Induction for signs of pre-eclampsia at 37.5 weeks?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all of the really informative information. I am not generally opposed to being induced, if indicated, and I don't even mind all that much if it results in a c-section. I just want to make sure baby is healthy and so I really want him to stay put for as long as he needs to. Obviously, if things get bad, and they want to induce, I'm okay with that, but I guess I worry I may end up in a situation where things are pretty mild, not full-blown PE, but based on gestational age, the doctor might say let's just induce and so I was wondering if it would be worth it to ask to stay on bed rest for a week or two. Again, I trust my doctor so I guess I will just go with her recommendation. Thanks all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Stop being such a whack job. The point is that she doesn't have any clear signals indicating PE. Therefore, working with her body to lower her BP is definitely not "awful and dangerous" advice. Many many midwives - extremely competent maternity care providers - recommend these exact things. And, they have great success with them. Just because YOUR personal experience was full blown eclampsia, doesn't mean that everyone with a slightly elevated bp and some swelling in their legs is going to keel over from pre-e. "

What a rude and dismissive response. PP was kind enough to write a very detailed message based on her hard earned experience, just because you disagree there is no need to resort to name-calling.

OP, I had a bp reading of 140, swelling & protein in my urine at my 37 wk appt. My midwife consulted with the doctor, who in turn called a high risk specialist and the three of them spoke on a conference call and decided to send me to the hospital immediately for induction. I was not favorable at all (baby hadn't dropped, not dilated at all), and the induction took a very long time but I delivered vaginally and my bp went down immediately after delivery. You may not ever develop PE or PIH, but it is good that your providers are monitoring the situation and you have the luxury to research it now and be informed ahead of time about possible outcomes. There was an interesting article about PE in the New Yorker a few years ago and how little drs. know about what causes it, you can probably find it online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Stop being such a whack job. The point is that she doesn't have any clear signals indicating PE. Therefore, working with her body to lower her BP is definitely not "awful and dangerous" advice. Many many midwives - extremely competent maternity care providers - recommend these exact things. And, they have great success with them. Just because YOUR personal experience was full blown eclampsia, doesn't mean that everyone with a slightly elevated bp and some swelling in their legs is going to keel over from pre-e. "

Wow, not nice at all. The PP wrote a VERY helpful and informative post about her personal experiences - and she is absolutely right, no amount of exercise, homeopathic medicine, accupuncture - whatever - is going to make it go away. The only cure for Pre-e is delivery. That's it. You can look in any medical journal, text, website, whatever - there is no cure other than to deliver the baby. Doctors don't even really understand what causes pre-e but they do know that delivering the baby (if done in time) can reverse the pre-e bedfore it goes into HELLP syndrome. Magnesium sulfate will perhaps buy you some time but it's a nasty drug with really miserable side effects, and it still doesn't cure the pre-e. And once you get into HELLP or even DIC, many women do not survive. That's why delivery has to be done.

Now, whether the OP has any clear signals of pre-e is open for debate. 120/80, even if high for her, doesn't sound all that alrming. But she's smart to research pre-e and she'd be even smarter to listen to what medical professionals have to say about it.

[Anonymous]

I was induced at 39 weeks for PE w/ my first. The induction took over 30 hours and was no picnic, however I'm glad I didn't push my doctors to wait any longer. I was lucky in that my pressure wasn't too bad (it was still labile and would come down if I laid on my side) but I was spilling 3+ protein. I say lucky because I still felt pretty good and my doctors weren't worried enough about me that I had to get put on mag in the hospital, which I heard can make some people feel pretty bad. I'm now at 39 weeks into my second pregnancy and my pressure is starting to get labile again, though I don't have any protein in my urine. Unfortunately, my cervix is still not dilated. My doctors are sort of the opposite as yours in that they aren't as worried about my BP as I am and are willing to let me see if I'll go into labor naturally. Actually, it's not that I'm worried, it's just that I'm more comfortable trying an induction (or even a c-section-- YIKES-- flame away) so that I don't get really sick before I go to the hospital. All that said, your symptoms seem mild, so I wouldn't worry too much just yet.

Lastly, I second the PP who cautioned against advice like exercise to bring down your BP. Hypertension in pregnancy is quite different than hypertension outside pregnancy. Even if it's not caused by preeclampsia, you have no way of knowing that now. Besides, even if you weren't pregnant, exercise doesn't bring your BP down in a mere matter of days. One thing that is safe, that doctors often recommend is to spend some time each day laying on your left side to take the pressure off your circulatory system and increase the blood flow to your baby.