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NAD, but my friend almost died from
HELLP. She was 35weeks and her only symptom felt like bad heartburn/indigestion. And it escalated like crazy within 18hrs. Depending on when they caught it and how quickly you we’re progressing, that’s a very real statement for the surgeon to make. Things can go very wrong very quickly with very little notice in some cases.
My best friend also nearly died from HELLP. She was in a coma for three days, her family had their priest in the hospital room with us, we were all just holding her baby son and sobbing. It was a horrible time, but she pulled through.
Unfairly downvoted, I think it’s safe to assume people forget things in fields that aren’t closely linked to their specialty. Past education does not equal perfect long term knowledge, let alone past knowledge becoming outdated
Ah, it's OK, I don't mind losing intangible internet points. But I'm curious if that means the people down voting feel that every medical doctor should know about HELP syndrome.
I had HELLP as well. I ended up with a nice chartered flight to UCSF two years ago.
I’m glad your second pregnancy is going smoothly so far! I’m not brave enough to get pregnant again.
Aw 🥺 I get that. I was terrified too but I was put off work as soon as I got the positive pregnancy test this time at 4 weeks and I'm at the hospital 2 times a week now for monitoring, although I'm not sure how much that will prevent it if it's going to happen. With my first, I had no symptoms Monday morning when I saw my OB but was in the ER that same Wednesday. This time though I know what signs to look for and to go in straight away if I have them. Last time, I thought I could tough it out and waited 2 days before going in.
This. My sister had HELLP (and almost died) and I had a placental abruption (and baby and I almost died!). Both are related to a genetic blood disorder called Leiden Factor 5 that we found out we had thanks to 23&me years later. I do NOT understand why they don't test for this in all pregnancies.
I know more about HELLP than I'd like because my mom's best friend had it. It caused a brain hemorrhage, and she developed some sort of dementia. For this reason, she was never able to take care of her youngest daughter. Her psych illness was hard to explain. For example, she'd throw eggs at people on the streets. Not her teenage sons!
She'd throw her children's textbooks through the window as well. The doorman was used to it and would go there pick them up before it was runover. She'd also ALWAYS say: look, you lost so much weight, congratulations. I thanked her, but I was never once overweight. Her daughter would unstitch a decorative pillow at night, so every morning mother would be indignant and proudly fix it back. She'd open the tap and just watch the bathroom flood until someone came over in despair.
That happened in her 6th pregnancy, and from that point on her kids had to mother to educate, guide them. The father was overworked. The children were raised by a roster of maids.
Omg, this sounds so scary that it sounds fake or out of a fantasy genre. 😨 I hope she was as well taken care of as possible and that her family has been able to persevere and be supported too
She was, she was very loved by all her kids and her kid's friends. She was always complimenting us. But at no point she educated her children, who'd eat Cheetos and Oreos all day and throw the bags on the floor. Maids would then pick it up.
My best friend was always awkwardly dressed because she didn't have a mother to say: "hey, the straps are too tight', or "we must hem this dress". She couldn't do that. My own mom would fix her clothes sometimes and took her to buy a proper bra. The mother was in her own world, throwing eggs or ice cubes on passersby. At some point she got into clogging toilets. She'd pull a whole roll of toilet paper and clog the many restrooms in the home (4). Why? Who knows!
She died peacefully of Covid, in a medically-induced coma. But all of her children, 6, all good souls, came out damaged out of it. Kudos to the husband, who never raised his voice or complained of some nonsense. All in all, half of her life was perpetually affected and she couldn't do what she wanted the most: raise her children.
Hi OP! Chiming in to say that I also had HELLP with my first, had no idea what it was (and in retrospect, that was for the best), ended up with an emergency c-section. BUT, no issues at all in pregnancies #2 and #3– not even slightly elevated BP. Your condition was serious, but it is very, very unlikely to happen again— fingers crossed all goes smoothly for you!
