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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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...

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...