36 weeks.. labetalol, high BP and potential pre-eclampsia!

Cloverbaby · 2023-04-13T10:56:43+00:00

Hi all, Just hoping for a bit of advice / reassurance really! I’m currently 36 weeks pregnant with my first and went into our local pregnancy assessment unit last weekend as I’d had reduced movements. As soon as they put me on the monitor little one decided to move more than ever and have herself a party - typical!! 😂 They were happy with her heartbeat and movements, however when they took my blood pressure it was sky high. I explained that I had been experiencing a persistent headache, swelling in my feet and rib pain the past week but had just put this down to general pregnancy symptoms. They also took bloods and had detected ++ protein in my urine sample so sent both of those off for testing. They kept me there to take four blood pressure readings over a 2 hour period. The doctor then came in and said the average of these blood pressure readings was higher than normal, and although my bloods and urine tests didn’t confirm preeclampsia, I was just under the threshold and likely to develop it so they wanted to keep me in overnight for further monitoring. I was able to go home the next morning, they just sent me away with a home BP monitoring kit. Fast forward a few days, I have had an extra scan which showed little one was just on the 10th percentile line and hadn’t made much growth at all since my 32 week scan (only half an oz in 3 and a half weeks) They have booked me in for a further scan next week, too. I am going into the hospital every couple of days for bloods and monitoring, and have been prescribed Labetalol. I’m only on the second day of taking the tablets however they’re making me feel really dizzy and nauseous. When I spoke to the doctor she said my bloods had indicated while I don’t have preeclampsia at the moment, I am very likely to develop it in which case they’d want to induce me at 37 weeks (next week!) although they will try and get me to full term. Sorry for rambling on.. at the moment it’s just a wait and see what happens type of situation, so I’m hoping someone may be able to share their experiences with similar situations to put my mind at ease as this is my first and really not sure what to expect!

seven201 · 13/04/2023 17:07

I already had slightly high bp pre pregnancy so was on labetalol. Towards the end I did develop pre-eclampsia but it was always controlled by upping my meds. I had a c-section (as dd was breech) at 39 weeks with no issues.

sunseaandme · 13/04/2023 17:23

OP I could have written this post. Around 33 weeks I had a fall and went to hospital, baby was ok but BP sky high, so much so they made me stay overnight, I was put on labetalol and told I had to come in twice weekly for monitoring until baby was born. I didn't have pre eclampsia at that point. Two weeks later it was so high again despite the tablets that I had to stay in hospital overnight again. Then at around 37 + 1 at regular monitoring they said my BP was so high and I now had developed pre eclampsia so had to be induced the next day. I had to stay in hospital that night (though I wasn't expecting to so had nothing with me no hospital bad or anything!!!) and ended up being induced the next day, and staying in hospital for 5 nights in total, which includes 2 after baby was born so had to look after him in the ward which was difficult to say the least as my husband wasn't allowed to stay. I had a natural birth but had an epidural. My son is now nearly 8 months old and I still have high blood pressure and am on tablets twice a day and have been referred to a cardio specialist as they can't figure out why it hasn't gone away . When I was in hospital they said the high Bp should go away within 24 hours of him being born !!! Obviously not. Happy to answer any questions OP if you have any x

sunseaandme · 13/04/2023 17:25

Also I would add if I'm totally honest, avoid being induced if you can. If I could go back in time I would have fought it more

sunseaandme · 13/04/2023 17:26

Sorry also want to add my baby was small because of the pre eclampsia and because he was early (I think!) only 5 lb 5

ChimneyPot · 13/04/2023 17:31

I had this with my twins. I was in every few days for monitoring, then every day, then admitted. Twins born spontaneously at 35 weeks the night before they were to be induced.
They are 18 now and heading to university in September.
They even eventually grew to be taller than me in spite of being tiny and smaller than average the whole way through primary school.

Mightyouandiconfabulate · 13/04/2023 17:35

Hi.
me too. I had pre eclampsia with both of my pregnancies. Labetalol for both too.
I had them at 36 and 37 weeks.
Both babies were 5lbs.
BUT absolutely fine. Neither needed any extra care at all.
I was home within 20 hours of delivery for my 2nd.
I breast fed both straight away and they gained weight fast.
my first pre eclampsia 5lb baby is now a strapping teenager 6 feet tall and gloriously healthy.
my second equally robust and healthy.

