If you had chronic hypertension while pregnant, please help me.

[meisterfrau]

I have chronic hypertension with this pregnancy, which I didn't (or, more likely, was not aware of) in my first pregnancy.

I have been doing pretty well so far. I was on medication starting about 5 months or so before conceiving this baby. Before being on the meds, my BP would be kind of all over the place...as high as 165/110, but usually more like 135-140/90-100. I think I was medicated in the first place because of the way it would spike sometimes without warning, and I would feel really, really unwell when it happened.

Anyway, I made the mistake tonight of googling "chronic hypertension in pregnancy" and am now pretty afraid. Everything I read is full of "preeclampsia" and "preterm labor" and "preterm delivery" and, God forbid "stillbirth." Everything has been fine so far, but I am afraid of all heck breaking loose at the end of my pregnancy, like it kind of did in my last one.

As of right now, I am still on the meds (methyldopa/aldomet). My BPs have been great...like 115/60-70 or so for the whole pregnancy. I am feeling plenty of strong fetal movement, and have been measuring on target for size.

This is where I need help. If you had a healthy baby and had chronic hypertension, please post your good outcome here so that I can take comfort in your experience. I need the positive vibes after reading all that negativity. I want to get my mind back into the good place it was before. Thanks so much in advance.


Mods: I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in "I'm Pregnant." Since it really seems more about the birth outcome than the pregnancy, I put it here. If it doesn't belong here, please feel free to move it.

[notjustmamie]

I had chronic hypertension that was diagnosed in pregnancy. Hypertension is not pre-eclampsia. Your risk of pre-eclampsia is higher than a woman who does not have issues with high bps to begin with, but just because you've been diagnosed with hypertension does not mean you will necessarily develop pre-eclampsia or any other complications.

I started my pregnancy with a BP of about 130/85. I had not been previously diagnosed with hypertension, but I'm not the sort to run to a physician for an annual physical either.

As my pregnancy continued, my BP rose to an average of about 140/90 in-office and high 120s/mid-80s when I checked it at home. At about 30 weeks, I changed practices and my new MWs required a series of blood tests, a long u/s (I'm not sure how the levels work, so it may have been a higher level one), and a 24-hour urine collection. Those all came back fine.

We continued to monitor my bp, urine, bloating, weight gain, and so forth, but I never developed any additional symptoms of pre-eclampsia. We did two or three NSTs toward the end (after 37 weeks, maybe? I can't remember for sure), but those always came out fine.

I went into spontaneous labor on my due date. The next morning I went into the hospital and labor stalled for several hours. The MW suggested Pitocin and I felt like I didn't have any other choices at that point (whole other story). After the Pit was started, I gave birth to DD in less than 3½ hours. She was healthy at birth and is now a happy and active 2½ year old.

YOU CAN DO THIS!!! Yes, you need to be aware of the risks. Keep a look out for the signs of pre-e, but you don't worry about it. As long as you and the baby are continuing to be healthy, I would not feel pressured to induce early.

Blessings and peace to you!

[MCsMom]

Hmmm, I'm not sure if I am what you are looking for or not. I have been told by several doctors at various times that I have 'high blood pressure' and been put on meds for it twice. Beginning when I was in high school and wanting to get the doctors clearance to be on the cheer squad. I have never been overweight, have been a dancer since I could walk and still performing after college, active, eat a good diet, etc. etc. etc.

When I was pg with my first, I was put on meds and sent to the high risk doctor. ETA: I am not sure what it was that day. But it sent the alarms off on the monitor twice and sent the MW I had started to apt with running down the hall to consult with a doctor who then came and said she would be seeing me from now on and introduced herself. IMHO, the meds did almost nothing. The doctors swore up and down that the meds were keeping things 'under control'. But towards the end of the pg, I was starting to be more distrustful about the meds that I was on and started not taking them for a day or two or three and keeping a close watch on my blood pressure. It did not seem to change at all. During my pg with her, I had several 24 urine collections (4 or 5 including one at the very beginning to get a 'baseline'), ultrasound of my kidneys, NST twice a week at the end, ultrasound weakly to check fluid levels, and more blood drawn then was 'normal' that even the techs were like, wow they want lots of blood from you today trying to joke.

After I had DD, the doctors were 'shocked' that my blood pressure did not go down. I was induced because they were afraid of pre-eclampsia and I went along with it because my DH was deployed and this way he might be able to be home for the birth. So I stayed on the medications. I had a very healthy little girl who came out the normal way and as far as my unbiased opinion is near perfect.