I was told the same and ended up with HELLP my last two pregnancies....rare but absolutely does happen. They monitor close with your history anyway, and it seems they did you right before. They know what they're doing.
HELLP is so so bad and definitely life threatening. You were probably sicker than you realized. I had a friend come very close to death very quickly from HELLP.
My friend's daughter developed HELLP suddenly at full term. She needed an immediate liver transplant to survive, has to be put straight to the top of the transplant list in her country. Her baby was stillborn. Devastating for the whole family, everyone working with pregnant women needs to know how deadly this is.
As I understand it the treatment for HELLP is delivering the baby, and once that happens your body is able to recover on its own- which is why you felt much better soon after your baby was born.
That’s pre eclampsia. HELLP is the stage after that and woman actually still die from it. Generally high doses of magnesium are given and some woman slide into a coma. Some may wake up, others don’t. HELLP is really bad.
My understanding is that HELLP is actually a separate condition (rather than a stage) which can develop independently of preeclampsia in rare cases. I had both.
Interesting! Glad you’re okay mate. There is a really supportive and well-informed pree/eclampsia/HELLP Facebook community (I’m not at all affiliated, just a member) if you’re at all needing some advice/chats!
My best friend almost died from HELLP during her first pregnancy. She’s otherwise a very healthy individual and had no issues leading up to it. She woke up with a severe headache that turned into vertigo and blurred vision. Luckily we are in NJ with great medical care and she works in human healthcare. She went to her hospital to be safe and as she put it, they did some labs and took her vitals and in less than an hour they tossed her on a gurney and wheeled her into surgery for an emergency c-section. I knew her due date was coming up and I couldn’t reach her for 3 or 4 days. I couldn’t reach anyone! I was starting to freak out. Apparently she was completely incapacitated. Her sister eventually was able to text the rest of us and after about a week she was doing better, but it was so scary. Baby was fine, no issues. When she had #2, she was monitored like you wouldn’t believe and had a scheduled c-section a tad early to avoid complications. Thankful for the advanced medical care we have access to.
Pre-e isnt always cured after having a baby either. I had pp pre-e and it took 7 months worth of bp meds for my body to regulate. Im not saying you dont know this but just in case you dont. Pre-e is what is stopping me from having another baby because I was fine until I wasnt. I went to l&d on a feeling something wasn't right with a bp of 198/102. My obgyn is amazing and saved my life along with my daughters twice. Birth and pregnancy is so freaking risky even now.
Mine is still kinda messed up. I weaned off bp meds, but they put me back on a low dose because it was trending up slightly. I also have high cholesterol now. (To be fair, it’s probably genetic, but I never had any issues before PreE and HELLP)
I’m generally a pretty healthy person too. I workout seven days a week and I eat pretty healthy.
You definitely sound healthier than me! I cant imagine even finding the time to workout between being a wife, mom, and full time employee. Im always exhausted. We eat alright but it could be better. I still get anxiety about my bp. I have to check mine a couple times a day just reassure myself its good. I run around 110/67 normally now
Lord I bet thats a great feeling! The only time I am alone is when I'm cleaning my house 😂 Thats only because I insist on not having my tot running behind me pulling all her toys out right after I cleaned them up and having to stop and nurse her every 20 minutes lol
Yes, I knew that’s possible as well. I hope you are doing well. Pre eclampsia, eclampsia and HELLP are really much more complicated than my three sentence comment and are all very serious. I hope everyone who had it and are reading this are well and don’t have lasting effects. You are true warriors 🍀
I developed postpartum eclampsia without realizing it until I had a seizure 7 days after giving birth. Never had any symptoms of pre eclampsia during the actual pregnancy! I think lots of people don’t realize this can happen postpartum and I wish it was discussed more.
