Advice From Mothers Who Almost Died

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh this thread is making me so incredibly nervous to give birth again, especially at Sibley. How do you all seemingly know your BP at any given time? Does everyone have BP cuffs at their house and I’m just finding this out now? I had normal blood pressure with my first until after I gave birth and I remember vaguely nurses being concerned but no one ever explained that you could have pre-e after birth or what to look out for...

My OB had me buy a bp machine so I could check mine at home at the end of my pregnancy when it was getting a bit elevated. I got it at CVS. I don't think it was all that expensive, maybe $30?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh this thread is making me so incredibly nervous to give birth again, especially at Sibley. How do you all seemingly know your BP at any given time? Does everyone have BP cuffs at their house and I’m just finding this out now? I had normal blood pressure with my first until after I gave birth and I remember vaguely nurses being concerned but no one ever explained that you could have pre-e after birth or what to look out for...

I took mine every time I went to the drug store or Harris teeter so I had a good baseline. After I was diagnosed I bought a cuff and used it religiously in my second, thankfully uneventful pregnancy. But it alerted me to a few post partum spikes that brought me back to triage. Imo it should be in te welcome packets hospitals issue to pregnant moms. No harm in checking your pressure one a day/ week whatever and it puts you in a position of knowledge (I'm the Georgetown poster above)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh this thread is making me so incredibly nervous to give birth again, especially at Sibley. How do you all seemingly know your BP at any given time? Does everyone have BP cuffs at their house and I’m just finding this out now? I had normal blood pressure with my first until after I gave birth and I remember vaguely nurses being concerned but no one ever explained that you could have pre-e after birth or what to look out for...

I'm also in a panic about this (pregnant!) and I have a BP cuff because I have white coat hypertension so I need to have a baseline. The Omron on Amazon (also available at CVS) is very affordable, works fine. Not a bad thing to have around.

[Anonymous]

I'd never deliver at sibley.

[Anonymous]

I was at risk for preE due to having immune issues. My MFM had me get a BP machine and take my BP twice a day. I did this religiously every morning and evening. I did not, however, think to do this after delivery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Advice from Serena Williams, who almost died, here.
https://www.vogue.com/article/serena-williams-vogue-cover-interview-february-2018

Shades of ProPublica’s year’s Long research into post partum complications here: https://twitter.com/propublica/status/951219421099503621

In reading that story about Serena Williams, all I could think was that if she were anyone else, she would have died. Hands down. It's not just because she was aggressive in pursuing care, it's because she was Serena Freaking Williams and they *had* to listen. Plenty of women are pushy about asking for follow up and they get blown off by their doctors. Plenty of women would have just gotten the leg ultrasounds as she did and nothing else (and then died from blood clots). It's completely scary and makes me glad I'm done having kids and was lucky that my providers listened when I had complications (urosepsis after having a kidney stone removed three weeks PP; ER did a CT to rule out other conditions, then admitted me, and put me on fluids, IV abx, and continuous cardiac monitoring).

[Anonymous]

I wonder how VHC fairs in all of this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how VHC fairs in all of this

+1
I delivered there twice and it all went well but I have no idea how well are they prepared for complications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the things the women in the article discuss are familiar to me. I had severe preeclampsia and gave birth at 29w. I also had 8 significant fibroids, which combined with low-platelets and an emergent c/s led to an emergency hysterectomy. There should have been much better communication between the various providers I was seeing-I assumed that they were sharing notes, but in retrospect I don't think that was necessarily true.

And while I totally support less medicalized births for lower-risk women, I think the natural birth community endangers the lives of women with preeclampsia every day. As one of the women in the article said, natural birth people say that preeclampsia happens to women who don't eat well and don't take care of themselves, and I've seen in books and online dangerous advice to try and fix preeclampsia with dietary and herb routines.

I don't think this is fair at all. Any "community" that gives advice not backed by science is dangerous. But, as someone who had pre-e and gave birth UNMEDICATED, I did not encounter this view at all.

+1 I had pre--e and also delivered without meds. I never encountered this advice. And we have to be careful to not call reddit / baby center / and occasionally DCUM as sites with advice. It's not medical advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I delivered at Georgetown. And they overall provided excellent care and I credit them with saving my life and my baby's life. I had fairly severe pre-eclampsia and an IUGR baby diagnosed at 33 weeks, was monitored VERY heavily (hospitalized for a week) for three weeks and on the day they induced me it developed into severe HELLP syndrome. We all made it. Thank god of course.

