Stow -WARMING GIFT IDEAS 7 wo MAKE ANY MUM'S DAY! Fi BpbyTalkMalaysio mBBUMP TO BIRTH Dealing With Pregnancy INDUCED HYPERTENSION (PIH) by Adline A. Ghani While I'm glad to say that I've been able to manage my gestational diabetes (GD) by carefully watching what I eat, a few weeks ago I received another troubling health scare. I had gone to the clinic for my routine bi-weekly check up, when the doctor's manual reading of my blood pressure was off the charts, and by this I mean a whopping 180/120! My reading had never been that high before. I could see the doctors and nurses were as alarmed as I was and they even asked if Ineeded a wheelchair. On top of that, they found that [had a urinary tract infection or UTI (which explained the abdominal pain and heaviness I was feeling) and that my baby wason the slightly small side. friend and fellow expectant mum had recently been hospitalised for several weeks in PPUM for pre-eclampsia, and she had to have an emergency .-section about 4 weeks earlier than her due date. Needless to say, Iwas concerned that | might need to be hospitalised as well and that my baby might have to be born prematurely. However, my urine test yielded only "trace" protein, so after consulting with their specialist, | was sent home with a lot of pills, which included hypertension ‘medication, antibiotics for my UTI and aspitin, which is ‘meant to thin out my blood. In addition to taking daily blood pressure readings, the doctor also gave me a reference letter toa government hospital for a review by their specialist. | did go to PPUM, but | suppose they were very busy that day, | wasn't able to see a dactor but what | did manage to get was a letter to return in May for an appointment and to do ‘my booking. The appointment is about three weeks before ‘my due date, but they will be doing a detailed scan on me in mid April It seems that due to the many issues that | face, including my GD, PIH, advanced maternal age and the fact that | had my last baby 10 years ago, the best option for ‘me is to give birth in a government hospital, and for me the nearest one is PPUM. {was saddened at first, a5 | won't be giving birth in a hospital cf my choice. Plus, my husband had wanted to be by my side to witness the birth of what is likely going to be our last child However, | came to terms with it. Stressing out about it isn’t ‘going to help my blood pressure. My son, Amir, was born at PPUM a decade ago, and having recently visited my friend in their new and improved maternity ward, can see that a lot has changed since then. In the end, whatever is baby is best for me too, Bayram vay 2008 31 « Fay) Sh 4 Wo Somme,BUMP TO BIRTH Pregnant again at 37 ‘A week after my BP scare, | went back to the clinic for a review. | realised from my daily blood pressure readings at hhome that the medication wasn’t working, and the doctor confirmed this with a manual reading of around 150+/80+. Plus, to my horror, they found +1 protein in my urine. 1 was glad, however, that the doctor and the specialst she consulted did not see the need to send me off to hospital Instead, they upped my meds and added calcium to my prescription Besides my medication, | aso started to lessen the amount ‘of work that | do on a daily basis, | don’t fee! stressed, but I've been advised to take things easy as much as possible by doctors and other mothers who've had this condition before ‘As I'ma writer who works from home, I've had to let my dents know that I'm not able to take on much work now, in order to give myself a break. | also tried to get more sleep, 25 | wasi't getting adequate rest at night, and | think this ‘was partly due to the back pain and frequent bathroom visits caused by my UTI. A friend also suggested that | do deep breathing exercises to help lower my stress levels and blood pressure. ‘About four days after my last doctor’ vist, and after taking the new dose of medication and trying my best to be more relaxed, | began to see a positive change. These days | can’ {get a reading of 130+/90+, but only if| wait a litle. My blood pressure is usually prety high if 've just sat down, | also read that the protein in my urine could have been caused by my UTI. So, | hope that when I see the clinic's specialist in a couple of days, my biood pressure reading, as well as blood and urine tests will come out good. At present, each week that | go into the clinic and leave without being told that | have to be admitted to the hospital, is a good week for me. Managing gestational hypertension can be tough. Sometimes leven strict diets or medication won't help. I's a combination of factors. You may not fee! tred or stressed, but in truth your body is unable to handle your usual routine. We only have about 12 more weeks to go until the baby is here, so you could say this the final stretch! am hoping that my health issues will remain under control and that | will be able to carry my baby to fll term. In the past week or so, my husband and ' ave done some spring cleaning, attended a breastfeeding class and gone shopping to prepare forthe baby/s arrival. We have even settied on a name for the baby. | am really hoping that things will ook up for me this week onwards, so that wwe can take a bref holiday somewhere nearby for my sons school holidays, Meanwhile, lam trying to relax more