Postpartum Preeclampsia, Yeah, It’s a Thing…
178/123. “Are you feeling alright?” the nurse asked with a look of worry and concern.
It was my 6-week postpartum appointment. I got up that morning feeling great! The kid and I were officially off house arrest (she had her shots a few days prior). I had two separate doctor appointments that day, the first, with my OB and the second with my neurologist. Dressed Afeni in a cute little dress onesie, threw on a simple white tee with some distressed jeans, added some jewelry, and we were on our way. Typically, my husband will either accompany me to doctor appointments or stay home with the baby. That day he had a last-minute meeting, so I took her along with me. Once in the back, the nurse comes in to get my weight, temp, and blood pressure. We make small talk in between her getting my vitals and asking me the standard postpartum questions. I’m sitting there with blood pressure cuff on and caught a look of concern on the nurse’s face. The machine beeped, the pressure released, and the numbers flashed on the screen. 178/123. She looked at me and asked, “Are you feeling alright?” I chuckled and told her I felt fine. She raised my arm above my head, placed it gently in my lap, and said that we were going to do it again. Second time my numbers were still high. She made me wait for about 30 minutes and took it again. 169/120.
Backstory: At 35 weeks, my blood pressure started spiking (landed me in the hospital twice), my doctor made me purchase a blood pressure monitor. I checked my pressure three times a day (under the strict order from my nurse best friend). For a week, my numbers remained high. My doctor gave me a blood pressure medication and put me on bed rest. It took about two weeks for my pressure to come down a little, and we were debating about induction at 38 weeks. She changed my medication to a stronger dose, and I was induced at 39 weeks. We gave birth to a healthy, 6lbs 3oz baby with no complications. By the time I was discharged, my blood pressure was regulated, and I assumed all was well.
When my doctor entered the room, she spoke, smiled and cooed at the baby, asked me how I was feeling, made mention of my blood pressure, but not in a way that gave me pause for concern. Though I knew my blood pressure should not have been that high, it didn’t register at the moment how deadly it could have been. We checked my pressure once more, and it was still pretty high. She let me drive home, didn’t give me any immediate directives, or encouraged me to continue to monitor my blood pressure. I drove straight to my neurology appointment, the nurse there took my vitals and blood pressure. 173/111. She, too, mentioned how high it was, asked what did the doctor say or do. When the neurologist came in, it was the first thing she addressed. She expressed genuine concern for my health and the health of my baby. She made me an appointment with a primary care doctor in the same network, adjusted my migraine medication, insisted that I stay a while before I drove home.
When I got home, I called my best friend (the nurse) and told her what had transpired that day. She was livid. The fact that my OB did nothing to bring down my blood pressure immediately, did not advise me to take the medication that was given during pregnancy, did not advise me to keep monitoring my pressure, and she let me drive with stroke level blood pressure with a newborn. It was negligent. The next day, I saw my new primary care physician. He gave me a full workup, asked me questions about my pregnancy and my medication. He told me that I had postpartum preeclampsia.
“Postpartum preeclampsia is a rare condition that occurs when you have high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine soon after childbirth. Preeclampsia is a similar condition that develops during pregnancy and typically resolves with the birth of the baby.
Most cases of postpartum preeclampsia develop within 48 hours of childbirth. However, postpartum preeclampsia sometimes develops up to six weeks or later after childbirth. This is known as late postpartum preeclampsia.
Postpartum preeclampsia requires prompt treatment. Left untreated, postpartum preeclampsia can cause seizures and other serious complications.”
—https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-preeclampsia/symptoms-causes
Preeclampsia? Why would I have that when I’ve already given birth? He explained that no one really knows the cause of preeclampsia, and in most cases, it does cure itself after delivery, but in my case, it continued into postpartum. For me, it took an additional eight weeks for my blood pressure to regulate, and I was no longer preeclamptic. I was recently asked what my OB could’ve done differently. It’s simple. She could’ve cared more. Something as simple as instructing me to continue to monitor my blood pressure, keep taking the medication, and checking in with me prior to my six-week checkup. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
“Hypertension, and preeclampsia is the third leading cause of pregnancy-associated deaths in the U.S.”
—https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
I could’ve have been in that number and that scares me. Please know that I understand the weight that doctors carry, and in no way is this to bash them. I can only speak from my experience with my provider at the time. I share story in hopes that it will help someone else. We’re in this together!
XOXO,
Whitney
