natural birth and pre-eclampsia

lylipad

I am just wondering if anyone has had to deal with pre-eclampsia and having a natural delivery?

I see my doctor on Monday and I am pretty sure she is going to diagnose me with Pre-E, I have had several symptoms for a while and am suddenly putting on weight like crazy! I am almost 33 weeks so I am just wondering what I might expect? Everything I have read makes it sound like they absolutely will induce at 37 weeks. Has anyone been induced but then gone med free the rest of the way? what about successful natural induction methods? 

Thank you, any thoughts or opinions are welcome!

Chichigo

I did not have preeclampsia, but was watched for it constantly because I did have pregnancy induced hypertension. I lost count of how many times I was sent  to L&D for monitoring. They used the automatic BP cuff to monitor my pressure every 15 minutes, fetal heart rate monitor, and ultrasounds (not every time). Some ultrasounds checked for growth, others looked at heart function, respiration, ability to make a fist, and 1 or 2 other criteria I don't remember. My BP always stabilized and baby's heart rate remained steady, he scored max points on all scans.

I also had to do the 24 hour urine collection and was put on bed rest several times, including the last three weeks of pregnancy. My doctor allowed me out to see a movie during that time because she was concerned over signs of depression.

Induction was mentioned several times in my third tri, but we didn't have a serious discussion until 39 w4 d. I believe I would have been induced after my next appointment 2 days later, but my body did what it was designed to first and I went into labor and had a natural birth.

I had to make a few concessions, such as continuous fetal monitoring. I still had access to a birthing ball, but my ability to move around was limited. Showering was out of the question. I labored at home as long as possible and my doctor allowed a natural progression once I was admitted. Baby boy was safely delivered 3.5 hours after we arrived at admitting.

Regarding induction, my doctor would have used cervadil to soften the cervix. This is a gel placed on the cervix for 12 hours, and I could have had 3 doses. This is supposed to be gentler than pitocin. I tried to convince my husband to help soften the cervix naturally, but he actually turned down an opportunity for sex!  He then regretted because I had a baby the next day, and that nixed friskiness.

My Bradley instructor said the only reliable natural induction method is nipple stimulation. She recommended asking for a hospital grade breast pump to try to get things going. You can look into drinking red raspberry leaf tea. It doesn't induce labor but does something to help prepare the uterus. I drank a third tri tea, I think by earth mama angel baby.

One of my cousins had preeclampsia with both of her pregnancies. She was induced with pitocin each time. I think she had epidurals, but her inductions were successful and she had vaginal births. 

I wish you the best of luck. Remember to do your best to stay calm and relaxed because stress can further increase BP. 

MommyAtty

I had a blood pressure spike at 38.5 weeks and was induced with pitocin. I still had a natural birth. But... It meant I spent pretty much all of labor lying on my left side (which drops your blood pressure), with continuous monitoring of the baby and my blood pressure. Every time a contraction would start, the cuff would go off. Incredibly annoying. Until I started pretending it was my dad squeezing my arm to give me comfort. So it wasn't optimal, but I did still have a beautiful, natural birth experience. And I don't think pitocin made my contractions worse than they would have been. Start to finish, my entire labor was under 4 hours, and I was a first-timer.

GPeterson24

Are you following the Brewer diet?  Might help keep things in check, not sure if it's already too late now that you're having symptoms though.

eg214

My MW said to consume AT LEAST 100g of protein a day and also take magnesium. One of my MWs also said she has seen a fellow MW have her clients eat TEN EGGS A DAY and every single time the client kept the pre e away. I hate eggs but next time I'm pg and have issues with BP I will prob just go straight to this.

I went into labor at 38.6 but my mw's had me do a natural stimulation protocol at 38.4. It was nipple stim with a pump, tinctures, castor oil tummy rubs with heat, & some other stuff every 15 min for 4 hours. Do they offer something like that for you?

I probably would have been hospital induced at my next appt too had I not gone into labor on my own bc my BP was wonky and protein was getting higher and higher with each 24 hour catch.

Amberino86

I had the same symptoms and at 35.5 weeks I was diagnosed with pre-E. I was taken out of work and told to rest (not complete bed rest but lots of restrictions) and spent a night in the hospital for monitoring. For the next few weeks I was put on a blood pressure medication (I checked with a family member who is a nurse to make sure what they have was pregnancy safe) and was going to the doctors about 3 times a week. Each time for non stress tests and vitals and once a week an ultrasound/biophysical profile as well as doing 24 hour urine tests about every 4 days. As long as there wasn't a significant change they allowed me to go without induction. At 38 weeks I was hospitalized due to the blood pressure spiking. We were in for 2 days before they decided to induce because I ended up reaching a level where they were concerned about seizures and was 2 cm dialated. I was also put on an iv medication for the BP that would not allow me out of bed and was continued thru birth. They used cervidil over night but I remained 2cm dialated and in the morning the doctor decided to break my water and start pitocin. I had been planning a Hypnobirth. I continued with the plan an after they broke my water I quickly went from 2cm to 8cm dialated. It took 3 hours before I was ready to push and my boy was in my arms 3.5 hours after starting the pitocin and without any pain control medication. For me I remembered the breathing techniques and kept telling myself to go deeper when I breathed. The birth went very smoothly (except that the nurses weren't prepared as thy thought I wouldn't have him for several more hours- my sister had to hunt down the nurse an the midwife was on the other side of the hospital) and I would do it again without pain medication. I was glad they let me go longer than 37 weeks but the MW was constantly telling us to prepare for induction at any time and to be aware of any changes I may feel physically.

PepperBug

I had pregnancy induced hypertension with my first and was induced at 39 weeks when my BP went up. I didn't know a lot about it and was scared, so I went along with it. Had I had time, I would have done some research and known beforehand when I was comfortable inducing and would not have induced at that point (my dr. In my second pregnancy would not have induced at that point either). So keep on researching!

I did have an epidural, but I think an induction without an epidural is totally possible if you're truly committed (I was not). I thought that the contractions were totally bearable up until I got my epidural 12 hours in (I was really exhausted and wanted sleep). And they let me move around with intermittent monitoring up until that point. The induction contractions were more powerful, but less painful, than the contractions I had during my second (natural) labor.