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Ill Prepared
Headache? Vomiting? Itching? Just be sure nothing is wrong
By Andrea Cottee
“Pre-eclampsia can be life-threatening. It’s when the placenta doesn’t work properly so your baby’s food and oxygen supply is restricted.”
If you’re hit with morning, noon and night sickness and can’t keep food or liquids down, you could be one of the 1 per cent of pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).
“Never ignore severe all-over-body itching, especially on the soles of your hands and feet, from around 28 weeks of pregnancy. This, plus dark pee and loss of appetite, is a typical sign of obstetric cholestasis (OC), a pregnancy liver disorder.” |
You don’t always need a urine test to know something’s not right with your growing baby - three different symptoms can tell you loud and clear all may not be well.
THE SYMPTOM: ACUTE HEADACHES
Thanks to hormone surges, fatigue and hunger, it’s normal to have headaches; especially during the first trimester, but…
What to watch out for
“If you’re getting frontal headaches, plus blurred vision and flashing lights, typically during your final trimester, you could have pre-eclampsia,” says midwife Laura Abbot. “The main indicators are high blood pressure (BP) and protein in your pee. Other symptoms are sudden, severe swelling in your feet, hands and face, sickness and pain in the upper abdomen.”
The risks
“Pre-eclampsia can be life-threatening,” says Michael Rich of Action on Pre-eclampsia in the UK. “It’s when the placenta doesn’t work properly so your baby’s food and oxygen supply is restricted.” The risks to you increase as the illness advances, from organ damage to full eclampsia with fits and coma. It can even be fatal.
The treatment
If your BP’s soaring and there’s protein in your urine, you’ll be monitored closely in hospital. Drugs can lower your BP, but in severe cases the only cure is to deliver your baby.
It happened to me
Tamsin Lee, 26, suffered pre-eclampsia when pregnant with Annie, 16 months.
“Until 36 weeks, I had a textbook pregnancy, with just some manageable sickness in the first three months. But on the morning of a routine antenatal check, I started feeling sick. When my gynae checked my blood pressure three times, I knew something was wrong. It was sky high and there was protein in my urine.
I was immediately admitted to hospital; by this point I had a blinding headache and blurred vision. Medication lowered my blood pressure, but the protein levels in my urine were so high Annie had to be delivered quickly by Caesarean. She was a healthy 2.8kg.”
THE SYMPTOM: SEVERE MORNING SICKNESS
Around 70 per cent of women suffer from morning sickness, so relieving yourself of your breakfast in the toilet isn’t a sign something’s up. However…
What to watch out for
If you’re hit with morning, noon and night sickness and can’t keep food or liquids down, you could be one of the 1 per cent of pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). Unlike morning sickness, which typically runs from eight to 14 weeks, HG often starts at six weeks and continues until around week 20. Symptoms include weight loss and dehydration, which causes dark yellow pee, dry lips and mouth, headaches and palpitations. In rare cases, some women suffer from ptyalism, when they can’t swallow excessive saliva without vomiting.
The risks
Very little to your baby. “She’ll take all the nutrients she needs from you, which is why you feel so lousy,” says Abbot. Dehydration is the big worry; we become seriously ill after only a few days without fluids. “If left untreated, HG results in low levels of potassium in the bloodstream and prevents your liver from functioning properly,” Abbot adds.
The treatment
In mild cases, resting, snacking on dry toast or crackers before getting out of bed, and eating little and often helps. Some women swear by travel-sickness wristbands. “Your doctor can prescribe medication but if you’re very dehydrated, you’ll need to be given fluids intravenously in hospital,” says Abbot.
It happened to me
Joanne Nunis, 38, suffered from HG while pregnant with Isobel, 3, and Daniel, 9.
“Four weeks into my pregnancy, I was throwing up every 10 minutes. Anything I ate or drank came back up. Within 48 hours, I was in hospital with dehydration.
Over the next five months, I was hospitalised eight times and fed through a tube. By 18 weeks, I’d lost over 12kg and weighed 44kg! But by 23 weeks, I’d stopped vomiting and Daniel was born full term, weighing 3.7kg.
With Isobel, I began vomiting at seven weeks. But with medication I was hospitalised just three times, only lost 6kg and wasn’t sick after 18 weeks.”
THE SYMPTOM: EXTREME ITCHING
Itching is usually down to your skin stretching as your belly and boobs swell. But…
What to watch out for
“Never ignore severe all-over-body itching, especially on the soles of your hands and feet, from around 28 weeks of pregnancy. This, plus dark pee and loss of appetite, is a typical sign of obstetric cholestasis (OC), a pregnancy liver disorder,” says Jenny Chambers of the Obstetric Cholestasis Support Group in the UK.
The risks
“It affects your liver and complications include premature delivery and, in severe cases, stillbirth,” Abbot notes. “See your gynae immediately for blood tests. With prompt treatment, there should be no long-lasting effects.”
The treatment
Drugs can be used to manage OC until your baby’s lungs are mature enough for delivery. “You’ll be offered an induction or C-section around 37 weeks to avoid complications,” Abbot explains.
It happened to me
Farzilah Kamsir, 28, suffered from OC when she was pregnant with her son Amir, 2.
“At 32 weeks, I started itching all over, especially on my hands and feet. I put it down to the heat and humidity, but two weeks later, the itching was unbearable. At 3am, I was rubbing my feet against the rug for some relief. My husband Faisal whisked me to A&E. My baby was monitored and my blood tested. I was diagnosed with OC and given tablets to reduce the bile salts building up in my blood, affecting my liver and making me itch.
Over the next couple of weeks, my baby was monitored every other day and my blood tested at the hospital. The itching eased, but the only way to protect Amir was for him to be born. I was induced at 37 weeks and gave birth to my perfect 3kg baby. Within a month, my liver was back to normal.
Although I want more children, I worry because there’s a 60 to 90 per cent chance of OC recurring in future pregnancies.”
So, never ignore any of these signs; if you’ve got any symptoms that worry you at all, inform your gynae. You may well be fine, but it's always best to get checked out.
If you have any comments or practical suggestions, write to us at editor@family.sg
- Mother & Baby
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