Help, my daughter has preeclampsia again!

[Twinkey]

My daughter had preeclampsia during her last pregnancy and has just been diagnosed with preeclampsia in this pregnancy. She is 24 wks! As my daughter had eclamptic fits when her son was born, and she and her son nearly died, the family is now very worried about this pregnancy.
Her hospital visits have been increased to every second week and she has to see her local midwife in the weeks between. Blood pressure is ok at present, but she has protein in her urine, the umbilical cord is positioned too low, and the baby, normal at 20 wks, is now small for 24 wks.
My daughter has been told she is high risk for eclampsia again and it is expected that her blood pressure will soon start to rise, as it did in the previous pregnancy. Any advice please. Does anyone know if magnesium sulphate, calcium (she is lactose intollerant), aspirin, or vitamins would help?

Very sorry your daughter is going through this again. I had pre-eclampsia starting at 28 weeks in my first pg and took low dose aspirin in the second pg starting at 12 weeks, as advised by consultant - this has been shown to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. Maybe your daughter could speak to her consultant about it? There is also a very helpful website at www.apec.org.uk where she might be able to get some support.

There was a large Vitamins in Pre-eclampsia (VIP) trial which did not show any evidence for vitamins reducing the risk of PET, and my consultant told me that calcium supplements are only effective in women that are very deficient in calcium (could possibly be your daughter I suppose if she is lactose intolerant), usually malnourished women in devleoping countries. Afraid I don't know about the magnesium sulphate, thankfully I didn't get eclampsia.

I had 1+ protein in my urine from very early on in my second pg and still managed to make it until 39 weeks (a big improvement on my first pg!) - do hope your daughter will be the same.

Many thanks for your reply LiegeAndLief. My daughter was very ill during delivery of her ds and we nearly lost both. Needless to say, I am very anxious this time. I think I will ask my daughter to speak to her consultant with regards the calcium tablets and aspirin.
My daughter started pre-eclampsia very early in her first pg, but got safely over 20 wks this time. She has a problem with reduced flow of blood through the umbilical cord. The same problem arose with the my dgs!
She was in and out of hospital like a yoyo in the first pg, but obviously will have extra probs this time with a 2 yr old to care for.
I will check out the website you recommend.
My grateful thanks again.

I thought it was routine to give low dose Aspirin for subsequent pregnancies after PE? I would get her to see her consultant asap.

She can only really eat well & rest as much as possible, which granted, I know isn't easy with a toddler.

The reduced blood flow usually results in IUGR (In uterine growth restriction) for the baby, as it seems she is already suffering. Aspirin thins the blood & therefore should help it flow better through the placenta.

Tell her to watch for headaches that don't go with painkillers, sudden onset vomiting, visual problems, swelling - partic of face & upper abdominal pains that feel like heartburn.

I think that it would be wise that she be in 24 hour contact with you (or another adult) and that you have keys etc for her house. PE can quickly turn to Eclampsia & I think all bases need to be covered. Not trying to be alarmist, but a close friend almost lost her sister to Eclampsia. A few more moments & her & the baby would not be here.

As you know, the only cure for PE is to deliver baby, so something that you need to be prepared for.

How far in did she get last time?

Good Luck....I hope she will be ok!

Thank 'Sandcastles'. My dd got to 38 weeks in her last pg. She was then induced, over a 3 day period; the drugs didn't seem to work at first.
On the third day everything went pear-shaped, as the alarms were going off on all the monitors for both her and her ds. She was rushed to the theatre for an emergency cs, but the brilliant registrar somehow managed to do a quick forceps delivery, as my dd desperately didn't want a cs.
My dd had high blood pressure, protein in the urine, swelling of various parts of her body, fits, severe headaches, and pain under the ribs during the last pg. She had vomiting, but, as she is lactose intollerent, we didn't know what was the true cause of that.
She works 4 days a wk, a 90 minute journey across London, so that is another worry.
Will speak to her again about all this - especially the aspirin.

Many many thanks again.

I had PE in first pregnancy and so was given asprin from the start in my second. I had decreased blood flow during both pregnancies and problems with water levles too. Both my girls were small for weeks and were born 37 38 weeks weighing 5lb and 5lb3.
Def ask about asprin, make sure she rests if possible, and keep an eye on signs of swelling and headaches and weird floaty type things infront of eyes.
HTH

Thank you so much for your comments, it definitely helps. I am passing on all this information to my dd. She is taking the PEP more seriously this time around and her dh is deeply worried.