high blood pressure and homebirth

[whoabethy]

i'm really sad. my blood pressure has been creeping up in the past week or so. today it was 140/95. will this ruin my chances for homebirth?

has anyone gone on bed rest and then was still able to have their homebirth?

[Doberbrat]

it might b/c if it gets much higher or you have additional complications that point to pre-e, then you may need to be induced.

my ob will let me rest to bring down my bp but once I start spilling protine in my urine and having other symptoms i'm all done.

I hope you get the hb you desire!

[Lily's_Mom]

We're in the same boat. I hope you bp doesn't go any higher, and that you don't develop any other hypertensive-disorder symptoms.

low blood pressure vibes!

[MamaMonica]

Moved to Homebirth.

[nashvillemidwife]

Regardless of any other symptoms, if you can't get your blood pressure under control you will be at risk for placental abruption. Home birth really would not be advisable in that case.

[MidwifeErika]

I have seen "bedrest" (women just relaxing at home rather than stuck in their actual bed) work in some cases to bring down bp... this was in women who had far too much on their plate and needed permission to give up those outside responsibilities. Once they cut out all of those demands and just rested and meditated and relaxed then their bp went down. It may or may not work, but it could be worth a shot.

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by nashvillemidwife

Regardless of any other symptoms, if you can't get your blood pressure under control you will be at risk for placental abruption. Home birth really would not be advisable in that case.

Not to mention seizure and strokes.

[Kidzaplenty]

Originally Posted by nashvillemidwife

Regardless of any other symptoms, if you can't get your blood pressure under control you will be at risk for placental abruption. Home birth really would not be advisable in that case.

Is there a number where this is more likely to happen? And what do you consider "under control"? Would that mean a stable number even if it were a bit higher than "normal"? Or would that mean it had to come down to a certain number and stay there?

[violet]

All those cautions and signs of Pre-E and placental abruption are the reasons why high BP won't be tolerated for a homebirth if you can't get it to stabilize. BUT, that doesn't mean that your high BP might just be a high BP that you CAN bring under control. I had high bp but no other signs of trouble sometime around 25 weeks I believe (with my first preg). I increased my exercise and walked before every appointment. I was working as a teacher and on my feet/sitting down a lot each day, so getting moving took some effort. The walking and calming exercises, lots of fluids, watching salt intake... the usual stuff for moderating bp. Mine was as high and even higher than 140/95. But it came back down. I was high but stable in the 130's/90 I think during the 3rd trimester (sometimes lower). I had a successful homebirth and get this--during the birth, my BP stayed LOW! And it's never been high since - through 3 more pregnancies! So yeah - BP is the first sign where you start looking for other signs and it might mean trouble. But don't freak out first. First, see if you can bring the BP down while you wait to see if other things are pointing to trouble.

[GoBecGo]

Is your thyroid healthy? I had high essential BP dx during pregnancy (145/85 at 11weeks) and it got as high as 178/109 once or twice because they kept making me go to hospital to have it checked and i was SO stressed out there. Because they give you 15 points diastolic leeway so long as i managed to get it under 100 i was allowed home again (i did this with meditation and headphones on the hospital bed...). It turned out after my pregnancy that the "glands" in my neck my midwife had dismissed was my thyroid gland and hypothyroidism had caused my BP issues. I was just booked for this pregnancy, BP was 138/72 (systolic is always high, i have white-coat) because now i am medicated!

I got my homebirth, and during labour, about 16 minutes before DD was born my BP was 132/78.

[billikengirl]

When mine started creeping up we did a liver panel to get comfortable with just treating my BP, and we got it under control with rest (cutting back hours at work, etc) and herbs. My BP was great during labor and I got my homebirth.

[chelle.ra]

i am concerned about my bp, too, and trying to be proactive at 13 weeks. one of the midwives (w/29 years experience) we met with said she's had a few mom's who she showed their partener how to take their bp at home and report it. the partener was told NOT to tell mom when it was going to be done. they all had lower bp's with this method, and were able to home birth. that may help! good luck!

[Nicole730]

Try adding more protein into your diet. I hope you are able to keep your homebirth!

