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Pregnancy is a period in a woman’s life where many concerns arise. We hear about so many cares and so many diseases that many times are lost and do not know exactly how to care for or prevent them all. Many try not to find out about bad things that can happen to pregnant women, but it is necessary to find out about everything that can affect your body in this period, as is the case of hellp syndrome.
During pregnancy, a woman’s body undergoes severe changes , probably the most profound in her life, and sometimes this can end up leaving her body more vulnerable. With the immune system changing all the time, several diseases such as some types of urinary infections , pre-eclampsia and hepatitis can arise to complicate a pregnancy. But we rarely hear about one, which is rare, but dangerous as in the case of hellp syndrome.
What is Hellp Syndrome?
Hellp syndrome is a rare and very dangerous disease, which poses a risk to both mother and baby. It usually arises as a complication of pre-eclampsia , which is the hypertension caused by pregnancy.
It is estimated that 8% of women who have the first disease, end up also developing hellp syndrome, even so, it can also appear in isolation. The disease basically consists of an uncontrolled increase in blood pressure during pregnancy.
Syndrome Risks
However, symptoms are much stronger and more dangerous than pre-eclampsia and can cause a stroke that can lead to death. Because it is such a dangerous disease, hellp syndrome needs to be treated as soon as possible .
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of the disease is made through exams and needs to be done as soon as possible so that the obstetrician can assess the level of severity of the disease. It is recommended for pregnant women that, if they experience some of the symptoms of hellp syndrome, they should immediately inform their doctor so that an examination can be done and the woman can be evaluated.
Causes of Hellp Syndrome
Hellp’s syndrome occurs due to a series of issues and factors that end up causing the platelet count in the blood to decrease, in addition to the fragmentation of blood cells.
Women who have heart problems , lupus, diabetes or chronic kidney problems are more likely to develop hellp syndrome, which does not mean that they will necessarily suffer from the disease. As I said earlier, pre-eclampsia can also get complicated until it becomes a hellp syndrome.
Symptoms of Hellp Syndrome
This disease is well known for having a number of different symptoms and, precisely for this reason, it is difficult to diagnose. Some of the main symptoms of hellp syndrome are:
- Headaches
- Constant unease
- Nausea and vomiting
- Swelling
- High pressure
- Changes in vision
- High blood pressure
- Pain when breathing deeply
Some of these combined symptoms may indicate that the pregnant woman is developing the disease. Of course, these are not all symptoms and one can only be sure that the woman has hellp syndrome after examinations and a correct diagnosis of the obstetrician.
Treatment of Hellp’s Syndrome
There is no treatment for this disease and the only way to stop it is to end the pregnancy. For this reason, many women need to have an emergency cesarean section or an induced delivery . In some more serious cases, the woman may end up losing the baby and even dying.
This can happen because hellp syndrome, when left untreated, can end up getting complicated and causing problems such as acute lung edema, liver rupture, kidney failure, various types of hemorrhage or even heart failure.
Although rare, there are cases where the doctor can treat the patient with medications that induce the baby’s lung maturation, making the induced delivery unnecessary, or at least postponing its need.
How to Prevent Hellp Syndrome?
There is no way to prevent the disease specifically, since it develops most of the time as a complication of other conditions already presented by the woman. However, there is some advice that can be useful for women who are part of this risk group, such as making sure you are in good physical shape before you get pregnant and having a proper follow-up with an obstetrician.
Of course, these things will not necessarily prevent the hellp syndrome from developing, but they can be very useful even if the disease appears, as your body will be better prepared and, consequently, less affected.
It is also proven that early diagnosis is of great help for both the woman’s life and the baby’s. For this reason, the greatest advice given by doctors is that a woman should seek help as soon as she suspects that she may be suffering from hellp syndrome.
There are several types of diseases or complications that a woman can have during pregnancy, each with a different level of severity and that requires a certain type of treatment. Diseases like hellp’s syndrome are very frightening because they don’t seem to offer many options for women, but there are always ways that can help in a difficult time like this.
Despite being a serious disease that can harm or even end lives, hellp syndrome needs to be seen as a disease that is curable, where there is a chance that the woman and the baby will do well. It is also always important for a mother to know that if she has had this type of illness once, it is likely that it will occur in a future pregnancy and, therefore, she needs to take several types of care before becoming pregnant again.
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See also: Fetal Alcoholism Syndrome
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
