New guy with Q's....

[jjwillie]

Hi all-

Here's a little history first. Wife and I are currently about 20 weeks with our second pregnancy. First ended in Anna's stillbirth at 29 weeks. Placental insufficiency/IUGR was the cause and severe PE/HellP caused induction at 29 weeks.

Here we go again....at the 19 week checkup last week, the baby was measuring great...11-12 ounces and measurements were actually measuring about 5-6 days ahead of where her gestation is supposed to be.

Now the potentially bad news. This week, my wife had a bad headache for a day. When she checked her BP it was up to 131/90. Went into the doctor's office and it was backdown to 120/80. They gave her the gammut of tests (blood work/24 hour urine). Everything came back normal...except for the BP. they put her on Labetalol and want to see her every 2 weeks from now on.

My question is has anyone experienced similar situtations and how have the outcomes been. Honestly, what are the chances of my wife making it to 32 weeks before developing severe PE again? I know, it's 12 weeks away. She's been staying pretty cool (emotionally) over this trial, and i stay supportive.

Thanks

[rachelc]

I am so sorry that you lost Anna to this horrible disease.

I'm glad that your wife has such a supportive husband to help her through this. I had two pregnancies where the PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) started very early, 17 weeks and 13 weeks. I was put on the same bp medication your wife is on now. In my case, the dose had to be increased through out the pregnancy but, I managed to deliver at 36 weeks and 33 weeks. I also developed full blown pe at 22 weeks and stayed pregnant almost 12 more weeks before I delivered my last 33 weeker. There is hope. It is good that she is being monitored closely. Please check out the signs and symptons page of this website and don't hesitate to call the doc or go in to L&D to get checked out if she is experiencing any of them.

Has your wife been tested for underlying bloodclotting disorders? Is her care being managed or co-managed by a MFM? If she is not seeing a MFM I would ask her regular OB for a referral for a consultation.

[jjwillie]

Thank-you for your reply. It seems (through my research) that the odds are still in our favor. After last time, she was tested for everything possible. I remember them taking over 30 vials of blood on two seperate occasions. They even tested me and everything was fine.
Your story is comforting, becuase even though you had PE early, you still managed another 3 months!!! She doesn't have PE yet, so hopefully we can make it at least that long. Oh, by the way, we are seeing a specialist in MFM. They are her OB/GYN and perinatologist as well.

[caryn]

Hello and welcome to the forums -- I'm glad you've found us. And I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your daughter Anna.

If her pressures are going up before 20 weeks in a second pregnancy, chances are that pregnancy has "unmasked" her genetic tendency towards chronic hypertension.

Chronic hypertensives have a 25% chance of developing PE and are monitored more closely to detect the tipping point where it stops being hypertension and turns into preeclampsia.

Is she being seen by an MFM, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist? They specialize in hypertensive pregnancies, see this syndrome all of the time, and have some additional tricks up their sleeves for management. Here's a link to help you find a MFM in your area: http://www.smfm.org

Please keep us posted as this pregnancy progresses -- subsequent pregnancies are nailbiters under the best conditions, and when you've lost the first baby I imagine that they are far more difficult.

[jjwillie]

Yes, we have been with a MFM specialist since before TTC again. They were with us through thick and thin last time and agreed to see us through this pregnancy from day one. The doctors are great, but I just can't help but be pessimistic and axious with every little bump in the road. I am still confident that we will be ok. She feels great now, BP is back to normal. I have little doubt that she will develop PE at some point, its a matter of when. Hopefully, the severe form doesn't come at all or til after 32 weeks. Last time, I had to make a decision on either the baby or wife (she was deteiorating)....I've never really recovered, but definitely don't want to make that decision again.

[fiona]

Hello and welcome. I am so very sorry for the loss of your precious daughter and the terrible choice you were forced to make.

Pregnancy after a loss is very difficult - on both parents. Looking back, I think it was probably harder emotionally on my husband because he had seen how sick I had been, whereas my focus was entirely on the baby. My fisrt son was delievered at 26 weeks and lived for two days. My second, I made it to 30 weeks - he was not affected by IUGR - and he is now a healthy 9-year-old.

I am so glad that you have excellent and supportive care. I sincerely hope that with your wife's BP under control, any pe stays away for many weeks yet. The fact that this baby is measuring a good size is a huge positive - hopefully, regular growth scans will help reassure you.

Take care, and please come here to ask questions or just ask for support whenever you need to.

[jjwillie]

Whew! It looks like we avoided a scare for the time being. We went back to the Doc on Friday to confirm the GH diagnosis (high BP reading more than 6 hours apart). We were relieved to find out that her BP had fallen back to 110/62. Still not protein in the urine, blood results still negative. So, in the end, they didn't officially diagnose her with GH. But, they are keeping a close eye on her.
Thanks for all the support. I will keep you posted

[caryn]

Thank goodness -- maybe she was just coming down with something?

Do keep us posted!

[maggy]

jjwillie,

there's already 4 months passed since your first post here. I'm very much hoping that you now have your baby. I want to know what has happened?

I'm writing from Mongolia who had PE in my first and second pregnancies and both occasions I had G section surgeries in 29th week of gestation. Each time my infants were 0.9 kg that is 2.2 lb with no survival. PE developed with proteinuria from 26th week and I was in a bedrest at home and hospital. But PE was handled only two and half weeks with no success. after all my husband and I are divorced. Now i'm 34 and hopeless having my own baby. Bad thing is common men's culture in Mongolia is to have a family means to have their own baby. so I don't know what to do. Please share your ideas with me. Thanks all.

[rosemary]

Maggy, I am so sorry for your losses. My heart goes out to you for all that you've been through. I wish you peace.