I went and saw a couple of specialists, they swiched my meds to something better to take while nursing. The whole time, there never seemed to be a difference between if I took meds or not.

So, I took myself off the meds a few months after my DD was born. This pregnancy, I am seeing a MW who is also a homeopath and she knows all about my history. So far (I am about 8 months along) my BP has risen a little bit, but not a ton, it was about 145/75 at the last apt. I take it at home and have found that on average, it will almost always rise at the office checks. So far we have not done anything about it, I am measuring right on, I try to rest as much a possible.

[dovey]

Hi!

I went into my second pregnancy with normal/lowish blood pressure, like 90/60 or something...I can't remember.

Then in the third trimester (35 weeks or so) it started to rise to levels that the midwife wasn't too comfortable with (135/85). Then a few weeks later it went even higher (150/100). My midwife put me on bedrest, and she gave me extra tests for pre-eclampsia, but none of the other symptoms ever showed up. I took a million herbs and garlic and watermelon juice, and a chiropractor helped me, but nothing kept down the blood pressure like being prone. Tiresome, but effective.

My baby decided to come about two weeks early. She was born at home, and she weighed 7 lbs 7 oz - very healthy.

[mighty-mama]

I had this w/ DS1.. MY bp was always about 140/90, and luckily didn't go up further when it was taken.. Per pg, I was 112/68..

I learned how to try to relax to get it down when I knew it would spike. Like you, mine would rise out of nowhere. I would feel the blood actually rush, and would see the spots in my eyes.. For some reason it always rose in the shower..

I wasn't put on meds, but was officially put on bed-rest at 31wks. The side affects I had, was ds's placenta aged prematurely. There are 3 stages of growth, and I was in stage 3, @ 31 wks gestation, normally that doesn't occur until term. I had weekly u/s to check the fluid, to make sure the placenta was still working properly, and I had bi-weekly nst's.

Now this was before I joined mothering... But at 39 wks, I was in the very early stages of labor. And I was told to be induced, and I did... I went into the hospital and was put on pit for 2 days.. I didn't progress, and ds was absolutely fine, and my bp was never an issue. I was told I would need my water broke, and my insticts kicked in, and I realized, if we both looked great, I didn't want my water broke, as I knew it would lead to a c/s..

I went into labor 5 days later, and we still were good.. I did have a c/s, due to op brow presentation... But I did labor naturally this time, and pushed for 3 hrs, before the c/s.. Even though I had the hypertension and placenta issues.. My ds was born 39.5wks and weighed 9.6lbs.

But I believe the c/s was due to me having my water broke at 7cm, as ds's head was not aligned, as his head was posterior, and his body was anterior, and I think this was caused by the bed rest, and my bad posture..

But.. Having hypertension does not guarantee preeclampsia, it can start off at hypertenstion, but I never had the protein in my urine that accompanies pre-e. So they will prob. monitor to make sure it doesn't develop into pre-e..

Also there is a correlation to a placenta aging prematurely due to hypertension.

Hope this helps. Best of luck..

***also I'm pg w/ my 2nd, and my bp spiked a couple of times, but has stayed around 120ish/75ish..

[meisterfrau]

Thanks for sharing your stories. It helps.

I realize, of course, that chronic hypertension is not the same thing as preeclampsia. I was reading about the increased risk of superimposed pre-e with chronic hypertension. I needed to hear about some positive birth outcomes to remind me that if the statistics say that 20% of mamas with hypertension will get pre-e, that means there are 80% who won't. It's too easy to focus on the negative and worry.

[Jenlaana]

The problem is that they see high blood pressure, and hit the "toxemia button" a little too early most of the time. There is a lot of fear surrounding toxemia/pre-e and because of that, they always go overboard on diagnosing people with high blood pressure as pre-e. This is my 3rd pregnancy and my 3rd with high blood pressure as well. My first sectioned me because of toxemia (without more than trace protein and no 24 hr urine counts), the second tried to have me hospitalized for it, had me on bed rest as well assuming the same thing because I had it first pregnancy (the 24 hr urine came back slightly elevated but not high enough to raise alarms), and this pregnancy, they said that my bp was too high too early for it to be toxemia.

My first pg was a scheduled cesarean because I was afraid of the pain and jumped at the chance when the OB suggested it.

My second was an unassisted home birth with ZERO complications, 3 days past my due date. My bp got up to about 150/100 the day I had my daughter, but I didnt check it again in "heavy labor". It did get elevated about 20 pts during pregnany, but was kind of high to begin with, being in the 130's/70's from the getgo.