- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Natural Birth
Gestational hypertension and natural childbirth
Hi ladies,
I have recently been told that I have gestational hypertension. My blood pressure has been high at the past few doctor's appointments and my doctor just put me on bp meds to try to keep it down so the baby can wait a little longer (I am 36 weeks). I have no other signs of pre-e, thankfully. I am now scheduled to have an ultrasound and NST before my weekly appointments.
The part that worries me is that my doctor mentioned last week that she may be making the decision to induce me if my blood pressure doesn't go down. I understand that this could be harmful for the baby and of course I want to do what is best for him, so if I have to be induced, then that's what will happen. But I am really hoping for a natural childbirth.
Do you have any experience with induction and then laboring naturally? My fear is that one intervention leads to another, Pitocin causes intense, difficult contractions, and I may need to have an epi in order to manage the pain. Is this a rational fear, or am I stressing over the unknown here? I guess I need to wrap my head around the idea that I may need to have an epi if I get induced soon. Oh, and that I may have a baby sooner than I thought!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Gestational hypertension and natural childbirth
*lurking*
I had GD and also hypertension that started at 32wks. My doc induced at 39+1 due to both issues. The pitocin wasn't as bad as I had imagined actually. My first wasn't an induction (and was epi free) and the contractions weren't that much different for me.
I went without an epi my entire laboring time on the pit (and my BP did fine the entire day too) but by the end of the day baby wasn't coming down at all. After pushing and noticing her heart rate fluctuate we had to do a c-section. Because of the GD she had grown a little too large to make her way out. That was the only reason it ended in c-section though.
Laboring on pit without an epi can definetly be done but don't be bummed if you end up deciding on the epi. Everyone makes the best choices for their own situation. I went in knowing the pit would be intense and also knowing I didn't want the epi but I also went in with an open mind knowing at any moment things could change (just like it did with her heart rate and the c-section). I ended up having a great induction and c-section experience honestly.
Wishing you the best!!
I had PIH at 37 weeks that turned to PreE at 39 weeks. My OBs did not plan to induce me for PIH, but they did plan to induce the minute I became pre-eclamptic because I was full-term by the time my BP started acting up.
My understanding was that PIH isn't necessarily dangerous (maybe that depends on how high your BP is though, mine was just borderline high). The reason OBs worry about PIH is that it can turn into PreE which is dangerous. Maybe ask your OB what your Bishop's score is. If you do need an induction, maybe they can start with a foley bulb (a med-free induction option that will sometimes put you into active labor).
I was induced at 39 weeks, 3 days with pitocin because of PreE. My labor and birth was a pretty terrible experience, but honestly, the pitocin was the least of my problems. Obviously, you'd like to avoid induction if you can, but if it becomes necessary to induce for the safety of your baby, you still can have a pain-med free birth with an induction. There's lots of ladies here who have positive pain-med free induction stories.
Good luck!
BFP#2: EDD 2/11/14, MMC confirmed 7/15/13 (growth stopped at 6 weeks), D&C @ 12 weeks 7/25/13
I have had chronic/gestational htn with both my kids and ended up being induced at 39 weeks for both of them. I had an epi with my son, and fortunately was able to deliver naturally with my daughter. There is nothing wrong with getting pain meds if you need them, and even though I hated that i was induced (esp with my daughter b/c I REALLY wanted to go into labor naturally) I had 2 successful vaginal deliveries, and 2 healthy kids, and everything turned out ok.
I posted a birth story a few posts below (clara's arrival). The biggest thing that made a difference in my 2nd delivery was being able to move around more, ect. I did move around a lot in my first delivery, but nobody ever gave me the option to really get out of bed, use the birth ball, standing,ect. I was up and down in the bathroom the whole time both deliveries though. Also, trying to stay as active as possible if it doesn't raise your BP can hopefully help baby get into better position if you end up being induced.
First of all, I'm not sure if it's too late but you may want to look at the Brewer diet to try to ward off Pre-E in the next few weeks.
Secondly, can you have an open conversation with your doctor about what sort of NST results would require an induction, what your Bishop score is, and how you could control the induction in order to keep things slow and if contractions pick up on their own, let up on the meds?
I would think they'd offer you more options for starting induction than just pumping you through of pitocin--especially if your cervix isn't even favorable yet.
Hi ladies,
Thanks for the support and the information. I know that I have to do whatever is best for a healthy baby, and if induction is what the doctor decides to go with, then we'll take it from there.
I thankfully don't have any other symptoms of pre-e, but the Brewer diet doesn't look too bad at all, and I will definitely give it a try if it might work. I hadn't heard of that before.
I am definitely going to ask more questions when I go in for my appointment tomorrow. This has happened quickly, and I haven't really been able to process what's going on and find out what my options are because I haven't been able to formulate the questions I want to ask. Thanks for your help!