[Monkey Keeper]

Originally Posted by Kidzaplenty

Is there a number where this is more likely to happen? And what do you consider "under control"? Would that mean a stable number even if it were a bit higher than "normal"? Or would that mean it had to come down to a certain number and stay there?

The unfortunate reality is that it is different for everyone. It depends on your body's ability to withstand the pressures. Some women stroke or seize at pressures barely diagnostic (140/90) while others--like me--withstand pressures over 180/120. It's a crapshoot, which is why it's a complication that risks out of low intervention situations. It also can progress very, very quickly without notice.

Originally Posted by Nicole730

Try adding more protein into your diet. I hope you are able to keep your homebirth!

Actually, this can be dangerous advice for someone who has pre-e as their kidneys may be compromised.


whoabethy--Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy stink. I hope your BP levels off and you are able to keep your homebirth plans. But PIH and pre-e are nothing to mess with. Sending some low BP vibes your way

[sept15lija]

Just wanted to send low blood pressure vibes...I'm having the same fears, my blood pressure has been stable for the whole pregnancy until just recently, it went up to 126/86 (had been 130/80 - they are usually more concerned with the bottom number I believe). Anyhow I decided to go and see a naturopath to see if I could help things, and it's been two weeks and my blood pressure seems to have now stabilized around 120/80 at the naturopath or midwife's office, and 110/70 at home. So you might try that route to see if you can help things - good luck!

[sharr610]

have you tried a decent cal/mag supplement? Accupuncture can also work wonders. good luck!

[bicyclingbethany]

What is your normal blood pressure?

*This is a lengthy response, but I want to give you a detailed idea of my choices, situation, and the outcome to help you make the best decision!*


All throughout my pregnancy and before I was extremely healthy- plenty of exercise, DP works on an organic farm so lots of good veggies, etc. But the last few weeks it really started to change.

Pre-pregnancy bp: 105/65
Mid-pregnancy bp: 95/60
Late (elevated) bp: 130/90 (that was just about the highest reading; it was steadily increasing inbetween)

I had a fantastic midwife, and encouraged me to rest, up the protein (I had no protein in my urine ever), take Chloroxygen supplements, eat beets and cucumber daily. This helped keep it down for several weeks, but with tons of prodromal labor it went right back up, and when she saw the 130/90 reading, she told me that I had to go into active labor in 24 hours or we were going to the hospital.

I did go into active labor, and everything went very well, but there were some things that stunk that were directly caused by the elevated BP:

1. No water birth. It can raise it even further.
2. I had to labor lying on my left side the entire time. No getting up, walking around, rocking through ctx, etc. Even during pushing! (Only in the last few moments was I allowed to sit up).
3. Hemorrhaging after the placenta came out. I lost about 800 mls- enough for me to have to crawl to the bathroom for the first 8 hours.


All this being said, I did get a homebirth, but it was made much more difficult due to the elevated BP (and my numbers are low for many people- it really just depends on you!). Talk to your midwife about any and all things you can do to help keep it down.

Sending you low BP and beautiful birthing vibes!!

[nashvillemidwife]

"Water birth" does not raise your blood pressure. Water that is excessively hot can. Unfortunately, that it what is often advocated ("water must be body temperature"; that is not supported by any evidence).

[Kidzaplenty]

Originally Posted by nashvillemidwife

"Water birth" does not raise your blood pressure. Water that is excessively hot can.

Really? I was told by the nurses at the hospital with my last birth to be very careful of taking a hot shower because it could drop my b/h very quickly and make me dizzy. Since I was having high b/p issues, I figured it was a good thing to take hot showers.

Were they wrong? Something else for me to check out now.

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by Kidzaplenty

Really? I was told by the nurses at the hospital with my last birth to be very careful of taking a hot shower because it could drop my b/h very quickly and make me dizzy. Since I was having high b/p issues, I figured it was a good thing to take hot showers.

Were they wrong? Something else for me to check out now.

I've had severe preeclampsia twice, spent a total of 4 weeks in the hospital, and was never advised to take hot showers or not take hot showers. My showers were limited due to bedrest, but the temperature was never mentioned.