How long did you wait to conceive #2 after pre-e?

bride711

Hi Ladies, 

 

How long did you wait to conceive baby#2 after having pre-e? What told you ( in yourself) you were ready?  

cla40749

Lizzie was 14 months old when we got pg this time. We had a miscarriage when she was 11 months old. We were still terrified of getting pre-e again, but my doc did her best to reassure me that the amount of time between pgs would affect my chances of having pre-e again as long as it wasn't in the first 6 months. 

This pg, I have low bp, like 98/72...so it is very unlikely that we"ll get it again! Dr said it really is a matter of how the placenta attaches/forms and since I had it in my first pg,i was less likely to have it in subsequent pregnancies. 

jesss1022

We are PG with number 2 and DS is only 8 months old! We had an "oops" and got PG WAY too early.  My OB is watching me very closely and I go to a maternal fetal medicine specialist as well. I had pre-e with HELLP and also have MTHFR and delivered at 36 weeks. While this was not the ideal time to get PG, things have been going well this time around! I'm hoping that I don't end up with pre-e this time!

Halo79RN

at 6months pp The Preeclampsia Puzzle in the New Yorker came out... July, 2006.  the suggestion was that it was not a change in partners but the distance between pregnancies that increased the chances of reoccurence. as other poster stated it has to do with placental formation.   so we decided to try again around dd's 1st bday...  I got pg on the first try, when she was 11m.  found out the week before her 1st bday.  I, too, had a low b/p prior to both pgs... 90/60 ish.I had a new ob who took me serious, but her NP did not and treated me like a nutcase.  I saw stars and spots throughout and had m/s and headaches... but b/p and labs were fine.  37wks nose bleed, labile b/ps, was induced at 38 1/2 wks.  (dd was born at 37wks on the dot, 1am, after a weekend long, slow induction). it was serious, started at the start of the 3rd trimester and lasted weeks after delivery with my first.  late, mild and ended with delivery with my 2nd. 

seastar77

DD was 14 months when we conceived. If you had asked me at 0-4 months post-partum, I would've said I was never having another biological child, but by 6 months I was itching to have a second even with the risk involved. We had a very narrow window (2 months out of a 22 month span) to TTC because of DH's training/deployment schedule, so that's what decided the specific timeframe for us. We might have waited a few more months otherwise, but we are happy to have the kids so close together. More recent studies suggest that closer spacing (not necessarily back-to-back pregnancies, but closer than 5+ years) lowers risk of repeat pre-e.

My biggest factors in feeling ready were reading as much as possible about pre-e (to the point of knowing more about current research than my Drs), and getting myself in a good gym/diet routine prior to TTC this time to get myself to a lower BP right off the bat. Also, I moved home (DH is deployed, so this was convenient) to stay with family, and this has allowed me a lot less stress throughout the pregnancy as far as knowing I have a huge safety net for DD if I am placed on bedrest/hospitalized early like last time. So far, though, six weeks further along and everything looks good!

jrrs

First time around I had post-partum pre-e.  DS is 4 years old, will be five in March.  He was induced at 36 weeks for increasing blood pressures and IUGR, but I also had pre-existing HBP.  We waited so long not because of the complications but because of the cost of daycare and that I changed jobs. 

I just had DS#2 at 34 weeks this time due to pre-e that turned into eclampsia very rapidly.  Luckily I was being monitored closely due to my still pre-existing HBP and history with DS.  Despite the mag. I still had a seizure during delivery.

We are thinking of a third, but if we do, it won't be until DS #2 is at least 9 months old.  My MFM thinks the spacing will be fine and he's on board with the decision.  It will be interesting to see if spacing them closer together makes a difference.

Either way, my HBP still complicates the pregnancy - pre-e or not.