Preeclampsia coverage in Pregnancy books

[blythe]

http://www.preeclampsia.org/images/pdf/ ... ybooks.pdf

Check out this amazing report by Jenn Carney. Jenn read about a hundred pregnancy books to find out what they say about preeclampsia and HELLP and found the best (and worst).

What were your experiences with pregnancy books - did you get your information about PE from these books, what did they say, what did they miss that you wish you would have known?

For me, I read tons of natural childbirth books. I was completely on board with all the "intervention is bad!" information. Except... with PE it turned out that "interventions" (inductions, pitocin, epidurals, c-sections, continuous fetal monitoring...) are necessary and often lifesaving. So I wish those books had more information on how expectations should be different for medically complicated pregnancies and deliveries: how things change when you're no longer "low risk".

What would be included on PE in your "perfect" pregnancy book?

[JB]

Thanks for pointing this out! I admit that I had never even heard of HELLP until after I had PE and read about it here. To this day I wonder if I had that, too, because my OB mentioned something about my liver enzymes being bad as another reason she thought it was time to deliver. She also referred to my PE as "toxemia," which I have since learned is a fairly outdated term.

I suppose the thing I would stress in any pregnancy book is that anybody can become "high risk" very quickly, sometimes within a matter of hours. I think too many women (myself included) are not diligent enough about monitoring for symptoms or asking their doctor when symptoms manifest.

[caryn]

That also drives me nuts - no one is clear on the idea that low-risk women can still develop medical complications, high-risk women can still sail through pregnancy, and medically complicated pregnancies can include ones where you feel fine, apart from a touch of hypertension and a bit of proteinuria and some swelling (you know, those symptoms that mean you're heading into multiple organ failure...)

[MaebyFunke]

It's great that this study was done, but I'm wondering how relevant the information really is. I feel the information would be far more accurate it if would have included a study of major pregnancy websites and/or apps as well. I'm a first time mom of an eight month old, and though I did not personally experience preeclampsia or HELLPS, I lost a friend to it several years ago, so I've participated in a lot of events for the organization. Therefore during my own pregnancy it was always top of mind.

However...with the amount of information on the web (ie. babycenter.com, the bump.com, whattoexpect.com), the tools through various apps for smartphones and tablets, etc., I'd be interested to see some statistics on how many women still use pregnancy books. I'm a voracious reader, but I barely cracked a pregnancy book. There's no need to when you can sign up for a website, I used babycenter, and it sent pertinent information for each stage of my pregnancy directly to my inbox. That being said Babycenter.com does an excellent job spelling out and constantly reminded expectant mothers to be aware of Pre-E symptoms.

Like I said, I'm a big reader, but in this day and age, skipping the internet in this study is kind of a blind spot.

[caryn]

At some point, someone will selflessly volunteer to do a similar study of internet websites.

We are content-partnered with J&J, who run Babycenter, so we're the ones crafting that info IIRC. (We have a similar partnership with the MOD.)

[honeykovu]

I think there definitely is a lack of information in books and on the web and especially noting the serious of the situation.
My last pregnancy the only sign I had PE was severe swelling in my feet and ankles (it became pitting edema after 3 days). I and my husband never noticed any swelling in my hands or face (though my doctor did since it was 3 weeks since I was last seen). So when I looked up about the severe swelling in my feet I was falsely reassured because every place said that feet and ankle swelling is normal, and it is only face and hand swelling that was concerning. This was 3 years ago. Now this time being pregnant again I noticed that it does say sudden severe feet swelling on babycenter so not sure if they changed their page in the last 3 years or not, but it would have been really helpful to know that last time that what I was experiencing wasn't just normal pregnancy swelling.