Christina's pregnancy advice

First off, this week is really going to give me baby fever! Despite our wacko pregnancies - I miss being pregnant! Second of all, please do not let this post scare you. I simply want to share important information that I wish I had known prior to the end of my first pregnancy! If you are pregnant now, do not let the facts create anxiety! Psalm 121 is a huge comfort to me in moments of fear. (Including my pregnancies!)

"I lift my eyes up to the hills -
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip-
he who watches over you will not slumber.
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you -
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm -
he will watch over your life.
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore."

For any new readers, I have two kids. Will was born in June of 2006 and Adeline in March of 2008. Both of my pregnancies started out normal, but ended a little more complicated. Will was born at 32 weeks due to preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. Here is the long version of his birth story. Adeline was born at 37 weeks after 5 weeks of bedrest due to PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension). You can read her birth story on our family blog, here.

My hope for this post is to give some information about preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome and premature births in general. I'm still suprised at the number of pregnant women I encounter that have not heard about preeclampsia.

First off - I have some advice unrelated to preeclampsia. If you've ever been pregnant, you've likely dealt with some degree of "morning sickness" or nausea. With my first, the nausea was very manageable. It wasn't pleasant, but it was not bad. With my second (a girl - I think that caused the difference!), the nausea was debilitating. I WISHED I could have thrown up. I know that may sound crazy to someone who did and did often, but the few times I threw up made me feel so much better! To help me get through my days teaching, the doctor gave me a prescription for Zofran.

Here's my bit of advice about Zofran. Watch out for constipation. I have N.E.V.E.R. experienced anything more painful and unpleasant in my life. I had no idea it was side effect of that drug until I ended up at my OB after one horrid night. After that, I still took the Zofran, but much less frequently and I was sure to combat the constipating factors.

Now that I've said my peace about that...

Preeclampsia - Is a dangerous condition that only occurs in pregnancy or the postpartum period. The three main symptoms are high blood pressure, protein in your urine and swelling. (If you click on my son's birth story - there is a picture that shows how extreme my swelling was.) This is why they take your blood pressure and check your pee at every OB visit!

It mostly occurs in the late 2nd and 3rd trimesters and only occurs in about 5-8% of pregnancies. Most often, it occurs very late in the 3rd trimester and delivery is induced. Delivery is the only "cure" for this condition, although it can be managed in order to delay an extremely premature delivery. My preeclampsia was managed for a week before my son was born. Symptoms to report to your doctor include headache, vision changes, sudden swelling and stomach pain.

HELLP - This acronym stands for- Hemolysis Elevated Liver enzymes Low Platelets. This condition is a very serious complication of preeclampsia, although it can rarely occur apart from preeclampsia. Basically, this is when your liver is failing. Symptoms include right side abdominal pain (where your liver is), nausea and vomiting. This is ultimately what caused Will to be born at 32 weeks. Like preeclampsia, the only cure is delivery.

PIH - Pregnancy Induced Hypertension is what I battled the entire second half of my pregnancy with Adeline. I've heard different stories as to whether or not it actually is the same thing as preeclampsia. I think of it as a precursor to preeclampsia. It is the high blood pressure without the other preeclampsia symptoms. High blood pressure in pregnancy can be dangerous to the fetus and result in poor growth for the fetus among other things. (Will weighed 3lbs because of my blood pressures.)

There are safe medications that can be used during pregnancy to lower blood pressure and "manage" both preeclampsia and PIH. I took one called Procardia. Bedrest is often used to keep the blood pressures down as well and allow optimal blood flow to the baby. I truly think that the five weeks of bedrest with Adeline allowed her to grow to a more healthly weight of almost 7 pounds (50th percentile). With Will - my blood pressure went unchecked and he weighed in at 3 pounds (less than 5th percentile for his gestation).

One last thing to be mindful of are the fetal kick counts that your doctor usually asks you to do once a day after about 28 weeks into the pregnancy. Decreased movement is always a reason to call your doctor. It was ultimately why I called my doctor on the day Adeline was born. It can be a sign that the baby is under stress and when Mom has high blood pressure the baby is more likely to be under stress.

There are many other causes of premature birth, including preterm labor and premature rupture of membranes (your water breaks!). The March of Dimes is a wonderful resource when it comes to information about prematurity and its causes.

Anyone have experience with pre-term labor or a premature delivery? Please share your story so other can benefit!