Hellp Syndrome - Joliet,IL

I had pre eclampsia and HELLP with my first pregnancy..which was a boy. I was doing fine all along and 2 weeks before I was due I had 3+ protein, and was retaining a lot of fluid. I was especially freaked out being a nurse myself. It was a scary experience and I was hesitant to have another baby. I waited 2 years to get pregnant. My doctor watched me very closely with the next pregnancy and I was fine. I had a very uneventful pregnancy. It was very nice to have that normal experience. Good luck to you!

T.,
I have had HELLP with all 3 of my pregnancies, so I know how scary it can be. I was very unsure about going for a 3rd because of it and also because of the fact that no doctor could give me an answer on whether it would happen again and anything that I could really do to prevent it. However, what they could do for me was to monitor my situation very closely and take any necessary measures to keep me and the baby healthy. I did see a high risk doctor and he assured me they would monitor me and make sure we are both safe. It did occur much later in the 3rd pregnancy and for all 3, babies and myself were all fine through delivery. I would say you might want to consider how far along you had the first. But, I do know alot of cases where HELLP does not reoccur also. Just having a consultation with a high risk doctor might help you get a better feeling about the situation. I found a great high risk doctor and that did it for me.

You experienced a very serious complication of pregnancy. My recommendation would be for you to consult with an obstetrician who specializes in high risk pregnancies and who practices at one of the major medical centers in your area. If you are near Chicago, you could consider Northwestern, Loyola or University of Chicago. These centers have the ability to care for both mother and baby if complications occur. Good luck!

No doctor should tell you yes or no that you will develop hellp syndrome and eclampsia again because they don't know. Many women go on to have healthy pregnancies after a first pregnancy with hellp syndrome, but not all. There are no guarantees in this world. If you want a second child go for it and make sure your doctor is a high risk doctor. Best of luck!

I developed HELLP syndrome 20 weeks into my pregnancy about 7 years ago. It came to the point where the only way my life could be saved was for me to delivery my son at exactly 20 weeks. And because he was just too early I lost him.
I saw many specialists after and no one could tell me why I got this or what caused it or if it would happen again. I was told that I was an usual case because no one ever got it that early. Or at least the Dr. s I saw never had that type of experience with it. I was told the earlier you get it the more likely it is to return.
Well, I have two boys now and I never got it again. Never showed any signs of it in either of my pregnancies afterwards. Needless to say I was a nervous reck and scared the entire time I was pregnant.
When I lost my first baby I had no other children and I was determined that I was going to be a mom.

I had HELLP Syndrom with my first child...and absolutely no issues or complications with my second. So, yes, it does happen!

It was very frustrating that no one could give me any solid information about the re-occurrence of HELLP in subsequent pregnancies. When I realized I was pregnant again (surprise!), I had a consultation with the head Physician of the Maternal-Fetal Department of our hospital. He basically told me that very little research has been conducted on HELLP so there are very few answers. All he did was put me on a 80mg dose of aspirin each day. From there, my pregnancy was handled by my OB (who diagnosed the previous HELLP) like any other pregnancy.

One of the things I heard (but I don't remember if it was on an internet HELLP support group or from the Doctor) was that when HELLP re-occurs, it typically does not re-occur earlier than it did in the previous pregnancy. But, again, I do NOT know if this is scientifically accurate or not.

I was very lucky, as my HELLP didn't develop until I was 37.5 weeks along and my baby was 100% healthy upon her birth -- she wasn't even sent to the NICU. I had absolutely no signs or symptoms of HELLP at any point with my second baby. He was delivered a bit early at 38.5 weeks (for other reasons, not concern about HELLP).

Perhaps you can talk to someone in the Maternal-Fetal Dept of your hospital. Call and see if they are willing to talk to you prior to becoming pregnant. Best of luck to you!

If you have a history of HELLP, then your OB/Gyn's office should mointor you very close. If your bllood pressure at all goes up, you start to swell, you start to spill protien in your urine, then you may have some bedrest to try to hold off HELLP from developing. Your PIH, will happen first. Many women who had PIH that went into HELLP and even some DIC, may have to go on bedrest for a part of other later pregnancies. They should also get basline labs before you get pregnant or at the begining of your pregnancy. Now if your PIH was just a by chance thing.... then you only have a 8% chance of getting it again if the father of both babies is the same. Now if you have some underlying chronic blood pressure problem or Lupus undiagnosed, then your chance are a looooot higher. Also other auto-immune disease can also increase the chances. If these are not your cases,then 8% is your percentage. Now you will not get doctors to tell you to "go ahead and have that baby"; because they can not guarantee it will not happen again. So, my suggestion is, 1) Go get basline labs and an exam to make sure everything is normal range. 2) Prepare yourself for bedrest, that can be ordered as early as 20 weeks 3) Know that your baby will probably come at least 2 weeks early. Get ready to have a lot more doctor appointments than usual. If you can handle the above, then go for it!

I was an OB nurse before becoming SAHM so this is coming from that. Don't get too upset with your doctors not being able to give you a definitive answer because unfortunately medicine IS NOT and exact science and sometimes they really can't give you an exact answer. There really is no rhyme or reason as to whether you will get this again or not. I saw women who had it in first pregnancies and never again and also saw it happen to them over and over.

Remember your doctor is aware you've had this before so he should be monitoring you very closely the next time. Discuss this with him and come up with a "plan" as to how they will go about doing this and hopefully that will make you feel better knowing he will be watching you.

just use a high risk dr... you can't tell what will happen.. good luck

I had pre eclampsia and delivered 6 weeks early with my first. I got pregnant for the second time only 2 1/2 months later. There were no complications with my second although my blood pressure started to elevate at about 38 weeks. We induced at 38 and 12/ weeks. I was in my late 30's at the time. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.