HBP Advice/Opinions Needed

[onesock]

Are they checking her reflexes yet? I would ask why they are not, if they aren't and ask they be added to her vitals. Brisk reflexes and beats of clonus can indicate cerebral involvement. I hope they plan on keeping her. Good luck and thanks for the update.

[dkm]

They have not begun to check reflexes. We will bring that up when the MFM Doctors come in in a few minutes. They just did an ultrasound to check fluid and that seems fine, total fluid was 11.66cm.

The Doctor who came in this morning was a resident and just from gauging nurse reaction, there isn't much repect for her around here. We will see what the Doctors say and I will keep you posted.

Donald

[dkm]

We have seen the MFM Doctors and the new plan is that they are going to wait until Monday to do an amnio, Monday is 37 weeks. If that comes back fine, they will deliver. If diastolic pressure goes up near 110 again, they will likely deliver this weekend. They said they are not sending us home until she has the baby.

I'll keep you posted.

Donald

[sarab]

quote:

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Originally posted by DKM

They said they are not sending us home until she has the baby.

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This is the best news I've read so far on this thread! I know from experience how lousy hospital bed rest can be, but am SO relieved that your wife will be monitored around the clock.

Good luck to the both of you, and keep us updated when you have the time. Hoping that little guy is here soon safe and sound!

[panguitch02]

I am sooo happy you guys are at the hospital. Soon this will be behind you!

[blythe]

I'm so glad to hear you're in the hospital for the duration! That 186 systolic (top number, how hard the heart is beating) bp spike seems *really* high for someone who has been running in the 140s. The numbers you posted before - the range of 119/93 - 144/112 - made me think Kristi might have "labile" pressures going on. Labile bps - a stage where bp bounces up and down - happens to some women for weeks (and I can think of at least one member who went full term and only had PE postpartum), but for many of our members seems to be a predictor that bp is about to go high and stay high. If you're interested in the underlying disease process, Caryn has another great explanation here: http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29027&SearchTerms=,labile .

The next few days may be very nerve-racking. You will likely get a slightly different treatment plan from each doctor you see. Please continue to watch Kristi's signs and symptoms and report everything to the medical folks. Hang in there!

[onesock]

So glad they are keeping her in. Like Blythe said, keep an eye on her. You are doing a great job.

[for faith]

I am so, so happy to hear that!!! Can't wait to hear about your baby boy in you & your wife's arms!!!! Thanks for letting us know.

[dkm]

Okay, so pressures today have been 144/90, 153/92, 138/98 and we are being told that these are again not in the severe range and may change the plan again.

One piece that I wanted to get some thoughts on is fetal heart rate. They checked FHR this evening and he spiked, not for very long, 5-10 seconds, where the FHR went into the 180s and this happened twice. The nurse took the strip, but said that it went back into the 160s quickly enough not to be a concern. I thought that FHR was supposed to be declining at 36-37wks to 130-140bpm?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. You ladies have been great!

Donald

[blythe]

I'll stick my neck out and speculate that Kristi's doctors are probably watching her closely for more signs of superimposed PE or severe gestational hypertension (160/110) before they decide to induce. She may be one who really benefits from the bedrest she is getting in the hospital right now. I know you said your baby boy is estimated to be 6 pounds, but ultrasound measurements are notoriously inaccurate, and weight is not the best indicator of health in any case. I remember how difficult and scary hospital bedrest is, especially when the treatment plan changes from hour to hour and from doc to doc, but I'm inclined to trust your doctors at this point, especially because Kristi is in the hospital now and they can move quickly if anything happens.

I found this page on fetal heart rate - http://www.ccspublishing.com/journals2a/fetal_heart_monitoring.htm The FHR at term ranges from 120-160 bpm. ... Accelerations are common periodic changes in labor. They are usually associated with fetal movement. These changes are reassuring and almost always confirm that the fetus is not hyopoxic.