Worrying...

[Poppy Bee]

So my midwife wants to schedule me for weekly appointments due to my weight gain and BP. I don't have any protein in my urine, no headaches, no swelling, and my GD test was perfect. She really freaked me out at our last appointment, and I was thinking my weight gain was absolutely out of control and my BP was insanely high. Then today, I checked my records from my previous pregnancy, and my stats are EXACTLY the same. It's apparently just how I roll.

My question, then, is how much should I worry about my weight gain and BP and is this just how I do it? Or could this be a real cause for concern? I've gained about 40 pounds so far (last time, I gained 70 total and lost it and then some with no problem) and my BP is around 122/73, though yesterday I was in a rush to get to the midwife's office and my 2 year old was climbing on me, so my first reading was 144/83. We retook it and it went WAY down. I tried to decline my weight check, but after seeing my BP, the midwife wanted my weight.

Should I bring her my record from my previous pregnancy and tell her to chill out? I've admittedly been tired and not walking as much as I should, and I'm not drinking as much water as I should (I live in Hawaii, so I really have to make an effort to drink LOTS of water.) I'm working on the diet/exercise thing. I know how to eat, I don't eat crap or drink soda, but my husband is deployed and if I want to eat a flipping box of chocolates, that's my call.

So I guess this is more of a rant than a question. I'm fat, my back hurts, and I want to tell my midwife to shove it. But I don't want to jeopardize my vbac... I just feel like I'm being threatened with Pre-eclampsia when I KNOW I'm not at risk for it. Ugh.

Vent over.

[flapjack]

Weight gain is not an indicator for anything other than weight gain. It won't predict a big baby, pre-e or ANYTHING else, and your midwife is not using the available scientific evidence.
I'd tell her that you're uncomfortable going to weekly appointments on the basis of one high reading and so you're sticking to the previous schedule. Either that or I'd insist on a home visit.

[smokeylo]

Maybe you could monitor your bp from home - get a cuff, do the readings yourself? Then you wouldn't have to make weekly trips and deal with the stress. sorry this is happening, boo!

[the elyse]

just don't get on the scale!

[nausicaamom]

[Mindi22]

If you have your previous records, it certainly wouldn't hurt to show them to her. But 40 lbs isn't all that much, and 122/73 is a perfectly normal bp. If she's freaking out over one high reading that went down, it sounds like an extreme reaction to me. In pre-eclampsia, the pressure wouldn't go down.

Blood pressure is supposed to fluxuate depending on what is happening - our bodies are responsive and dynamic and that's a very good thing! If one higher reading (that changed on the same visit) is stressing this midwife out, she certainly sounds very high-strung and not the kind of person that I want by my side during birth. Not saying to leave her over this one thing, but it sounds like she's having a huge over-reaction. That said, it's possible that there's more going into this decision than you know, and maybe she's going from experience of a previous birth that went very wrong very quickly.

Can you reach a compromise, like return in one week, and as long as your BP is fine go back to the normal schedule? If she'll let you monitor at home, that's awesome as well!

[BJSkolnik]

my drs would be happy for me to have a 144/83! that is not that high. and it totally can go up with stress of rushing around. both of my pregnancies now have been high blood pressure pregnancies, to the point of medication with the herbs and vitamins. it was a good indicator that yours went down right away. don't let them freak you out! and you can't have pre-e without the protein. my last pregnancy, I had super high amounts of protein and super high blood pressure and they thought "I" was going to die because of the bp so they did an emergency c. but I never had pre-e. your systems have to start failing to be diagnosed with that. so just relax mama and that bp will come down!

oh and my dr did tell me that this is the time for bp to start going a bit higher than usual, just a part of pregnancy. of course, mine at Thursday's appointment was the lowest its been in years!

[Mindi22]

Originally Posted by BJSkolnik

but I never had pre-e. your systems have to start failing to be diagnosed with that.

Actually, the system failure doesn't occur until actual eclampsia, which is why it's good to get diagnosed in the pre-e condition, where they can actually do something.

[Gunter]

Originally Posted by Mindi22

If you have your previous records, it certainly wouldn't hurt to show them to her. But 40 lbs isn't all that much, and 122/73 is a perfectly normal bp. If she's freaking out over one high reading that went down, it sounds like an extreme reaction to me. In pre-eclampsia, the pressure wouldn't go down.

Blood pressure is supposed to fluxuate depending on what is happening - our bodies are responsive and dynamic and that's a very good thing! If one higher reading (that changed on the same visit) is stressing this midwife out, she certainly sounds very high-strung and not the kind of person that I want by my side during birth. Not saying to leave her over this one thing, but it sounds like she's having a huge over-reaction. That said, it's possible that there's more going into this decision than you know, and maybe she's going from experience of a previous birth that went very wrong very quickly.

Can you reach a compromise, like return in one week, and as long as your BP is fine go back to the normal schedule? If she'll let you monitor at home, that's awesome as well!

ITA. I think if would be a good idea to bring your records in or just to tell her about how it went the same way last time and there were not huge complications related. Also, your midwife is probably just trying to take care of everything for you. Maybe not. But, yeah, she probably has a decent reason for monitoring in her own head although her approach isn't exactly empowering.

Lots of stores around here have BP machines for free. That may be an option, even just for peace of mind for yourself, if nothing else.

[BJSkolnik]

Originally Posted by Mindi22

Actually, the system failure doesn't occur until actual eclampsia, which is why it's good to get diagnosed in the pre-e condition, where they can actually do something.

hmm interesting. I know nothing about this except they told me at the hospital with dd that I had pre-e but the perinatalogist I'm seeing now with ds looked at my hospital records and said according to my lab results, I didn't have pre-e because my systems weren't failing. maybe she said they weren't starting to fail and I didn't hear that part? or remember? lol I have no idea, sorry for the misinformation!!

[Mommy2Austin]

That sounds a bit over the top to have to start weekly visits so soon....the weight shouldn't be an issue. Period.

The one time high blood pressure (which I agree is not that high at all!) is not a big deal! I would get a cuff and start recording your pressure at home and record it for her and tell her you'll forgo the weekly visits just yet, but record your bp for her.