1st pregnancy severe pre-eclampsia what are my odds for the second?

[mommy_smith]

Hi ladies, I just have a quick question.  I had severe pre-ecampsia my first pregnancy.  It was really bad, my liver and kidneys were shutting down, blood pressure was 200ish over 150ish, and my platelets were so low they wouldn't clot my blood so they put 4 units of blood in me.  They induced me 5 weeks early and it was the most horrible time of my life.  
So what are the chances of getting pre-ecampsia or Hellp with the second pregnancy?  Me and my husband weren't even going to have anymore children but oops!!! LOL

[tiredbuthappy]

I had preeclampsia with my first pregnancy, so this is something i discuss frequently with my OB. While I am not high risk, the doctor i see happens to be a high-risk doctor and is very knowledgable about preeclampsia.
Your chances of having it again are LOWER than last time, but higher than a person who has never had it before.

I hope I explained this right. Basically, your chances are highest in your first pregnancy. If you had it the first time, you have a slightly higher risk of having it again than a person who did not have it the first time, but your chances overall are less this time.

My OB refers to preeclampsia as a "disease of implantation." Whether or not you will have it is determined at conception, but there's no way of knowing in advance if you will have it. There is nothing you can do to prevent it- the best thing you can do is watch carefully for symptoms.

I am surprised that they induced you last time. My symptoms got bad at 36 weeks, so my OB decided to do a c-section. He said since it was so early, chances are I wouldn't progress and would end up needing a c-section anyways. Honestly, i felt so sick and horrible at that point from the preeclampsia that I don't think i would have been able to tolerate labor. I could barely stay awake waiting for the section. Perhaps they made you go through labor because of your platelets? my platelets were getting low as well but they were barely high enough to allow me to be conscious for the section. if they had gotten any lower, i would have been put under completely for the procedure.

[amberd5191]

As the other oster said, it is very high risk. My cousin had to be induced at 28 weeks because she went blind from preeclampsia; they told her it was unlikely she would ever have a normal pregnancy; they told her 98% chance it would happen again.

Good luck, make sure you get early care from an OB.

[Latrice414]

It is pretty high that you could have it again, especially if you already have blood pressure issues.  I would suggest talking to your OB since that condition is HIGH RISK, they may want to montior you closely.