Is HELLP milder when caught earlier?

[brismom]

I was just wondering being that I had HELLP already and knowing that they would be checking for it, would it be safe to assume that it would be mild if I got it?

[caryn]

HELLP is never mild. The only treatment for HELLP is immediate delivery.

The odds of the mother dying from PE or HELLP if she is getting modern medical treatment are much lower than the odds of dying in a car wreck, though it kills hundreds of thousands of women worldwide on an annual basis when they do not get such care. The odds of the baby dying from preterm delivery because of PE or HELLP depend very much on the gestational age at which delivery takes place. Some babies die of placental abruption or insufficiency, as well.

There have been a number of big research breakthroughs but none of them have led to changes in management, and I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone delay childbearing in the hopes that management breakthroughs are on the horizon -- especially since the research breakthroughs are illuminating a very difficult problem indeed.

You drive to the grocery store, right? As long as you report your symptoms and are closely monitored, a PE pregnancy is safer than that drive is!