Pre-eclampsia - hospital admission

[Izzie90]

Hello everyone. First pregnancy and diagnosed with pre eclampsia at 33+2 weeks with swelling, high BP, and protein in urine. Admitted to the antenatal ward till delivery now-aiming for 37 weeks. Any tips from preeclampsia veterans on how to stay sane in hospital for 4 weeks!! Esp when being in a ward so not much privacy except curtains and a shared toilet. Partner not allowed to stay overnight. Got myself some books and journalling but hands are achey due to swelling. Any advice would be appreciated. xoxo

Thankyou! A bit bummed being in hospital and not being able to complete all my pre baby arrival tasks and projects at home but yes trying to see the silver lining now, resting loads and scheduled afternoon naps have been amazing xx

Going down for a walk daily after bfast and obs/CTG etc done.

You will be fine. Just have a good routine. A lot of my friends were like how did you cope. It was fine. It’s not prison. I had lots of visitors to break up the day. Like one a day. And rest. That was really important. Good luck. I think some but not all of my room mates in the ward were irritated because they could not control the situation. I am actually still mates with one who lives around the corner. She actually had a private room pre natal. It was just by chance this happened but as a labour supporter it went against her principles. But there were no other beds so she lucked out.

Should also add my sister in law had worked as an anaesthetist at the hospital so told all of her mates to keep an eye on me.

Absolutely wonderful tips thanks! Just decided my loungewear 'ootd' for the day and will change soon. x

So far not been told I may be allowed to have out patient monitoring but fingers crossed all ends well. I was told by doctors they wont want to wait beyond 37 weeks and either induce or planned c/section-were you allowed to go till 39 weeks because everything was stable?

And GCSEs WOW lol that must be crazy to think of!!

Yes I was admitted at 33 wks, in for 10 days I think, stabilised so had daily or twice weekly outpatient monitoring can’t quite remember, then a blip at 35 wks when BP rocketed and where they nearly delivered but BP came down again with meds, another hospital admission then more monitoring from
home, then induction at 39 wks at the latest if everything was stable then she actually came naturally a day before 39 wks anyway.
but everyone is different and although I did have protein in my urine too I was never quite clear if mine was full blown PE or pregnancy induced hypertension.

good luck! You’re in the best place x

I mean I would ask the question that if you took BP at home every few hours and checked urine with strips if you couldn't be monitored as out patient? You might get a 'no' but it's worth asking. 4 weeks in hospital is a long time and it's the lack of sleep you get on wards that will end up sending you slightly bonkers. If not, then earplugs, Netflix, lots of walks out of ward

I asked about outpatient monitoring, but was declined. :( Definitely worth asking for though. Worst that happens is they say no. I definitely feel you about being bummed about not getting things done at home. I didn't even have a hospital bag ready with my first as the plan had been to fill it that weekend. Everything was prepared far earlier with my second. Wasn't making that mistake again.

I'm staff within obstetrics too, so while they would ordinarily try to give me a private room, the pre-eclampsia meant they weren't keen to unless it was the one right by the front desk (which was also next to the staff room) and the door was kept open (the staff room door was kept open too). I've done night shifts on wards before, and decided sleep within the bay was far more likely. I was always in a bed by a window at my request. Much nicer for the view, the light, and I could people watch to ease the boredom. Really is weird seeing things from the other side.

I was induced at 37 weeks both times. I definitely had pre-eclampsia as my liver enzymes were constantly elevated on top of the proteinuria and BP. Rest of my bloods (especially platelets) remained normal. I was as stable as they come, though you could see that while my BP was within normal range, it was constantly trying to rise despite the medication. By the time induction came around it was on the verge of being high again. Fortunately I also had no other physical symptoms (e.g. headaches or swelling).

First baby is off to school in September, and my second is 2. The days are long, but the years are incredibly short and fly by once they're here.