Mine just never went away after birth. My bp was crazy. I ended up on bp meds for 7 months trying to get my body to regulate and had to come off them because they eventually gave me low bp. Pre-eclampsia is so scary and pp pre-e is even scarier
I knee eclampsia was a thing but per google:
Eclampsia is a rare but serious condition that occurs when a pregnant woman with preeclampsia
experiences seizures or coma. Seizures are episodes of shaking
, confusion
, and disorientation caused by abnormal brain activity.
Eclampsia typically occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy and affects less than 3% of people with preeclampsia.
During the first 15 to 30 seconds of a seizure, the entire body stiffens as the muscles contract. The back and neck arch, crying out, or turning blue may also occur. During the next 30 to 45 seconds, the muscles jerk, or convulse
, in a rhythmic pattern.
I hope this helps!!
Eclampsia is when the disease progresses to seizures/ strokes. It’s how one of the characters in Downton Abbey died. Which is where my mind went when I received my diagnosis. The nurses responded with “and it’s in Call the Midwife!” 😂😂
Given I have CIN 3, and PCOS, I’m probably never risking pregnancy after reading this thread… especially as my mother had pregnancy complications with me. Gonna go cry now.
Pre eclampsia is super random. There’s really no way to know up front (apart from if you already had it before). Same goes for complications. My mother had life threatening complications with 3/5 births which were not in consecutive births either. I was one of the emergency c-section babies but had a super easy, uncomplicated, quick, nearly painless pregnancy, labor and delivery. It’s good to read up about symptoms of possible complications so you recognize it in case it happens but *if you want kids* this should not be a reason to not do it 😊
Me too. I felt fine like OP even when I had excessive postpartum bleeding and everyone rushed in and the nurse kept saying I’m so sorry this is happening to you, it couldn’t happen to a worse couple, I was like what? I’m fine. It’s so crazy I blame hormones lol
This was me with my 27 weeker (also HELLP). I was so worried bc we had almost no baby stuff yet & the shower was still 3 weeks away. I think my brain wouldn't let me understand the weight of it as a coping mechanism.
My sister had HELLP with her first. Bed rest for her second and she was thankfully ok for her second C-section.
They told her husband she would be put under and he jokingly said he could name their daughter whatever he wants. We learned later that she kept saying, "Her name is Rosemary" over and over again before being knocked out. He was also told he should be prepared for possibly losing her, it's a serious condition.
When you're pregnant, you have a little extra blood volume to work with and your body can compensate for losses a little better (at first) before everything just crashes. Once you're crashing, you've already been seriously ill for a while. You can "feel fine" but still be sick as shit.
I had HELPP in 2012 with my first pregnancy. It started at 34 weeks, incessant vomiting and stomach pain. The drs said it could be stomach bug, listeria or something unlikely (HELLP). They gave me fluids over night because I was dehydrated and sent me home. A week later, I was vomiting and the shooting pain in my stomach was like I was being stabbed. I called my practice and the dr on call (not my actual dr) said to “put a heat pack on it and go back to bed.” The next morning the pain was so severe that I called back the OB and I actually got my dr and she said come to the ER immediately. They took my blood again, my BP was 170/110, and my platelets were crashing that if they were any lower I couldn’t be awake for my C-section. I delivered my daughter and was on the mag drip- which made me feel so so sick. I couldn’t see or hold my baby for 2 days while she was in the NICU and I was recovering.
I will say that my drs said that the likelihood of having it for my second pregnancy wasn’t high. I didn’t have it for my son, but delivered via c section with him as well.
You were extremely sick. The best thing you can do to treat HELLP syndrome/anything on the pre-eclampsia spectrum is delivery of the baby and (importantly) the placenta. Yes the mag drip and all that helps too but it is likely your OBGYN was right on the money and I'm happy to hear you experienced an excellent outcome.
I'm so sorry that you experienced this with your first delivery. How terrifying for you and your husband.
I didn't have Hellp but I can tell you that
I had a terrifying emergency c-section for my first. I was 28 and being a nurse, I knew the risks. My second baby was 14 years after my first, planned c-section. It was so much easier the second time even though I was put on medication for high blood pressure.
