid to quote these at health professionals in order to ensure you receive the correct care!

Low-dose aspirin has been conclusively found to delay /reduce the risk of PE in those who have a history of early onset (pre 32 weeks I think) PE and is an accepted course of treatment- I am sure it made all the difference in my last pregnancy. Only obs consultants can prescribe it though, not your GP. It can also help those with a history of later-onset PE. I think the jury is still our re. calcium- some consultants really believe it works but mine wasn't sure so didn't prescribe it.

I really hope you get good support from your midwife and doctors as it can be very stressful when you are worried PE could strike again, and mar your enjoyment of your pregnancy. I found as I was having regular BP and protein checks I stopped worrying as much as knew they should pick up anything if it went wrong as early as possible.

Good luck with everything! Huge hugs xxx

Very much thinking of trying again, ds is only 15 months so would really like to wait a bit longer in case I have to spend time in hospital or have another cs - also waiting for the abject terror to subside! My consultant has already mentioned low dose aspirin to me so we will definitely be discussing that and I also wanted to ask him about calcium - like madmumNika I have read mixed opinions. If you watch this board I'll post back after my appointment and let you know what he said.

I do feel very lucky to have this appointment. Will you be getting extra checks from your mw? If not, I would push for them. Also be aware of all the symptoms of pe - I had severe epigastric pain weeks before my bp went up and protein appeared, was misdiagnosed as indigestion. I think this is pretty unusual but it's worth bearing in mind. If you are in any doubt or having worries, you can always ask for your blood to be taken which should give a definite answer.

Oh also meant to post previously that I assume home blood pressure monitors are automatic? I've read that automatic blood pressure monitors can give a falsely low reading in pre-eclampsia patients (for some technical reason which I didn't really understand...). So it's important to also get yourself checked by your mw/gp regularly.

Hi, I had pre ecalmpsia in my first pregnancy and had to be induced at 36 weeks. It's a very frightening illness and it nearly put me off having a second. But I went for it a second time and all was well, they kept a close eye on me and ds2 was born very quickly and it was a much more pleasant experience, less painful too.

I had pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy and was going to be induced at 38 weeks, but DS came along of his own accord.

I was worried about it happening again with DD, but my blood pressure was only high once (day before she was born, at 40+4).

I was most worried about having to go into hospital as I was in and out for about 3 weeks before DS was born, but that didn't happen and all was well .