I believe that they class anything after 36/37 weeks as full term nowadays.
Please be assured that you & baby will be fine x

LysHastighed · 13/04/2023 17:39

A friend of mine had exactly this a month ago and was induced at 37w1d. Her baby has done much better than my 36 weeker (who was fine), very similar to my other, full term child.
However, my friend developed pre-eclampsia a week after the birth so take care of yourself and go back to hospital if you need to.

Original poster

Cloverbaby · 13/04/2023 20:30

sunseaandme · 13/04/2023 17:23

OP I could have written this post. Around 33 weeks I had a fall and went to hospital, baby was ok but BP sky high, so much so they made me stay overnight, I was put on labetalol and told I had to come in twice weekly for monitoring until baby was born. I didn't have pre eclampsia at that point. Two weeks later it was so high again despite the tablets that I had to stay in hospital overnight again. Then at around 37 + 1 at regular monitoring they said my BP was so high and I now had developed pre eclampsia so had to be induced the next day. I had to stay in hospital that night (though I wasn't expecting to so had nothing with me no hospital bad or anything!!!) and ended up being induced the next day, and staying in hospital for 5 nights in total, which includes 2 after baby was born so had to look after him in the ward which was difficult to say the least as my husband wasn't allowed to stay. I had a natural birth but had an epidural. My son is now nearly 8 months old and I still have high blood pressure and am on tablets twice a day and have been referred to a cardio specialist as they can't figure out why it hasn't gone away . When I was in hospital they said the high Bp should go away within 24 hours of him being born !!! Obviously not. Happy to answer any questions OP if you have any x

@sunseaandme I was exactly the same! Totally wasn’t expecting it and hadn’t packed any bags yet so my partner had to rush home and pack one for me 🤣 Safe to say they were packed the next day when I got home haha. I’m not against being induced if that’s what is deemed safest for me and baby, I think I’ve just heard so many horror stories the whole thing has scared me! How was your experience with induction? X

OP posts:

Original poster

Cloverbaby · 13/04/2023 20:32

ChimneyPot · 13/04/2023 17:31

I had this with my twins. I was in every few days for monitoring, then every day, then admitted. Twins born spontaneously at 35 weeks the night before they were to be induced.
They are 18 now and heading to university in September.
They even eventually grew to be taller than me in spite of being tiny and smaller than average the whole way through primary school.

@ChimneyPot ahh great! A friend of mine also had twins and delivered at 35 weeks, and hers are thriving too!

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SunnySaturdayMorning · 13/04/2023 20:35

I had preeclampsia in my first pregnancy discovered at 32 weeks.

The big danger with preeclampsia is when they don’t know you’ve got it - now they’re aware of the situation they can carefully monitor it 😊

DD1 was tiny (and still is!) but at nearly 2 and a half she’s absolutely fine.

Original poster

Cloverbaby · 13/04/2023 20:36

Mightyouandiconfabulate · 13/04/2023 17:35

Hi.
me too. I had pre eclampsia with both of my pregnancies. Labetalol for both too.
I had them at 36 and 37 weeks.
Both babies were 5lbs.
BUT absolutely fine. Neither needed any extra care at all.
I was home within 20 hours of delivery for my 2nd.
I breast fed both straight away and they gained weight fast.
my first pre eclampsia 5lb baby is now a strapping teenager 6 feet tall and gloriously healthy.
my second equally robust and healthy.

I believe that they class anything after 36/37 weeks as full term nowadays.
Please be assured that you & baby will be fine x

@Mightyouandiconfabulate Thanks for the reassurance 🥰 that’s what the midwife said, she said from 37 wks little one is classed as “fully cooked” so would be fine to induce from this point on x

OP posts:

Original poster

Cloverbaby · 13/04/2023 20:39

LysHastighed · 13/04/2023 17:39

A friend of mine had exactly this a month ago and was induced at 37w1d. Her baby has done much better than my 36 weeker (who was fine), very similar to my other, full term child.
However, my friend developed pre-eclampsia a week after the birth so take care of yourself and go back to hospital if you need to.

@LysHastighed I suppose every baby is different aren’t they! They did say I’d be high risk for 5 days after the birth so would likely keep me in after the birth - will definitely keep an eye for the signs.

