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Eclampsia and Disregard of Doctors?

Alice - posted on 07/13/2009 ( 3 moms have responded )

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I've been wondering whether my situation happens often or not, I think if so then something needs to be done about it, I've considered writing a letter of complaint to my hospital in the hopes that no other women will need to go through the seizures and headaches, but I'm not sure if I was just a strange case or not.

I was admitted into the hospital one night with a horrific headache and a BP upwards of 300.
I was informed that I had pre eclampsia (toxemia) and that at 31 weeks they did not recommend inducing labour.
So I stayed in hospital for another week on bed rest, during that week every checkup they would ask if the headache was back, or I was seeing lights.
About 8 days after I went in I started having these symptoms, I informed the nurses and... they did nothing?
They had been asking me all this time, and when I finally had those symptoms they carried on as if I had been answering negatively still.
At about 10 o'clock that night I had a seizure, my husband noticed my limbs moving and froth at my mouth and he pushed the emergency button.
I then had to have an emergency cesarean, resulting in my son being born at 2 am. Thankfully he was ok and so was I, but I have to wonder why they didn't act earlier before my husband had to go through the trauma of watching me fit.

I was just wondering whether anyone else has a similar experience?

My son also has Spina Bifida and when we went into hospital for the toxemia the doctors said he wouldn't survive being born this early with the SB on top of the prematurity. He's doing well, a bright and bubbly 18 month old, but it still bothers me to think that if something had gone wrong, if my husband had not be there, we would have lost him.

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Emma - posted on 07/20/2009

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I am also from the UK like Claire and but had pre-eclampsia and HELLP (a liver disorder during pregnancy) and as soon as both were detected I was sent to the maternity unit and stayed there being monitored for 2 days. On the 3rd day, I woke with a severe headache, flashing lights and throwing up uncontrollably and as soon as itold them I was sent to the delivery suite to be induced and after birth I had to stay in an extra wk until my bloods were back to normal and until my daughters jaundice had gone. I too was swollen throughout my body and was very itchy.

A couple of weeks before thie though I was sent to the delivery suite by my GP as she was worried about e but nothing was done. If it wasn't caught in time it could have been alot worse. I'm sorry for what happened to you.

Claire - posted on 07/17/2009

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Hi - I had pre eclampsia at 33 weeks! I am in the UK and they took it extremely seriously! I was admitted to hospital on the Sunday night where they stabilised me overnight (my liver and kidneys were shutting down) I was then induced to deliver my son Luke the next day. Luke spent 2.5 weeks in special care with jaundice and breathing difficulties. W are both fine now - the staff were brilliant! If they hadn't have acted so quickly god knows what might have happened.......

Nicole - posted on 07/17/2009

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I had something similar happen but it wasn't near that bad. I'm sorry they let yours get so bad. With my daughter(5 yrs old now), me and my mom tried to tell my ob that she had severe pre eclampsia with me and I had to be taken 8 wks early and that there could be a chance of me getting it. Well he said that it wasnt something that ran in families, and that I didn't need to worry.

But my dad was a doctor in the military so he monitored my blood pressure anyways. And towards the end it started getting higher, I was getting dizzy and really swollen. I had to stop working a couple months early, but my ob still kept saying I was fine. Until my dad took my bp one day and it was around 200/130. I went to the ER and they said they would have to induce labor to keep me from seizing. Luckily my daughter and me were ok, but if it wasn't for my dad it could have gotten much worse.

Now my sister has had 2 girls and pre eclampsia with both, and I just went into labor early from pre eclampsia(but I had a much better ob that listened to me)with my son. So yes I do think it is a problem with certain doctors and nurses that just don't care to listen and look for the signs. I have also wondered if I could find a way to report my old doctor to make sure it doesn't happen anymore.

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