But while my doctors were great I do sometimes think about my 32 week checkup. I had gained 12 pounds in 4 weeks when I had been gaining 4 between checkups VERY reliably. I had suddenly swollen up and taken my wedding rings off. And my blood pressure was 135/80. That is not a terrible pressure but it is for me. My blood pressure is usually around 110/65. RARELY above 120/75. I mentioned all those things, I think I even made a joke about pre eclampsia and was told to not worry and it was totally normal blah blah blah.

I went into L&D a week later for some weird cramping and just honestly feeling in my gut that something wasn't quite right. The cramping ended up being nothing but my blood pressure was so high I was immediately admitted and given steroids because the doctors thought the baby would come that week. I knew my body, I knew my history, and I knew at that 32 week appointment and that something was off. I thank god I went in that day.

Similarly but worse (totally different hospital in another state) I delivered my second baby after a very heavily monitored but uneventful pregnancy and scheduled c section. The week before I delivered I had a BP spike and called triage immediately (137/88). It was after hours. The on call doctor called me back and basically made fun of me that I was worried about that. Despite that my medical records would have shown him my history of rapidly developing pre-e and HELLP etc. I couldn't believe it. My doctor called me the next day and had me come in and my pressures went down and everything was ok but I won't forget how enraged I was at that guy for minimizing me. He took me a little more seriously when I snapped at him that I almost died last time from pressures that started at about the same area but his instinct was to dismiss.

We HAVE to start listening to women. That is how we'll save them, listening.

This is me exactly. My BP steadily climbed, but was not clinically high which is why my docs missed my pre-e. I had also gained a lot of weight and had swelling. No protein in my urine or headaches. But now I know that how the symptoms were showing was typical. IDK how they missed it. I'm terrified of having another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I delivered at Georgetown. And they overall provided excellent care and I credit them with saving my life and my baby's life. I had fairly severe pre-eclampsia and an IUGR baby diagnosed at 33 weeks, was monitored VERY heavily (hospitalized for a week) for three weeks and on the day they induced me it developed into severe HELLP syndrome. We all made it. Thank god of course.

But while my doctors were great I do sometimes think about my 32 week checkup. I had gained 12 pounds in 4 weeks when I had been gaining 4 between checkups VERY reliably. I had suddenly swollen up and taken my wedding rings off. And my blood pressure was 135/80. That is not a terrible pressure but it is for me. My blood pressure is usually around 110/65. RARELY above 120/75. I mentioned all those things, I think I even made a joke about pre eclampsia and was told to not worry and it was totally normal blah blah blah.

I went into L&D a week later for some weird cramping and just honestly feeling in my gut that something wasn't quite right. The cramping ended up being nothing but my blood pressure was so high I was immediately admitted and given steroids because the doctors thought the baby would come that week. I knew my body, I knew my history, and I knew at that 32 week appointment and that something was off. I thank god I went in that day.

Similarly but worse (totally different hospital in another state) I delivered my second baby after a very heavily monitored but uneventful pregnancy and scheduled c section. The week before I delivered I had a BP spike and called triage immediately (137/88). It was after hours. The on call doctor called me back and basically made fun of me that I was worried about that. Despite that my medical records would have shown him my history of rapidly developing pre-e and HELLP etc. I couldn't believe it. My doctor called me the next day and had me come in and my pressures went down and everything was ok but I won't forget how enraged I was at that guy for minimizing me. He took me a little more seriously when I snapped at him that I almost died last time from pressures that started at about the same area but his instinct was to dismiss.

We HAVE to start listening to women. That is how we'll save them, listening.

This is me exactly. My BP steadily climbed, but was not clinically high which is why my docs missed my pre-e. I had also gained a lot of weight and had swelling. No protein in my urine or headaches. But now I know that how the symptoms were showing was typical. IDK how they missed it. I'm terrified of having another.

I'm the PP and I had my second last year!

I was, in some ways both more fearful AND less fearful than the last time. I mean the worst had happened and I had made it. But as I said to a friend of mine in a similar situation, the most dangerous thing about pre eclampsia is not knowing you have it. People like us will never not know again because we will have a cuff at home, check regularly, look for weird weight gain and swelling. Etc etc. And for my #2 I was put immediately with MFMs who coordinated with an OB on all my prenatal care. So I got a consult with an MFM in the beginning and then my OB was on high alert and when I got to 30 weeks I went to the high risk doctors for weekly ultrasounds and monitoring.

It was a different experience. Once you have had it once no one wants to risk missing it.