OP posts:

Original poster

Cloverbaby · 13/04/2023 20:40

SunnySaturdayMorning · 13/04/2023 20:35

I had preeclampsia in my first pregnancy discovered at 32 weeks.

The big danger with preeclampsia is when they don’t know you’ve got it - now they’re aware of the situation they can carefully monitor it 😊

DD1 was tiny (and still is!) but at nearly 2 and a half she’s absolutely fine.

@SunnySaturdayMorning Yes you’re totally right. I think I’ve just done the worst possible thing and Googled and scared myself silly 🤣🤣

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Gabby10 · 13/04/2023 21:09

I had this as well and agree the meds make you feel dizzy and just generally weird! Think I was around 35 weeks when they started with the meds and was back every 3/4 days until they decided at 37 weeks that the meds were working and I was allowed to basically just go until I went into labour.....of course at 3am the next morning my waters broke!! Due to being on the blood pressure meds they did make sure I was induced within 24 hours of my waters breaking x

Dyra · 13/04/2023 22:20

I started showing signs of pre-eclampsia in both pregnancies around 34 weeks, with it definitely becoming pre-eclampsia at 36 weeks.

Once it was confirmed, I was admitted to hospital there and then and started on labetalol. Induction at 37 weeks once the babies were term. Inductions were both fine, though I needed the drip with each, as my body would not labour without it. DC2 wound up as a C-section as he got stuck, but the induction had nothing to do with it.

Both babies were quite big for their gestation in the end. DD was 7lb5 at 37+1, while DS was 8lb1 at 37+6. DD has gone on to "find her line" and is a bit of a dink hovering between the 10th and 25th. DS has stuck solidly to the 75th.

Funnily enough I was in the same situation as you in regards to the hospital bag with my first. As I wasn't allowed home, poor DH had to make repeated trips until he got it right. I did not make the same mistake with my second!

sunseaandme · 13/04/2023 22:36

@Cloverbaby if I'm totally honest the whole experience of being induced was pretty awful. It was just so so painful (the contractions) and unbearable and I hear that the pain is much worse when you're induced compared to usual. I don't have any basis for comparison though as I only have the one baby. It just felt wrong to be forcing the baby to come out when they weren't ready and especially when he was so small. If I have another baby I hope I can have a natural birth as I feel I missed out on the whole 'am I in Labour' excitement and build up etc

LydiaAW · 13/04/2023 22:46

@Cloverbaby I had the same with my twin pregnancy last year. High blood pressure at 35 weeks but not pre-eclampsia.

Put on Labetalol and then nifipedean as I couldn't tolerate the Labetalol. First time I took it I ended up being sick right after eating! And sick everytime thereafter... after being really sick for the first two trimesters I was over it!

Had the babies by c-section at 36+ 5. One had janudice but that's very common anyway! They were 5lb each but are now running away from me - they were totally fine!

My blood pressure returned to normal by my 8 week postnatal check.

Good luck and enjoy meeting your little one ❤️

Jade31 · 13/04/2023 22:46

Very similar story, 7months ago I was going in for extra growth scans. Very lucky I was being monitored as I didn’t have any symptoms (except swollen feet but put that down to end pregnancy and insane heatwaves we was having.) it was just my bp was high and they sent urine off. Baby and I are fine and doing well. Although I wasn’t induced as baby was breeched and would not turn. I know it’s scary being told, but you will be monitored very carefully now and that’s the main thing! Baby was born 37+3 6lbs. 5 nights before baby was born, 5 after on tablets around 4months after but gp took over care once I was discharged. I would recommend trying really hard to get some rest when you can because soon it’s a different story….but also well worth it :)

rainbowtea23 · 15/04/2023 21:20

I developed preeclampsia at 30 weeks, nearly delivered but things calmed down. I spent best part of a week in hospital and I had GD so the two combined made things worse.

Luckily I managed to get to 36+3 had a routine midwife appointment and the blood press just wouldn’t go down. Went to triage and I’d developed HELLP syndrome, baby was out via emergency c section in an hour and a half, didn’t have time to be induced. As soon as he was out and I’d had the magnesium drip I was ok. Only spent three nights in hospital including the night he was delivered. Definitely don’t be afraid to go to triage if you feel ill.