Question:
At my 37 week appointment, the doctor said my blood pressure was high. Now,
it seemed a bit weird to me because it took a while to get a reading and
they were all over the place. She sent us to the hospital for blood work,
blood pressure and a non stress test (strapping a thing to the belly to hear
the heartbeat and count movements) Everything with the blood was fine but
again the pressure was up and down. One number would be high the first
reading and by the next, the top number was high and the bottom would be
low. I have to go again tomorrow to get tested again. I personally think it
has to do with the fact we moved this week plus the surprise of maybe
getting a Christmas baby PLUS the fact we had to park so far from the
hospital because a guy was on the top of the parking garage threatening to
jump off...
Has anyone else had this? I just wanted to know before they decide to induce
Answer:
Don't have anything helpful to mention, but I hope they decide things are ok
tomorrow and let you go for a couple more weeks (assuming all else is well).
I don't know if I'd accept an induction at 37 weeks based on this. If
your protein was up too, or you had other signs of PE, maybe, but just
because your bp's up and down? Hello, it's the holidays. I've been
running at a consistent 300/200 and I'm not even pregnant! :)
I'm planning on feeling much better on Monday. Hope you're better by
then, too!
depends how high your blood pressure is, it has got to be life threateningly
high for induction to be sensible before 39 weeks. There is a big drive in
the UK to cut deliveries before 39 weeks, because even though 37 weeks is
what the WHO says is full term, there is a big risk of problems between 37
and 39 weeks. There are many people on her who have had high blood pressure
in late pregnancy but without any figures it is difficult to say whether you
should be waiting and observeing, waiting and treating, or delivering now
(which is unlikely)
I did have blood pressure going slightly up starting from week 36 or 37 in
my first pregnancy, and while the midwife decided to keep a close eye on
that, there was no talk of inducing only because of that factor. It was up,
then down, then up again, and my midwife calls it "end of pregnancy" blood
pressure.
As an aside, I can tell you your blood pressure can in no way be affected by
exercises done prior to having it taken (eg. walking a long way from the
parking lot). I got this knowledge from my father : At one point, he wanted
his doctor to sign him a week off of work, and because he was just too proud
to admit he was having a depression, he thought he could fool the doctor in
thinking his blood pressure was way high. So as he got to the clinic,
instead of waiting patiently in the waiting room reading a magazine, he went
in the bathroom and did push-ups for a good 20 minutes, coming back in the
room just as they called his name. His heartbeat? real fast. His blood
pressure? Absolutely normal. How we laughed at him when he got home and told
us the story (not because he thought it would raise his blood pressure -it
was quite a sensible thought, although proven wrong-, but we could all
imagine him doing those push-ups in a public toilet)!
What you are describing here is labile blood pressure, which is *very*
common in late pregnancy. It's not a reason to induce unless the
pressures get so high that they are dangerous in and of themselves. If
there is no protein in your urine, your blood labs are coming back
clean, and the baby is doing fine on the stress tests, watchful waiting
is a perfectly appropriate response.
