Pre Eclampsia « Back to Group Discussions

[babytoes]

Hi everyone!

Tear78 and Peace+Hope started talking about their pre-e experiences and I thought it would be a great thread to start. Here is a screen shot of their threads for reference...

I also had pre-e with my second and third pregnancy. The first one I started spilling protein in my urine at about 34 weeks. I made it to 40 but by then my levels were about 5500 and the OB that oversees the midwife team decided to put me on mag/sulf and pit. It was the worst labor and delivery. I was in labor for about 16 hours, and the pit was cranked up so high that every contraction was ridiculously intense! When I finally started to push I was exhausted and I ran out of steam. I was laying on my side and this baby's head was sticking out of me!! He was stuck, and thank God the midwife was very experienced because she yelled up to me, and said "Jessica, you gotta FLIP OVER!!" I remember thinking, has she lost her mind? I can't flip over with this head sticking out of me! But I did it, and as soon as I was on my hands and knees, within the next contraction he came right out!  

With my third we noticed protein starting to spill about 37.5 weeks. Again I made it to 40, and the last sample they took it was over 7000. The overseeing OB again came to me and said he wanted to start mag/sulf. I looked him straight in the eye and NO. I said, I want 24 hours to have this baby my way, no pit, no mag/sulf, and if I cant do it in that time, I will do it your way. He said okay, we'll do what you want. It was the best birth!! I was in labor for 3.5 hours, and had DS3 underwater in the birthing tub. He came so fast that he bruises all over his poor little face. I think I pushed 3-4 times. I am so glad I did it my way. I had the birth I wanted, and he was very healthy. 

I had heard at one time that pre-e can be caused from the father, and that there is some chemical imbalance that happens while mom is pregnant. I do find it interesting that my first pregnancy I didn't have pre-e and that was with a different father. 2 and 3 were with my ex husband and with both I had pre-e. My sister had pre-e with her 1 and 2, got a divorce and then remarried and had two more kiddos and neither of those pregnancies had any complications. Has anyone else heard this?

[Tear78]

Babytoes, what a great idea, thanks! I have heard about per-e maybe coming from the father too, and I've also heard it has something to do with eating enough protein in the first trimester. Since that's the only one I can control, I am working on the protein thing. I've definitely been craving it. My ob said that there's not much known about it, and that whoever figures it out will probably earn a Nobel prize.

I'm glad y our third birth was much better. I hope this time we all have healthy babies and smooth empowering births. thanks for starting the thread!

[Peace+Hope]

Thanks babytoes, for sharing your experience and opening this discussion.  I am shocked that you were able to refuse the meds during labor - was your pressure low enough you weren't afraid of eclampsia?  

I don't think that there's any definitive data on the protein thing Tear, though protein was the only thing that kept my morning sickness at bay last time so i was eating a ton of it!

The risk factors are so confusing, really, and it's scary to think that the biggest "cause" may be at implantation, so our cards may already be dealt for this pregnancy.  Sorry to sound so negative, I really am feeling at peace with this pregnancy!  Just really really hoping a healthy pregnancy and birth for us and our babies 

[Peace+Hope]

Now I'm serial posting  to say that early onset and a sick baby are my biggest fears.  My little guy is healthy now, but he was 4 pounds 7 ounces at birth, and spent a week in the NICU.  I worry about losing a baby at 23 weeks or being in the hospital sick while my 2YO misses me.....

[babytoes]

Originally Posted by Peace+Hope 

Thanks babytoes, for sharing your experience and opening this discussion.  I am shocked that you were able to refuse the meds during labor - was your pressure low enough you weren't afraid of eclampsia?  

No my BP was high, but I was listening to my body, and I had a very good feeling I would deliver quickly if I did it my way. They connot force you to do anything, the OB told me my risks and I understood them... He didn't like my response to his suggestions, but I was the boss, his words. I do not think everyone should take the same stance that I took, but for me it worked out perfectly. I truly believe that the key for me was listening to my body.

