Pre-eclampsia, HELLP & future pregnancies
Johnson (kmj@frugal.com)
Wed, 27 Mar 1996 15:20:15 +0000
I was beginning to think that I was the only one on this list who had
delivered early for something other than pre-term labor. It's been nice
for me to see others in similar situations to my own. I had PIH with my
first pregnancy, resulting in limited activity in the last month and
induction at 40 weeks. I only spilled "trace amounts" of protein into
my urine -- nothing significant except the elevated b.p. My son weighed
a whopping 9 lbs. 8 oz. at birth.
With my second pregnancy, my blood pressure began climbing in my sixth
month. Because of my previous history, I took it upon myself to have it
checked twice a week at the fire station and tried very hard to take it
easy (lots of cross stitch, videos and reading stories to my son). One
weekend, I began swelling incredibly. When I had my b.p. checked on
that Monday, it was clear up to 162/120. My husband was on the phone
immediately to my OB, who placed me on strict bed-rest. She saw me on
Wednesday, at which time I was spilling so much protein into my urine
that the dip-stick was maxed out. Once she received the lab work back
(blood work and 24-hr. urine test), I was admitted to the hospital.
We were very fortunate in that my labs stabled out. The nurses and docs
kept telling us that things could change very quickly, but fortunately
for us, that never happened. I ended up being induced after an amnio.
showed an L/S ratio of 2.6/1 (my OB says they look for 2/1). My OB and
the perinatologist agreed that because the L/S ratio came back looking
so good, it was better to induce than to await the crisis point for
either myself or the baby.
Because I developed PIH in both of my pregnancies (common usually only
in the first), three docs have told us not to plan on having anymore
children. Apparently, in cases like mine (I'm the exception, not the
rule), the PIH would get progressively worse and would come earlier with
each pregnancy. I have since heard about two different family friends
who developed serious PIH *very* early and had to abort so as not to
jeopardize their own lives. I would agonize over making a decision like
that. I am scheduled to have my tubes tied at the end of April. While
I feel *very* blessed to have the two children that I have, I am going
through a grief process that the decision has been made for us not to
have any more. I can't express in words how difficult this has been on
me. I am blessed with a very loving and supportive husband who has been
a great shoulder to cry on and has wonderful listening ears.
Sorry this is so long. This is definitely one of those "do I send it or
not?" Hope it's okay.
Blessing to all and hugs to the little ones, {{{ }}}
Marci, mommy to Kyle (2/94, 40 wks) and Melissa (11/95, 32 wks)