HELLP Syndrome

Hello i did not have this w my pregnancy but my close friend had it w her second child and delivered a premiee little boy .she was advised to not have any more children after that.but she became pregnant agian and had no problems...so who know its all in the lords hands. you have a 50% chance it will happen agian. good luck T.

I had HELLP syndrome also, with my first and only child. We decided to stick with just one, mainly because of the risk of Downs Syndrome at my age. My OBGYN said that if I got pregnant again I wouldn't be any more likely to have HELLP the second time than I was the first. But he followed that by saying I would be considered a high-risk patient from the start because I had it in the past. I wasn't quite sure how to interpret that. I don't personally know anyone else who has had it. I will be interested to see if anyone has tried again after having this.

As an L&D nurse who works in a high risk L&D unit, you are at a slight risk of developing HELLP again, but your doctor should be even more vigilant of watching for signs and symptoms, even send you to a high risk perinatologist because you would be considered a high risk patient. I have cared for many women that have had PIH/ pre-e and HELLP syndrome with one pregnancy and never developed it again.
In a recent study I just read about, if your mother or sister has had it you are at greater chance of having PIH/ Pre-e and if the father of the baby mother had it with him then there is a 50% chance that the mother of his children will develop this condition. Some science is pointing at an enzyme or protein on the male sperm that may trigger this.
But I would talk it over with your doctor and see what things you could do to possibly put you in the best optimum health before getting pregnant and once pregnant watch for any signs that this may be developing again. Some doctors like to run blood test before pregnancy to see if there are some things that put you at greater risk like: MTHFR, Factor V Lieden, Protein C & S defiency, PAI.....these are linked to women who also have repetative miscarriages, but can also tell if there is a likelyhood for placental issues that may develop that can be associated with PIH/pre-e, this condition can be a precursor to HELLP.

The Brewer Diet can help prevent HELLP syndrome, and it also helps to prevent pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension, toxemic edema, premature labor, abruption of the placenta, IUGR, and low birth weight. As explained in a book by Dr. Brewer's former wife, Gail Brewer Krebs, "When you have met the nutritional demands of your pregnancy, the placenta does not shear off prior to the birth of your baby, the uterus behaves as it should in staying firmly contracted in the hours after birth, the chances of having a major tear or requiring forceps or a cesarean are minimized, and your liver keeps up with all its 500 metabolic functions--including the manufacture of essential clotting factors." (The Very Important Pregnancy Program, pp. 168-169)

There is much scientific evidence that supports the claim that the Brewer Diet can prevent those complications. You can see here for more information...
http://home.mindspring.com/~djsnjones/id11.html
http://home.mindspring.com/~djsnjones/id80.html
http://home.mindspring.com/~djsnjones/id79.html
http://home.mindspring.com/~djsnjones/id77.html

Best wishes,
J.

I didn't have HELLP myself, so I can't help with that part. I don't know how the manage it once you have it. But I would recommend what's called "the Brewer's Diet" for prevention. It has a wonderful track record of preventing toxemia/preeclampsia/pregnancy-induced hypertension, etc. It doesn't get a lot of press with OB's (perhaps because it doesn't have any drug reps behind it to market it) and there aren't a lot of hard studies to back it up (thank goodness! Who would want them to experiment with pregnant women!) but it's antecdotal evidence is fantastic. http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/ is the official website. http://home.mindspring.com/~djsnjones/id9.html is also a really good breakdown of the diet. Just FYI!

My sister-in-law had HELLP with her first baby who ended up being born at 29 wks. It was very serious and we almost lost my sister-in-law. Several years later she became pregnant again and everything went great! Her dr. monitored her very closely (pretty much weekly) through out the pregnancy and they made the decision to have a c-section at 36 weeks, but other than that everything was good!

I had HELLP syndrome with my first child also. I had HELLP and an almost severe form of pre-ecclampsia. When i had my second child, i got to about 30 wks and they said that my blood pressure was starting to look high and i could be having signs of pre- ecclampsia again so they watched me for the rest of my pregnancy and i didnt get any signs of HELLP, but i also had my son at 34 weeks they decided i could have him early so i wouldnt develop pre-ecclampsia again. but there were never any signs of HELLP syndrome.
Hope this helps you.

Hi H.,
Like you I had HELLP syndrome with my first born. Thankfully he did ok and was only 4 weeks early, since they had to induce me. After a couple of years we decided to have our 2nd. I didn't think i would have a problem again but I was wrong. My second pregnancy started out with no problems and my dr's kept on eye on me. When I got to my 3rd trimester thats when everything got scary from there.My blood pressure was elevated and they began to run tests and decided to admit me. My daughter was 10 weeks premature and spent 46 days in the ICN. I was admitted at almost 29 weeks and my dr's were hoping I could get to 36 weeks in the hospital. Needless to say that did not happen because my preeclampsia just kept getting worse. My daughter has just turned a year old and has no physical or medical problems. She is a little smaller than most 1 year olds but she is healthy and happy. As a mom who has gone through this as yourself, I can only say is go into your next pregnancy with positive thoughts and faith. Make sure you have wonderful doctors who are proactive and familiar with HELLP syndrome. My dr's were awesome and I thank them for taking care of my baby and me and making sure we were both going to be ok. I highly recommend the Bradford Clinic on Providence Road, Dr. Bhojwani. Best of luck to you and you never know your next pregnancy could be problem free.

Just have another baby because the child you have right now is a blessing so if your other child and it has syndrome its still going to be a big blessing to you and your family because whatever GOD created he created it for a reason!!

Do not feel overwelmed,everyone feels this way.Wait til the first is at least old enough to want to help with the second child .Make it fun.Gigi M.