I recently have learned more about HELLP Syndrome. I had a client that unfortunately developed this during her 35th week of pregnancy. She had symptoms such as Tightening under the ribs causing it hard/painful to take deep breaths, burping, and even nausea/vomiting. She called me one evening and was explaining these symptoms to me. I suggested she call her provider and see what she thought. I wondered if maybe the baby had turned into a funky position or had a limb up in her ribs causing those pains. She sent me a message the next day and said that her doctor wanted to test her for a few things such as Pre-eclampsia, gallstones and HELLP Syndrome. I asked her if her blood pressure was high and she said yes it was a little. She said that they did some blood work and she would let me know as soon as she found out the results in the morning. The next morning I received a call much to my surprise that the doctor had called her that morning and explained that she needed to come to the hospital because her platelet levels were low and they were concerned. After she got checked in they did another test on her platelets and they had dramatically dropped since the evening before. This called for an Emergency C-Section. The doctor came in and explained that she was in the end stages of the beginning of HELLP and it would only get worse as the days went on. She explained that the baby was doing great but my clients life was the one in danger. She agreed and they proceeded. Because her levels where so low she had to be given a platelet transfusion prior to going to the OR for her C-section. Once she got those they explained that she would not be able to have a spinal block/epidural so they would need to give her general anesthesia. This was hard news to handle but knowing the severity of it all she agreed. Since then I have read even more on HELLP syndrome and my client posted this wonderful think about it. If you would like to know more about HELLP syndrome check out the link WHat is HELLP syndrome.
Photo Cred- Tiny Blessings Doula Services
