High blood pressure and swollen feet .... what will they do?

[BorgLady]

Having got to 37 weeks with nothing disfiguring, I was starting to hope I might escape unscathed. but NO.

Last night my feet swelled up unpleasantly and today my ankles have too. Had an antenatal appointment and my bp was also up (from 120/80 to 120/90 according to my notes, though I have no idea if that's a lot or not!)

They've made me another appointment tomorrow to check bp again ... what can I expect if it's still high?

TIA

They may sit you in a comfy chair and monitor your bp over a few hours.

They may also take bloods to check for signs of pre-eclampsia.

But that's about it I would think.

While 120/90 is on the high side (they like the bottom number to stay below 90) it is not that bad, especially for 37 weeks when lots of women's bp goes up. Mine hit 160/110 at around this time and I was admitted for night and then given drugs for the bp, but they didn't induce or anything alarming like that as there was no pre-eclampsia.

They will also check your urine for any traces of protein.

All depends on the unit how they react, of course depending on your BP, ankles, fingers and urine test.

I had all 3 indications at 37+2 and was kept in and induced at 39 weeks.

You are already at 37 so am keeping fingers crossed its just you having done too much and probably need to take things a bit easier.

Keep us posted.

All the above!

I hit 36 weeks and had been wearing wellies as my feet were too heuge for shoes. Unfortunately I was kicking out ketones and my bp was a lot higher than those above. They very kindly induced me and my loverly boy was born a little while after (in a cloud of bluebirds and whalesong )

I remember the swollen feet bramblebooks! I had to wear flip flops and the straps carved grooves in my swollen feet... ick.

Thanks all for your experiences. Feet and ankles have gotten worse over the course of the day but I feel ok in myself so hopefully that's a good sign.

Plus my urine was clear and I haven't had anything else like headaches or visual disturbances, so maybe it's nothing.

Thanks for letting me know what to expect, though. Will let you know what happens tomorrow

Keep your feet up, raise the end of the bed if you can or put pillows under your ankles if comfy to sleep on your back.

I do so feel for you, its a hard time.

Relax and let others do whatever they can to help, do not turn the offer of help down.. Pride has no place at the moment

Keep your feet up, raise the end of the bed if you can or put pillows under your ankles if comfy to sleep on your back.

I do so feel for you, its a hard time.

Relax and let others do whatever they can to help, do not turn the offer of help down.. Pride has no place at the moment

Thank you ... I will try. Sleeping on my back very uncomfortable, I get a bit breathless and lightheaded. I'll go to bed now I think, bit early but I am very tired so oh well!

Just really want to have the baby now! Fed up with all this nonsense and worrying about it.

Found out today that I have Group B Strep too so that's another thing on the list to panic over.

I'm never doing this again!

Morning BorgLady, I hope you managed to get some sleep and are feeling well this morning ?

Good luck with your BP today.

Hello, you ok ???? hope so x

Borglady - BP above 90 diastolic (the second number) is considered high, but without protein in your urine, or signs in your blood that your kidneys and liver are suffering, is just considered pregnancy induced hypertension.

The good news is that most women find their BP rises at the end of pregnancy - makes a lot of sense , your body is working it's arse off getting ready to push a person out your pelvis.

You should be aware (as well as headaches/visual disturbances) of the following signs:

• Right hand shoulder pain - like someone is pulling on your bra strap or squeezing your upper arm.

• Lower back pain on one side, or on both sides

• Discomfort in bright lights

• Fainting

Hope that helps.

Breathlessness is normal for the end of pregnancy.

Don't panic on the group b strep front. It's better than it's known about than not and it's treatable.

Just to add one more thing to add to the symptoms to be on the look out for- epigastric pain (upper abdomen), usually on the right hand side just below or near the bottom of your ribs. This can feel a bit like bad heartburn or wind but without acid reflux or breaking wind! The pain is actually caused by the liver, and is very often a sign of full-blown pre-eclampsia if accompanied by high BP or protein in urine. Full-blown PE can be confirmed fairly quickly with blood tests but is often readily deduced when the classic high BP & protein in urine symptoms are present.

Really hope your BP behaves and doesn't get any higher or amount to PE.

Good luck xx