[Peace+Hope]

I'm so glad for you, that you and your LO came through it beautifully.  

I feel great about my experience, in that I negotiated and refused many recommendations that I think would have made things harder on me, but remained open to their help as well.  The speed at which pre-e can become dangerous to our bodies and our babies' bodies is a scary reality, and I'm glad for all of us that we escaped the worst of what it can bring.

[babytoes]

So I did some research. It's kinda my thing. I like to dig into things and find out whats what. I finished the website I was doing as a freelance job this afternoon... YAY!!... And had some time to dig around the web looking for info about pre eclampsia. Like with a lot of doctor/pharma related things, I always have doubts as to what we are told and what the truth really is. I always question authority. 

I wondered about a few things. 1) what are the real statistics of women and/or babies dieing or having severe complications from pre eclampsia? We are told that it is dangerous and that we could have convulsions, stroke, kidney failure and liver damage. But I wonder how high that risk really is. 2) Does magnesium really help to detour these things? As we all know magnesium is a muscle relaxer. And that is not helpful for a laboring woman, so I questioned how effective it really was. And my hunt for answers began, and this is what I have found... so far.

First, lets start with the numbers.

"Classic complications of pregnancy include pre-eclampsia and eclampsia which affect 2.8% of pregnancies in developing countries and 0.4% in developed countries (12), leading to many life-threatening cases and over 63,000 maternal deaths worldwide every year. Haemorrhage following placental abruption or placenta praevia affects about 4% of pregnant women (13). Less common, but very serious complications include ectopic pregnancy and molar pregnancy"

Now, this is worldwide... not nationwide. 0.4%?? Wow, I was blown away! To put this in another perspective. I have graphs... I try to be thorough! 

Again this is worldwide. And this is all of the maternal deaths. And another graph...

Complications with this one, not deaths, notice how low it is. 3.2% Thats low when you take into account how many millions of people give birth every year. My source for all of this is,

http://www.who.int/whr/2005/whr2005_en.pdf

There was a study conducted in 2002 by The Magpie Trial Collaborative Group. The study was with 10,141 women, all over the world. What they studied was weather or not magnesium made any kind of difference in regarding the outcomes. There is a boat load of info. I highly suggest you check it out!

http://www.iambe.org.ar/articulo%20Magpie.pdf

Here is a screen shot of one of the findings that I thought was very interesting.

Notice the death rate. Also notice the fits rates. Now, yes they are lower, but not by much, and if you concider this to be out of 10,141 women it really makes me wonder how risky this disease really is. But of course, I question everything!

There was a summery written up by a Mr. Baha M. Sibai of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cincinnati and this is what he said about the study... 

"This trial was done at 175 hospitals in 33 nations, resulting in substantial heterogeneity in clinical characteristics, obstetric care, and availability of maternal and neonatal care units. Complications (tables 4 and 5) were only listed after randomisation, and are not well defined (eg, what was judged as renal or hepatic failure, coagulopathy, respiratory depression?). Nor do we know how many of these events occurred before entry into the trial. Magnesium therapy decreased the incidence of eclamptic convulsions, but maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity were similar in both groups. There were nine more deaths in the placebo group, but they were in the renal failure, embolism, and infection categories and these differences can hardly be ascribed to magnesium, whose actions to reduce mortality are by preventing status epilepticus or aspiration. The trial failed to show differences in these latter outcomes, but the women receiving magnesium had serious side-effects including respiratory depression and hypotension, each of which could prove fatal if not identified and managed properly."

"Most of the morbidity and mortality associated with eclampsia is associated with out-of-hospital seizures, and such events are more frequent among patients in developing countries without prenatal care."

Take a look at the links if you wish, I found it pretty easy to weed through the technical blabber to find the important stuff. I just thought I would share my findings! Have a great weekend ladies!!