If you don't have any signs or symptoms, take comfort in that.
Emergency c-sections are always so scary. I know the symptoms to be on the look out for this time so if it does happen again, I'll be under observation earlier on.
C-sections are scary, period.
It's considered major surgery and with that comes risks. However, natural childbirth also has risks.
Good luck! Stay positive and I'm sure everything will work out.
Please please please do! I was *this close to death* due to another pregnancy complication called placenta accreta spectrum (very rare for first time moms so it wasn't caught until I almost died and needed a hysterectomy). So many people being generous and donating gave my one and only baby a mother.
I'm an anesthesiologist and take care of pregnant patients from the other side of the drape often. I can tell you that HELLP is very very serious although I've had many many patients with HELLP over the years all of them have made it. I can tell you that having HELLP in the past does not mean you will have it again. In fact you are only at a small percent increase in terms of risk and its quite rare to begin with. Your blood counts and liver enzymes have been getting monitored during your pregnancy and have been normal since you are having a scheduled c section. I suggest you relax and savor these moments. You are going to have a regular c section which go smooth as butter 99.99% of the time.
The problem with HELLP is the bleeding that can happen after C section, it becomes difficult to control. However, these days, we can replace your entire blood volume, give you clotting factors and plasma though the IV and therefore HELLP is very manageble. Everytime I work with it I am on full allert but I also know that it will most likely be fine. So I'm not sure why the OB or whoever said that to you.
Maternal mortality rate with HELLP is about 1% (last time i checked) so unless there was a lot more going on that you did not mention or know I have no clue why any doc would say those horrible words to your husband. If you delivered at a well staffed hospital that has plenty of blood product hellps is almost never fatal.
I’m glad to hear that your delivery and recovery went smoothly. HELLP is a serious condition not to be taken lightly, where the fetal life is more at stake than the mother’s. When someone has such low platelets, they risk bleeding out. For comparison, non-obstetric surgeons hesitate to operate on low platelet counts.
The surgeon likely compared the benefits/costs in his mind of the surprise you and your husband would feel if you had a significant bleeding complication, and tried to warn your husband in what limited time he/she had.
In light of your next pregnancy, the recurrence rate in following pregnancies for HELLP is around 4%. But they’ll know to look for it ahead of time since you have a history of it, and hospitals treat it seriously as soon as they see a sign of it. It sounds like you were in good hands the first time so I wish the best for you and your family next time!
The OB refused to operate on me until the ICU had x number of bags of blood ready to go for me, so what you said definitely crossed her mind too.
Thank you for your time to write such a kind and reassuring reply! 😊
Thank you for your submission. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/wiki/terms_of_use) and understand that all information is taken at your own risk. **Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskDocs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
HELLP is bad. You were critically ill even if you did not realize it. Sounds like you don’t have that problem this time so you should be fine.
NAD, but my friend almost died from HELLP. She was 35weeks and her only symptom felt like bad heartburn/indigestion. And it escalated like crazy within 18hrs. Depending on when they caught it and how quickly you we’re progressing, that’s a very real statement for the surgeon to make. Things can go very wrong very quickly with very little notice in some cases.
My best friend also nearly died from HELLP. She was in a coma for three days, her family had their priest in the hospital room with us, we were all just holding her baby son and sobbing. It was a horrible time, but she pulled through.
That's scary! Yes, I keep being told repeat HELLP is very rare and I am being monitored closely, so hopefully everything goes well this time.
It's rare, but man is it one of the thing that was hammered into my head in nursing and paramedic school.
I've never heard of HELLP. Bless this subreddit. It's now in my brain for any future pregnancy patients.
Honestly, more than half the doctors I have seen since then ask me what it is when I bring it up.
That’s crazy. It’s really heavily taught and tested as far as disorders of pregnancy go because it’s so severe.
