mild hypertension in the final few weeks

[Anonymous]

Has anyone else had borderline high blood pressure in the last weeks of pregnancy? I don't have preeclampsia and my doctors know about it but I am wondering if it got worse or stayed the same for others or how it affected your labor, if at all?

(Most of the reading I've found on the subject is focused on preeclampsia.)

[Anonymous]

Maybe try walking a little bit--also if you are retaining water, try eating watermelon since it's a natural diuretic but...don't eat after 6 p.m.--I did this and was peeing all night long

[Anonymous]

Does retaining water affect blood pressure? Good to know!

[Anonymous]

I too suffered from mild hypertension in the third trimester with my DS. That meant LOTS of extra monitoring (I had a fetal stress test every week and of course urine/ blood testing to rule out pre-eclampsia) and when I went into labor, I had the blood pressure cuff on the entire time. Plus, the L&D nurses made me lay on my left side almost the entire 23 hour labor (although not once did I test hypertensive while I was in labor). I was never put on any medication- just the extra monitoring. I was also planned for induction at 40 weeks (although DS came a week early). I was lucky that the mild hypertension never developed into something worse. Still, all the extra monitoring that went into effect once I received that initial hypertensive reading was a bit off-putting. Know that you now will likely be labeled as "high risk" which has followed me into my current pregnancy although all blood pressure readings so far have been normal. Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

My blood pressure jumped up in my 37th week. The nurse who took the BP commented that I would be delivering soon. I delivered a week later and my blood pressure never got crazy. From the nurses comment, I would think that there is a natural jump in BP leading up to delivery.

I thought the numbers were strange and I asked the doc, she seemed totally unconcerned. I think it went from 90-100/60 (during the whole pregnancy) to 128/70 or something like that.

[Anonymous]

How high are your BPs and how many weeks do you have to go? PE is usually diagnosed after 2 office readings of 140/90 and protein in your urine. PIH or gestational hypertension is the higher BPs without the protein. Both are dangerous and can change quickly. In fact you can develop PIH and full blown PE right at delivery and post partum for up to six weeks.

You may want to buy a home BP monitor and just start monitoring a few times a day. With PE you can through a stage where your BP is labile or spikes and then goes down when you lay on your left side. Laying on your left side is a bit controversial though all the docs and nurses have you do it. It can give a false low number.

The protein dips in the office are not that accurate. If you do hit 140/90 you should ask your ob/gyn to do a 24 hour urine test and blood work.

I developed PIH at 28 weeks and made it to 33 with my first child. For my second child, it developed milder and later around 35 weeks and I made it to term but my BP went off the charts, way off the charts when I delivered. No stroke but it was scary.

[Anonymous]

Does retaining water affect blood pressure? Good to know!

Edema or water retention is another sympton of developing PE.

[Anonymous]

I had PIH towards the end. My OB's put me on bedrest as when I was laying down my blood pressure was much more normal.

Also, if you have swelling now...wait until you deliver. No one told me I'd swell even more after delivery. It took about 2 weeks for the swelling to go down.

[Anonymous]

I am 38 weeks pregnant and have had a borderline high BP reading for the last several weeks. My midwife has said the important thing is that the BP is not increasing--it's high, but it has been stable for several weeks, so she said as long as it doesn't jump up, we don't need to do anything agressive except continue to monitor it. She did recommend that I avoid physical activity, drink lots of water, and eat foods that are natural diuretics, like watermelons and lemons. She also had me take a 24-hour urine test to check for protein. I've been trying to just take it easy, keeping my feet up to reduce swelling and spending as much time as I can just resting. She has not mentioned anything about constant BP monitoring when I go into labor. Maybe I will ask about that!

[Anonymous]

My BP started to elevate around 30 wks. It kept going up gradually until around 36 wks they tested for protein (didn't find any) & sent me to hosp for stress tests & BP monitoring (I think it was around 140-150/90-95 - which is why they sent me). They let me go home, but told me to go back to OB's office a few days later to get BP tested again. It was high again so they sent me back to hops. again for stress tests, BP monitoring, etc. The OB said that in his experience, it was not going to get better, it would only get worse & it was just a matter of when. He said it could end up being very dangerous so they would want to keep me very closely monitored (like every day or two). He suggested being induced b/c he said there was no way I'd make it to full term (I was 37 wks). I really did not want to be induced, but trusted his judgement and went for it. Due to the high BP I had to have my BP monitored continuously and the baby's while I was in labor (major pain in the butt). We both ended up fine, with a very fast vaginal delivery. Its good that your MW is monitoring this - it can change quickly. Good luck to you!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

"I am 38 weeks pregnant and have had a borderline high BP reading for the last several weeks. My midwife has said the important thing is that the BP is not increasing--it's high, but it has been stable for several weeks, so she said as long as it doesn't jump up, we don't need to do anything agressive except continue to monitor it."

