Hi all,
dw is 31+4 (edd 2nd August) and has been 120/80 throughout pg. Thursday night she had shivers and headaches so MIL (retired doc) checked BP. This was high so we went to the hossie late at night for the pros to check her over. SIL has just visited from the States and was due to leave a couple of days later (they're v. v. close), and the emotional stress could be a contributing factor.
They traced the baby (little one is fine, supported by a scan the next day) and did occasional bp checks. Pressure remained high (I was stressed, and didn't note any readings, but IIRC it was around 160 - 195 / 87 - 97), so they kept her in overnight and BP but was closer to normal the next day. Urine and bloods on admission returned normal, 'slight trace nothing to worry about' (proteinuria) in the AM.
As dw has a few risk factors for PE (MIL's a food-controlled diabetic, dw is overweight), and I wasn't super happy with the monitoring at the hospital or the 'wait till Monday and we'll see',. I chose to check BP at home with an upper-arm digital cuff. (I'm aware this is sometimes not considered helpful, but I'm not prepared to risk missing very high BP / early PE).
She has remained between 150 - 160 over around 90 this weekend. She had headaches and vomitted a few times the night before last, but no visual disturbances / upper right chest pain.
-
Does anyone have experience of developing maternal hypertension in their pg, and can you advise what levels they 'mointored closely' and at what level they sought to medicate ?
-
Mears, I searched archives for previous posts you'd made on hypertension, and noticed you made the point essential hypertension can be separate from PE and does not necessarily imply PE is inevitable. I also found from a post a few years ago a useful link to a BP article in midwiferytoday. Can I ask what the current mindset is regarding maternal hypertension / levels / duration before medication, and if you had any experience with clients who did better on particular meds than others ? (Also, once meds start is it likely to be until birth, or is it feasible to gradually reduce dose to zero after a given period to evaluate if the medication in still necessary). DW doesn't smoke / drink and has had no caffeine since falling pg).
Thanks for any input, apologies for the long post.
(Slightly worried hub).