I ended up with nothing during my pregnancy and a little hypertension post partum on round 2, it was overall an unbelievably more positive experience, bonding with my son naturally has been cathartic in a way I had no idea I even needed or wanted. I will say that I really underestimated how traumatized I was by the first birth and so was surprised by how anxious and panicked I was in the month leading up to having the baby. I was CONVINCED I was going to die. If I could go back to old me I would have recommended seeing a therapist to talk through some of it. I was just a WRECK leading up to it, but then the whole birth was so easy and happy, it was amazing. Good luck PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I delivered at Georgetown. And they overall provided excellent care and I credit them with saving my life and my baby's life. I had fairly severe pre-eclampsia and an IUGR baby diagnosed at 33 weeks, was monitored VERY heavily (hospitalized for a week) for three weeks and on the day they induced me it developed into severe HELLP syndrome. We all made it. Thank god of course.

But while my doctors were great I do sometimes think about my 32 week checkup. I had gained 12 pounds in 4 weeks when I had been gaining 4 between checkups VERY reliably. I had suddenly swollen up and taken my wedding rings off. And my blood pressure was 135/80. That is not a terrible pressure but it is for me. My blood pressure is usually around 110/65. RARELY above 120/75. I mentioned all those things, I think I even made a joke about pre eclampsia and was told to not worry and it was totally normal blah blah blah.

I went into L&D a week later for some weird cramping and just honestly feeling in my gut that something wasn't quite right. The cramping ended up being nothing but my blood pressure was so high I was immediately admitted and given steroids because the doctors thought the baby would come that week. I knew my body, I knew my history, and I knew at that 32 week appointment and that something was off. I thank god I went in that day.

Similarly but worse (totally different hospital in another state) I delivered my second baby after a very heavily monitored but uneventful pregnancy and scheduled c section. The week before I delivered I had a BP spike and called triage immediately (137/88). It was after hours. The on call doctor called me back and basically made fun of me that I was worried about that. Despite that my medical records would have shown him my history of rapidly developing pre-e and HELLP etc. I couldn't believe it. My doctor called me the next day and had me come in and my pressures went down and everything was ok but I won't forget how enraged I was at that guy for minimizing me. He took me a little more seriously when I snapped at him that I almost died last time from pressures that started at about the same area but his instinct was to dismiss.

We HAVE to start listening to women. That is how we'll save them, listening.

This is me exactly. My BP steadily climbed, but was not clinically high which is why my docs missed my pre-e. I had also gained a lot of weight and had swelling. No protein in my urine or headaches. But now I know that how the symptoms were showing was typical. IDK how they missed it. I'm terrified of having another.

I'm the PP and I had my second last year!

I was, in some ways both more fearful AND less fearful than the last time. I mean the worst had happened and I had made it. But as I said to a friend of mine in a similar situation, the most dangerous thing about pre eclampsia is not knowing you have it. People like us will never not know again because we will have a cuff at home, check regularly, look for weird weight gain and swelling. Etc etc. And for my #2 I was put immediately with MFMs who coordinated with an OB on all my prenatal care. So I got a consult with an MFM in the beginning and then my OB was on high alert and when I got to 30 weeks I went to the high risk doctors for weekly ultrasounds and monitoring.

It was a different experience. Once you have had it once no one wants to risk missing it.

I ended up with nothing during my pregnancy and a little hypertension post partum on round 2, it was overall an unbelievably more positive experience, bonding with my son naturally has been cathartic in a way I had no idea I even needed or wanted. I will say that I really underestimated how traumatized I was by the first birth and so was surprised by how anxious and panicked I was in the month leading up to having the baby. I was CONVINCED I was going to die. If I could go back to old me I would have recommended seeing a therapist to talk through some of it. I was just a WRECK leading up to it, but then the whole birth was so easy and happy, it was amazing. Good luck PP.

PP here. thanks so much for those words. I am constantly talking myself down. I think I will have to see someone to deal with the trauma...might be useful before getting pregnant again

[Anonymous]

Don't stop listening to your body after leaving the hospital. The early weeks postpartum have their own risks, and it's so easy to write off symptoms when you're distracted by a newborn. There was no sign anything was wrong with me until 2 weeks after birth, when a postpartum blood clot cut off circulation to my gut. Even then I thought the cramping and nausea were from a virus or food poisoning.
And on the clotting subject, make sure your OB knows about any personal or family history of blood clots or strokes. There are risk management guidelines that lay out which patients should be put on anticoagulant therapy as a precaution both before and after the birth. If you end up with a C-section, ask in the hospital if that now puts you into a category that is recommended to get postpartum anticoagulation.