Can You Prevent HELLP Syndrome?
How do I prevent HELLP syndrome? Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer. There aren't any specific ways to prevent it at this point, since there are no conclusive answers for it's cause. Here are some things I have found that you can do to TRY and prevent it, but these are not 100%.
Get Healthy
Try to be in great physical condition before getting pregnant. Just in general, a healthy BMI is 18.5-24.9kg/m^2. There are tons of calculators you can use online to get this number. *Note: I wouldn't bank on this number too much. I am not a heavy believer in BMI numbers. Here is why...In college, Josh and I were in some of our best physical shape, but my BMI was categorized as obese and Josh was categorized as morbidly obese. The number doesn't take much consideration to where our weight comes from (muscle vs fat). This is just my opinion and not a fact.
Exercise! Walking 30 minutes a day or 5 days a week is sufficient. I did a lot of yoga during my pregnancy and a decent amount of walking. However, I often wish I was in better shape BEFORE I got pregnant. (To this day, I am trying not to hold guilt for this. I am trying to stop blaming myself for not exercising enough or eating healthy enough...)
Be aware of pre-existing conditions
Make sure to let your midwife/OB know about any past medical conditions.
- High blood pressure or heart conditions.
- Family history of HELLP syndrome, hypertension or pre-eclampsia
- Your pregnancy history (Have you had pre-eclampsia with another pregnancy? What is your average blood pressure? Have you ever had a complication with pregnancy? Have you ever had HELLP syndrome in the past?)
***Another important note, I have epilepsy. It was important that they knew about this as well. HELLP syndrome could have led to me having seizures (or a stroke). If they know your history, they should know how to treat if something terrible develops.
Educate yourself
Show up to your appointments. Regardless of COVID-19 restrictions, push to have in-office visits. (I didn't do this, unfortunately.) You want to be physically examined. You want them to see if you look extra puffy or have enormously swollen legs/hands/face/arms.
Get your labs checked regularly. Liver function, kidney function, platelets, urine protein tests, blood pressure. Everything!
Based off of my normal BP, what is too high of blood pressure while pregnant? (It may not be the same for everyone.)
Find out what kind of swelling is considered "normal"?
What are signs of pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome? (answer - Headache, n/v/indigestion, abdominal/chest tenderness, upper right quadrant pain, shoulder pain when breathing deeply, bleeding, changes in vision, swelling)
ASK ASK ASK - Ask your healthcare provider questions even if it seems too early. No questions are dumb. If I don't feel right, when do I decide to go to L&D? Where is L&D in the hospital? **I asked these questions at the appointment before I went to the hospital. My last appointment was on a Thursday at the end of my 27th week. I asked where labor and delivery was located in my hospital "in case there were any emergencies." I asked "who do I call?" I thought this was a question that I was asking WAYYYYY to early. But apparently not. It is never too early.
TRUST your GUT
If you feel that something isn't right and you call a doctor/nurse for help, be overly careful about how you take advice. If they tell you to wait for an appointment on Monday...and you really don't feel right about it...just go to the hospital. The worst that can happen is that they will monitor you and say you are ok, and send you home. Bummer...but not really. It would be even more of a bummer if you didn't go to the hospital, and lost your baby because you waited too long. (Or because someone gave you a dumb answer.)
This probably all seems really straight forward. And as I am finding, there are not a lot of specifics as to how you can prevent HELLP, other than just generally keeping yourself healthy. Fingers crossed that the future will hold more discoveries!
