Cloudly Urine and blood pressure

[nickyb86]

Im 12 week and I saw my MW today. She told me i needed to do another urine sample as mine was cloudy, and rather embarrassingly told me to have a clean! Lol!

But got home and went for a wee and realise my urine is cloudly and it has been all day!

Is this normal or could this be a sign of infection or pre-eclampsia? And is it poss to get pre-eclampsia so early?

Also my blood pressure was 130/70 and she told me i need to get it town and blamed it on my weight (BMI of 33.9) although when i was in hospital when 7 weeks my blood pressure was fine? Could it be due to stressing out? And if not how do i get it lower as she makes me feel bad about my weight!

Thanks ladies
xx

bump

The top number can be affected by being stressed when your BP is taken. Your bottom number is fine, and according to the midwives/consultants I'm seeing, the bottom number is the one they are more concerned about.

Don't let the MW bully you about your weight. My BMI is way higher than yours, and my BP is absolutely fine. Try not to let them stress you out. Plenty of women with high BMI have healthy pregnancies, but if you look around the MN forums you'll find so many of us who are made to feel like scum of the earth for having the audacity to be pregnant and fat!

Also, do you have large upper arms? If so, you may need to insist they use a large BP cuff. Using the wrong size can artificially inflate the top number if the cuff is too small. My MW insisted using the standard cuff was fine on me, but my GP, the consultant, several other midwives, the NHS clinical guidelines, and 20 years of peer-reviewed research show that she was a complete idiot and was just WRONG. I got rid of her and am still considering whether to make a complaint. After all the flak they give us about being fat, the least they can do is do the clinical measurements correctly!

yankncock is talking sense definitely worth checking the cuff next time!

pre-eclampsia is not usually this early so don't worry about that yet-the cloudy urine is more likely to be an infection...it could be contaminated by vaginal discharge which may have been why she suggested a 'clean' but jeez there are ways to say it without making you feel bad!!!! i can't believe the cheek of her!!!!! symptoms would be things like burning when you wee, lower abdo pain and/or back pain. or it could be completely asymptomatic! it needs sending to the lab for THEM to decide whether it is a suitable sample!

as for your BP and BMI -there is no concern there (140/90 is the point for concern)!! a BMI of 35 is the cut off in our local birth unit for a 'low risk' birth so you're fine! a higher BMI at the onset of pregnancy can predispose you to gestational diabetes i think, so as long as you eat healthily (same applies to everyone!) then you and the baby will be healthy too. glad i don't have your midwife!

And here is the NHS Clinical Knowledge Summary about taking BP in pregnancy. If your upper arm circumference if 33cm or above, she should be using the large cuff. I ended up measuring myself and printing out that document to carry around with me in case anyone tried to use the standard cuff on me again.

I had cloudy urine on and off for days at a time for during first and second trimester.. and yes I was having plenty of showers and baths!
I spoke to my doctor and she had no concerns and said it often isnt a sign of anything being wrong. A couple of my samples I had to hand to the midwife were cloudy and she said nothing about it.

I was even being mornitered for early pre enclampsia for a short while but only due to headaches and swelling feet early on, I wondered about the cloudy urine but was again told it wouldn't be a sign.

Also your BMI, not even that high! BMI of 40 is the cut off point in my area for getting anysort of extra monitering/help in you pregnancy. My BMI is 36 and my doctor and midwife are not the slightest bit worried.

Cloudy urine is not a symptom of pre eclampsia or infection. 130/70 is not a high blood pressure in absolute terms, mine was 140/90 throughout the pregnancy (normal for me), when I developed pre eclampsia in the third trimester my BP went up to 170/100. It's the bottom number that is the most relevant for pre eclampsia. So I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. Pre eclampsia usually occurs later in pregnancy (after week 20 usually).
I invested in a blood pressure monitor (they cost about £60) and measured my BP myself throughout my pregnancy, as when a doctor reads it it's always higher than normal. Perhaps your GP could lend you one, or you could hire one? That's if you are concerned about your BP. Is your GP suportive? You might want to talk to him if you are worried, they usually know a lot about BP. xx

I am astonished that she thinks 70 is high (the top figure is not really relevant). Did you have incredibly low BP when booking in or something? I know they go by what is normal for you but even so I can't imagine how low your BP would have to be normally for them to think that 70 was high.

My BMI was highish last time & in late pg I was borderline for the larger cuff - sometimes they used it sometimes they didn't - it did seem to shave a few points off it though when they did, when my BP spiked in late pregnancy. Agree with PPs that they wouldn't normally consider it danger zone 'til the bottom figure was 90. And also that your BMI is really not that high.

And as for her ignorance regarding the treatment of your sample - I am astonished.

Is she actually a qualified midwife or do you think she could be an imposter? If I were you I think I might be asking to see a different midwife. One with manners would be nice, but one with basic medical knowledge is rather elementary!

she told me 70 was normal and the 130 part was concering 'for someone of my age'. im 22 btw. my booking appointment bp was 130/70 aswell. also then she told me my bmi was 35, and i googled it and if i was i would of needed to be 9lbs heavier!

i just get upset as ive had alot of problems recently and worrying about an uncooperative mother and whether im going to have my own place to live slightly worries me!

I was in hosp at 7 weeks and my blood pressure was fine.

could it be thgat she usual a hand blood pressure pump and not an electric one like they did in the hospital?

starting to wonder if i should get a new midwife and if so how do i go about it?

130 is definitely not high. My consultant told me that what they look out for is a sudden rise in BP. Ie 140/90 was not concerning for me because it's my normal BP. Your BP has not risen, ie no issue. OK so it might rise later on but you're very far from the danger zone. My BP was around 130 when I was your age (I'm now 38 and it's around 140), some people just have a higher BP. Don't let the woman stress you out! If you have a healthy diet and remain active, there's no reason why you can't have a healthy pregnancy especially at your age. High BP becomes more of a risk for old hags like me. xx

BTW manual pumps are judged to be as or more accurate than electric ones. The issue is more that the cuff size might be wrong, and that if you're stressed your BP will be higher. Again 130 is not high. All you can do is have a healthy lifestyle and keep stress under control, but you can't just lower BP just like that, my BP is borderline high but there's sod all I can do about it. Silly midwife.

Mouette is right. It is more likely to be the cuff than the manual pump.

However, the midwife is the main problem. The top figure (the 130 figure) is not a problem. This is the figure that is highly influenced by things like stress/coffee. The midwife putting you under pressure, miscalculating your BMI etc . are exactly the sort of things that could raise that figure. However, even if that figure is raised, if the bottom figure remains normal noone would bat an eyelid normally.

You don't have a problem with high BP. You do, however, have a problem with a midwife who at the very least has a worrying lack of understanding of her job and at worst has a serious prejudice about your (slightly) high BMI.

Honestly, you are only 12 weeks and having her causing all sorts of unnecessary alarm as well as being plain rude. Do you really want to be dealing with her when you are 37 weeks & fed up? Or when you are in labour?

You have every right to request a different midwife. Please think seriously about doing so.

Will second that, if your midwife is really pissing you off, phone up the supervisor and say you want a different midwife! I stuck with my really crap one for way too long, and switching was not a problem.