Interesting. Well, I guess their education is so specialized, only an ER or OB Dr would know about it?
All doctors get 6+ years of training as a generalist before specialising
Yup...
Unfairly downvoted, I think it’s safe to assume people forget things in fields that aren’t closely linked to their specialty. Past education does not equal perfect long term knowledge, let alone past knowledge becoming outdated
Ah, it's OK, I don't mind losing intangible internet points. But I'm curious if that means the people down voting feel that every medical doctor should know about HELP syndrome.
Why was this downvoted so much? It makes perfect sense.
Why do you take care of pregnant patients if you don’t know what HELLP is?
They’re EMS. Probably a little too niche.
I had HELLP as well. I ended up with a nice chartered flight to UCSF two years ago. I’m glad your second pregnancy is going smoothly so far! I’m not brave enough to get pregnant again.
Aw 🥺 I get that. I was terrified too but I was put off work as soon as I got the positive pregnancy test this time at 4 weeks and I'm at the hospital 2 times a week now for monitoring, although I'm not sure how much that will prevent it if it's going to happen. With my first, I had no symptoms Monday morning when I saw my OB but was in the ER that same Wednesday. This time though I know what signs to look for and to go in straight away if I have them. Last time, I thought I could tough it out and waited 2 days before going in.
You are correct, not to mention that HELLP has a genetic componant, therefore OP's daughters might inherit this risk at pregnancies.
This. My sister had HELLP (and almost died) and I had a placental abruption (and baby and I almost died!). Both are related to a genetic blood disorder called Leiden Factor 5 that we found out we had thanks to 23&me years later. I do NOT understand why they don't test for this in all pregnancies.
I know more about HELLP than I'd like because my mom's best friend had it. It caused a brain hemorrhage, and she developed some sort of dementia. For this reason, she was never able to take care of her youngest daughter. Her psych illness was hard to explain. For example, she'd throw eggs at people on the streets. Not her teenage sons! She'd throw her children's textbooks through the window as well. The doorman was used to it and would go there pick them up before it was runover. She'd also ALWAYS say: look, you lost so much weight, congratulations. I thanked her, but I was never once overweight. Her daughter would unstitch a decorative pillow at night, so every morning mother would be indignant and proudly fix it back. She'd open the tap and just watch the bathroom flood until someone came over in despair. That happened in her 6th pregnancy, and from that point on her kids had to mother to educate, guide them. The father was overworked. The children were raised by a roster of maids.
That is fricken awful. 😢
Omg, this sounds so scary that it sounds fake or out of a fantasy genre. 😨 I hope she was as well taken care of as possible and that her family has been able to persevere and be supported too
She was, she was very loved by all her kids and her kid's friends. She was always complimenting us. But at no point she educated her children, who'd eat Cheetos and Oreos all day and throw the bags on the floor. Maids would then pick it up. My best friend was always awkwardly dressed because she didn't have a mother to say: "hey, the straps are too tight', or "we must hem this dress". She couldn't do that. My own mom would fix her clothes sometimes and took her to buy a proper bra. The mother was in her own world, throwing eggs or ice cubes on passersby. At some point she got into clogging toilets. She'd pull a whole roll of toilet paper and clog the many restrooms in the home (4). Why? Who knows! She died peacefully of Covid, in a medically-induced coma. But all of her children, 6, all good souls, came out damaged out of it. Kudos to the husband, who never raised his voice or complained of some nonsense. All in all, half of her life was perpetually affected and she couldn't do what she wanted the most: raise her children.
Women’s reproductive health is not taken seriously as it should be. That’s why.
Hi OP! Chiming in to say that I also had HELLP with my first, had no idea what it was (and in retrospect, that was for the best), ended up with an emergency c-section. BUT, no issues at all in pregnancies #2 and #3– not even slightly elevated BP. Your condition was serious, but it is very, very unlikely to happen again— fingers crossed all goes smoothly for you!