Oh dear, please, please go see a good ob/gyn or MFM or get a second opinion if by high you are seeing anything over 130/80 or if you normally have low BP and are hitting 120/70. These are borderline readings below the diagnostic 140/90. I am a big supporter of mid wives, low intervention birth and going natural. They are wonderful but neither trained nor qualified to deal with hypertension. There is alot of dated and downright information on PIH and PE out there, it is was one of the most poorly understood and dangerous conditions in ob/gyn. Diet, water intake and other approaches, while good things to do in general for pregnancy, will not stop, slow down or reserve the chain reactions that occur with PIH and PE. It is not a disease that occurs only in first pregnancies, though it is rarer to not develop it in one and develop it subsequent ones. Having had PIH or PE is the greatest risk factor for getting it again.

It can change, develop, and speed up VERY quickly. There are many heartbreaking stories on PE forums filled with women whose outcomes could have been changed if their ob/gyn or mid wife had acted sooner. PIH and PE only get worse as the pregnancy advances and the process tends to speed up quickly once you go over the edge. You can go from mild PE to severe PE or full blown HELLP in less than a few days.

I have been through it twice and know many other women in the same boat. I do not in anyway agree with elective inductions, c-sections for poor reasons, all the medical interventions that many low risk women seem to get pushed into, and always question things. Where PIH and PE concerned though, these are TRUE medical reasons for intervention. Its hard because you don't feel sick and most general pregnancy books only include a sentence or two. Add to this all the problems with dated information and wrong information regarding diet and salt intake and your greatest risk is to fall into the unmanaged situation.

During your second trimester there is a dip in BP that begins to rise back to your first trimester levels. If it rises higher than your first trimester range or gets into the borderline/diagnostic range it is of concern. It is currently believed that PE/PIH establishes itself during the implantation of the placenta and developing blood vessels. As the fetus grows, requires more blood flow, the placenta can not deliver based on the blood vessel insufficiency. A substance is released by the placenta that has an effect on blood vessel constriction...causes spasms and changes that shred them to get more oxygen/blood to the fetus. This creates a chain reaction effecting the supply throughout your body, hypertension results, kidney function decreases, liver function and blood clotting (HELLP is a rarer but serious severe form) breakdown, the spikes and high BP can lead to seizures (eclampsia) and stroke, risk of placental abruption significantly increases and the fetus is often deprived of oxygen and nutrients leading to IUGR.

The only "cure" is to fully the deliver the placenta and you are not entirely out of the woods until 6 weeks post partum. PE can be superimposed for individuals who have chronic hypertension but it often strikes people (myself included) who had no apparant risk factors, were in great shape, felt great and were not overweight. Multiples can increase the chances and many people who develop PIh or PE may have genetic predispositions that would not have been aware and that are not commonly screened for in the general population.

[Anonymous]

I was induced both times due to high BPs, they started off borderline and then on the last day stayed consistently at 165/115 even though I was taking blood pressure meds. I never spilled any proteine, but all the other signs made the doctors believe that it was too dangerous to keep me pregnant. My son was delivered at 36 weeks, my daughter at 38 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Mine went up a little around week 35, and I ate lots of watermelon and fruit, napped A LOT, and did very easy swimming and floating in the water. Also quit having my 1-2 cups of caffinated tea each day--no caffiene.

BP is now back down.

[Anonymous]

I posted that last reply about swimming. Just to clarify, at the highest, my BP was 120. Normally it is low--90 or so. So the midwife and OB/GYN decided not to intervene with bed rest or inducing.

[Anonymous]

PP here: I'm the one who said my midwife had said as long as BP wasn't rising we didn't need to do anything aggressive. Thanks for your concern. I do not feel the need for a second opinion; my midwives are very experienced, consult with the OBs in their practice, and what they are recommending seems reasonable. As I mentioned, I have had a 24-hour urine test, and I'm going in every couple of days for BP checks. The BP has not risen, and I am pretty much on constant bed rest except for those visits. When I am lying down, my BP is at my normal pre-pregnancy levels. A friend of mine, who has the same midwives, did develop pre-eclampsia, and the midwives acted very quickly to deal with the situation. She ended up delivering a healthy baby at 35 weeks. So I feel confident that if my situation were to worsen, the midwives would know how to deal with it appropriately. I am now at 39 weeks and hoping labor will start on its own very soon; we've talked about inducing if it does not and my BP is still high.