Pregnancy and high blood pressure: A journey in three parts

By Ann M. Curtis (pictured with her daughter, Caitlin)

ann curtis and her daughter, caitlin Pregnancy and chronic illness. Sounds a little scary, doesn’t it? Well, it doesn’t have to be. I’ve been there. Done that. Luckily, for me, being pregnant was the easy part. It was what came after that was hard.

It wasn’t until I moved to a different state when I was 29 that I found out I have high blood pressure, one of those five percent of the population for which there is no known cause. The boyfriend I moved with became my fiancé after three months, and we used the pill for birth control.

My doctor wanted me to quit the pill—because the estrogen in it plays havoc with blood pressure—but understood about the convenience factor and the 99% effectiveness. So I was allowed to remain on the pill until after our honeymoon, when we switched to condoms. After the ease and carefree lifestyle of using the pill, the condom was very much unappreciated by my husband and me.

We bumbled our way through a year of condoms, and then started discussing whether or not we should have children. If we were going to, it was time; I was 31, and my husband was 29. We weren’t getting any younger, and my OB/GYN told me that if we were going to have children, to have them as soon as possible (again, that thing with high blood pressure).

I wanted four, my husband said none, I wanted four, my husband said one, I said three, my husband said one; we eventually compromised on having one child and waiting and deciding on a second child later.

Whew!

Getting pregnant was the easy part

That taken care of, we became pregnant within two months of my quitting the pill. We were shocked, actually. My mom and my sister both had some trouble conceiving, so I was surprised when I found out getting pregnant was easy for me.

I practically breezed through those first three months. No morning sickness or throwing up for me, uh-uh. Basically I ate well—made sure to eat something from each food group every day—and the baby and I did fine.

My OB/GYN and my doctor (an internist whose specialty was cardiovascular) worked hand-in-hand during my pregnancy. The fact that they were both at the same clinic and worked well together was also a big plus, because they spent a lot of time coordinating my care. I spent a lot of time at the clinic, having multiple sonograms and lab work done. Having been labeled high-risk, my doctors were going to do the best they could for me and my unborn baby.

High blood pressure = high risk factor

I found out later, closer to the end of my term, that I was only the second patient my OB had treated with the high risk factor of high blood pressure. Knowing she and my doctor were working so closely together to make sure that I, and my unborn baby, remained well, I wasn’t worried. In fact, I feel we developed a very strong patient-doctor bond during my pregnancy, and I’m glad she delivered my daughter.

My pregnancy was not the normal, run-of-the-mill pregnancy most women experience. I wasn’t sick; in fact, not having morning sickness is, I guess, quite uncommon. But I was a very frequent guest at the clinic, getting check-ups, labs, sonograms and urinalysis (to check for early signs of ketosis and preeclampsia). In fact, I was on a first name basis with the OB receptionists, and to this day, they still know and recognize me, and it’s been seven years since my daughter was born. (I’m not sure if that’s good or not…)

The precautions with the labs and tests were to safeguard both my health and the baby’s. I might have had medical conditions stacked against me, but my doctors were determined to help me have as normal of a pregnancy and delivery as possible. For that, I am extremely grateful.

Second trimester: Garlic and napping and pressure cuffs, oh my!

The second trimester also passed relatively smoothly. The only problem was that my internist began having trouble regulating my high blood pressure medicine. We found out later, after I’d delivered, that the medicine I was taking (Labetalol) wasn’t the correct one for me, but by the time we discovered that, I was already pregnant, and my doctor didn’t want to change my meds.

I wasn’t doing superb, but I wasn’t in a worst case scenario, either. I read somewhere that garlic was supposed to be good for the heart, so I added that to my daily pill regimen; only after my daughter was born did my husband tell me he didn’t like my breath. I quit taking garlic a couple months after the birth. I didn’t particularly like the aftertaste (like after a burp), either, and the garlic had done what it was supposed to do: help deliver a healthy baby.

There were two other constants throughout my pregnancy. A weekly (and, at times, daily) blood pressure reading was required. Since I have some hearing loss (nerve damage in both ears, from birth), I can't take my own blood pressure because I can’t hear with accuracy when the beat stops. So I had to engage my husband’s help. He came to detest taking my blood pressure reading toward the end, and I don’t blame him. I was sick of having my arm pumped up, too.

The other constant was sleeping, whenever possible, on my left side. This, I guess, helped my heart. Something about the flow of blood and that the heart wasn’t taxed as much when pumping. Since I’m a side sleeper, that wasn’t a hard adjustment to make. During the first trimester I laid down and took a daily nap after I got home from work. In fact, I was “ordered” to rest as much as possible. Being pregnant puts a lot of added pressure on the heart; it was nice to be able to lay down and rest and be able to say it was “doctor-prescribed.”

Having breezed through the first six months, the next three were more excitement-filled—both good and bad.

Coming next week:

Part Two: The harrowing third trimester.

About Ann:

Ann Curtis resides with her husband and daughter in Madison, Wisconsin. At the age of 29, Ann found out she had high blood pressure. Pregnancy hormones forced her to manage her (mild childhood) asthma and allergies with medication and, a few years later, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and atophic dermatitis decided to drop in as well. She has been pursuing a writing career for more years than she cares to acknowledge, and owns AC Proofing Services, for which she does manuscript assessments and editorial services. She’s currently writing a romantic suspense and working as an editor for Loose Id.

Posted: 5/17/2007 in Family