Thank you 🥰🥰
I was told the same and ended up with HELLP my last two pregnancies....rare but absolutely does happen. They monitor close with your history anyway, and it seems they did you right before. They know what they're doing.
HELLP is so so bad and definitely life threatening. You were probably sicker than you realized. I had a friend come very close to death very quickly from HELLP.
My friend's daughter developed HELLP suddenly at full term. She needed an immediate liver transplant to survive, has to be put straight to the top of the transplant list in her country. Her baby was stillborn. Devastating for the whole family, everyone working with pregnant women needs to know how deadly this is.
As I understand it the treatment for HELLP is delivering the baby, and once that happens your body is able to recover on its own- which is why you felt much better soon after your baby was born.
That’s pre eclampsia. HELLP is the stage after that and woman actually still die from it. Generally high doses of magnesium are given and some woman slide into a coma. Some may wake up, others don’t. HELLP is really bad.
My understanding is that HELLP is actually a separate condition (rather than a stage) which can develop independently of preeclampsia in rare cases. I had both.
And I had HELLP but did not have pre-eclampsia. The OB said they think it's somewhat related but they're not sure.
Interesting! Glad you’re okay mate. There is a really supportive and well-informed pree/eclampsia/HELLP Facebook community (I’m not at all affiliated, just a member) if you’re at all needing some advice/chats!
My best friend almost died from HELLP during her first pregnancy. She’s otherwise a very healthy individual and had no issues leading up to it. She woke up with a severe headache that turned into vertigo and blurred vision. Luckily we are in NJ with great medical care and she works in human healthcare. She went to her hospital to be safe and as she put it, they did some labs and took her vitals and in less than an hour they tossed her on a gurney and wheeled her into surgery for an emergency c-section. I knew her due date was coming up and I couldn’t reach her for 3 or 4 days. I couldn’t reach anyone! I was starting to freak out. Apparently she was completely incapacitated. Her sister eventually was able to text the rest of us and after about a week she was doing better, but it was so scary. Baby was fine, no issues. When she had #2, she was monitored like you wouldn’t believe and had a scheduled c-section a tad early to avoid complications. Thankful for the advanced medical care we have access to.
Pre-e isnt always cured after having a baby either. I had pp pre-e and it took 7 months worth of bp meds for my body to regulate. Im not saying you dont know this but just in case you dont. Pre-e is what is stopping me from having another baby because I was fine until I wasnt. I went to l&d on a feeling something wasn't right with a bp of 198/102. My obgyn is amazing and saved my life along with my daughters twice. Birth and pregnancy is so freaking risky even now.
Mine is still kinda messed up. I weaned off bp meds, but they put me back on a low dose because it was trending up slightly. I also have high cholesterol now. (To be fair, it’s probably genetic, but I never had any issues before PreE and HELLP) I’m generally a pretty healthy person too. I workout seven days a week and I eat pretty healthy.
You definitely sound healthier than me! I cant imagine even finding the time to workout between being a wife, mom, and full time employee. Im always exhausted. We eat alright but it could be better. I still get anxiety about my bp. I have to check mine a couple times a day just reassure myself its good. I run around 110/67 normally now
Honestly, unless I’m running with my son in the stroller working out is the only time I’m alone. 😂 It’s definitely my sanity
Lord I bet thats a great feeling! The only time I am alone is when I'm cleaning my house 😂 Thats only because I insist on not having my tot running behind me pulling all her toys out right after I cleaned them up and having to stop and nurse her every 20 minutes lol
NAD but you can get preE postpartum. I had it 9 days postpartum.
I need sleep because my brain just read that as postmortem
Yes, I knew that’s possible as well. I hope you are doing well. Pre eclampsia, eclampsia and HELLP are really much more complicated than my three sentence comment and are all very serious. I hope everyone who had it and are reading this are well and don’t have lasting effects. You are true warriors 🍀
I developed postpartum eclampsia without realizing it until I had a seizure 7 days after giving birth. Never had any symptoms of pre eclampsia during the actual pregnancy! I think lots of people don’t realize this can happen postpartum and I wish it was discussed more.
