Symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia can vary depending on the patient and how severe it is, G. Thomas Ruiz, MD, lead ob-gyn at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, tells SELF. At baseline, women with postpartum preeclampsia will have high blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg or higher) and excess protein in their urine, known as proteinuria, which can signify kidney damage.
Some new moms may also experience severe headaches, vision changes, pain under the ribs, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath, and peeing less than usual, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“But it’s also possible to have no noticeable symptoms beyond the high blood pressure and proteinuria,” Christine Greves, MD, an ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, tells SELF. In fact, many people don’t have symptoms until they’re already dealing with complications from postpartum preeclampsia, Dr. Lindley says. I personally didn’t have any noticeable symptoms, making my extended hospital stay even more frustrating from my perspective.
The condition can lead to some serious complications.
My doctor wasn’t being dramatic: You can actually have a range of serious complications from postpartum preeclampsia. “This can be very dangerous,” Sarah Tout, MD, an ob-gyn and assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University, tells SELF.
There’s a laundry list of things that can go wrong when you have postpartum preeclampsia, including seizures, permanent organ damage, pulmonary edema (a life-threatening condition where excess fluid enters the lungs), stroke, blood clots, and HELLP syndrome, which is a life-threatening condition marked by elevated liver enzymes and low blood platelet count.
“This has got to be taken seriously,” Dr. Ruiz stresses.
Thaddeus Waters, MD, division director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine, agrees. “Hypertension is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality postpartum, and the vast majority of these [deaths] are preventable,” he tells SELF.
Treatment depends on the individual situation.
My doctor originally tried to watch and wait to see if my blood pressure would go down. But when it was clear that it wasn’t budging, I was put on blood pressure medication, along with the anti-seizure medication magnesium sulfate to lower the risk of complications.
That’s pretty standard, Dr. Greves says. (In some situations, doctors may put a patient on blood thinning medication to reduce the risk of blood clots too, according to the Cleveland Clinic.)
The good news—if there is any with postpartum preeclampsia—is that this tends to get better within six weeks after you give birth, Dr. Waters says. Your doctor will likely monitor you closely during this time (or have you self-monitor, like mine did) to make sure your numbers don’t spike again.
It’s crucial to listen to your body—and your healthcare team—after you give birth.
My own health was the last thing on my mind after having my first child. I was trying to learn how to take care of another human and juggling an unexpected health complication was not part of the plan. “In the postpartum period, your whole body and brain is primed to care for your baby,” Tamar Gur, MD, PhD, a women’s health expert and reproductive psychiatrist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. “That makes a lot of sense, but it can be at the cost of your own health.”