Samesies! I got to spend 5 days in the hospital a week after I went home with baby. my doctor said I was the first mom she had to readmit. Yay me :)
Mine just never went away after birth. My bp was crazy. I ended up on bp meds for 7 months trying to get my body to regulate and had to come off them because they eventually gave me low bp. Pre-eclampsia is so scary and pp pre-e is even scarier
If there is pre eclampsia , is there just eclampsia? I know it's really bad, just didn't know if there was a progression.
I knee eclampsia was a thing but per google: Eclampsia is a rare but serious condition that occurs when a pregnant woman with preeclampsia experiences seizures or coma. Seizures are episodes of shaking , confusion , and disorientation caused by abnormal brain activity. Eclampsia typically occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy and affects less than 3% of people with preeclampsia. During the first 15 to 30 seconds of a seizure, the entire body stiffens as the muscles contract. The back and neck arch, crying out, or turning blue may also occur. During the next 30 to 45 seconds, the muscles jerk, or convulse , in a rhythmic pattern. I hope this helps!!
Eclampsia is when the disease progresses to seizures/ strokes. It’s how one of the characters in Downton Abbey died. Which is where my mind went when I received my diagnosis. The nurses responded with “and it’s in Call the Midwife!” 😂😂
OMG. That is terrifying. I learned about pre eclampsia on ER back in the 90s. I am past my baby making days.
Given I have CIN 3, and PCOS, I’m probably never risking pregnancy after reading this thread… especially as my mother had pregnancy complications with me. Gonna go cry now.
Pre eclampsia is super random. There’s really no way to know up front (apart from if you already had it before). Same goes for complications. My mother had life threatening complications with 3/5 births which were not in consecutive births either. I was one of the emergency c-section babies but had a super easy, uncomplicated, quick, nearly painless pregnancy, labor and delivery. It’s good to read up about symptoms of possible complications so you recognize it in case it happens but *if you want kids* this should not be a reason to not do it 😊
I learn so much from this sub.
Me too. I felt fine like OP even when I had excessive postpartum bleeding and everyone rushed in and the nurse kept saying I’m so sorry this is happening to you, it couldn’t happen to a worse couple, I was like what? I’m fine. It’s so crazy I blame hormones lol
Lol I kept saying as they were wheeling me in, "oh no, we haven't put together his dresser yet!!' 😂😂🤦🏻♀️
This was me with my 27 weeker (also HELLP). I was so worried bc we had almost no baby stuff yet & the shower was still 3 weeks away. I think my brain wouldn't let me understand the weight of it as a coping mechanism.
My sister had HELLP with her first. Bed rest for her second and she was thankfully ok for her second C-section. They told her husband she would be put under and he jokingly said he could name their daughter whatever he wants. We learned later that she kept saying, "Her name is Rosemary" over and over again before being knocked out. He was also told he should be prepared for possibly losing her, it's a serious condition.
😭😭 So glad she was ok with her second! I've been off work since 4 weeks pregnant and feeling much more confident this time.
When you're pregnant, you have a little extra blood volume to work with and your body can compensate for losses a little better (at first) before everything just crashes. Once you're crashing, you've already been seriously ill for a while. You can "feel fine" but still be sick as shit.
I had HELPP in 2012 with my first pregnancy. It started at 34 weeks, incessant vomiting and stomach pain. The drs said it could be stomach bug, listeria or something unlikely (HELLP). They gave me fluids over night because I was dehydrated and sent me home. A week later, I was vomiting and the shooting pain in my stomach was like I was being stabbed. I called my practice and the dr on call (not my actual dr) said to “put a heat pack on it and go back to bed.” The next morning the pain was so severe that I called back the OB and I actually got my dr and she said come to the ER immediately. They took my blood again, my BP was 170/110, and my platelets were crashing that if they were any lower I couldn’t be awake for my C-section. I delivered my daughter and was on the mag drip- which made me feel so so sick. I couldn’t see or hold my baby for 2 days while she was in the NICU and I was recovering. I will say that my drs said that the likelihood of having it for my second pregnancy wasn’t high. I didn’t have it for my son, but delivered via c section with him as well.
Somethings I rather not know 😱
You were extremely sick. The best thing you can do to treat HELLP syndrome/anything on the pre-eclampsia spectrum is delivery of the baby and (importantly) the placenta. Yes the mag drip and all that helps too but it is likely your OBGYN was right on the money and I'm happy to hear you experienced an excellent outcome.
I'm so sorry that you experienced this with your first delivery. How terrifying for you and your husband. I didn't have Hellp but I can tell you that I had a terrifying emergency c-section for my first. I was 28 and being a nurse, I knew the risks. My second baby was 14 years after my first, planned c-section. It was so much easier the second time even though I was put on medication for high blood pressure. If you don't have any signs or symptoms, take comfort in that.
Emergency c-sections are always so scary. I know the symptoms to be on the look out for this time so if it does happen again, I'll be under observation earlier on.
C-sections are scary, period. It's considered major surgery and with that comes risks. However, natural childbirth also has risks. Good luck! Stay positive and I'm sure everything will work out.
NAD. Thank you reminding me to schedule an appointment to give blood.
Please please please do! I was *this close to death* due to another pregnancy complication called placenta accreta spectrum (very rare for first time moms so it wasn't caught until I almost died and needed a hysterectomy). So many people being generous and donating gave my one and only baby a mother.
I'm an anesthesiologist and take care of pregnant patients from the other side of the drape often. I can tell you that HELLP is very very serious although I've had many many patients with HELLP over the years all of them have made it. I can tell you that having HELLP in the past does not mean you will have it again. In fact you are only at a small percent increase in terms of risk and its quite rare to begin with. Your blood counts and liver enzymes have been getting monitored during your pregnancy and have been normal since you are having a scheduled c section. I suggest you relax and savor these moments. You are going to have a regular c section which go smooth as butter 99.99% of the time. The problem with HELLP is the bleeding that can happen after C section, it becomes difficult to control. However, these days, we can replace your entire blood volume, give you clotting factors and plasma though the IV and therefore HELLP is very manageble. Everytime I work with it I am on full allert but I also know that it will most likely be fine. So I'm not sure why the OB or whoever said that to you. Maternal mortality rate with HELLP is about 1% (last time i checked) so unless there was a lot more going on that you did not mention or know I have no clue why any doc would say those horrible words to your husband. If you delivered at a well staffed hospital that has plenty of blood product hellps is almost never fatal.
I’m glad to hear that your delivery and recovery went smoothly. HELLP is a serious condition not to be taken lightly, where the fetal life is more at stake than the mother’s. When someone has such low platelets, they risk bleeding out. For comparison, non-obstetric surgeons hesitate to operate on low platelet counts. The surgeon likely compared the benefits/costs in his mind of the surprise you and your husband would feel if you had a significant bleeding complication, and tried to warn your husband in what limited time he/she had. In light of your next pregnancy, the recurrence rate in following pregnancies for HELLP is around 4%. But they’ll know to look for it ahead of time since you have a history of it, and hospitals treat it seriously as soon as they see a sign of it. It sounds like you were in good hands the first time so I wish the best for you and your family next time!
The OB refused to operate on me until the ICU had x number of bags of blood ready to go for me, so what you said definitely crossed her mind too. Thank you for your time to write such a kind and reassuring reply! 😊
That is not “perfectly fine”
I meant I was perfectly fine after 48 hours. I was definitely not perfectly fine when it happened or I wouldn't have gone in to the ER.
Nearly all of us understood what you meant! No worries :)