Pregnancy can be an exciting time but can also come with unexpected challenges as you prepare to welcome a new addition to your family. For one first-time mom, that challenge came in the form of gestational hypertension.
Kasen Kolb is your typical toddler. He loves trucks, tractors and time spent outside.
“He is a goofball but also very dramatic, he’s a mama’s boy, definitely,” said mom Desiree Kolb.
He will turn 2 later this year, and Desiree is enjoying everything about being a mom.
“Having someone that just absolutely adores you is pretty neat, and having this little version of yourself is pretty cool,” said Kolb.
Her pregnancy started off as fairly normal, but her doctor did want to keep an eye on her blood pressure.
What is Gestational Hypertension?
“In the first trimester her blood pressures were normal, but they were a little bit higher than we typically see for someone in their 20s. So while not diagnostic for chronic hypertension, we were a little suspicious that she was someone who was going to develop it,” said Tage Born, MD an OBGYN with Avera in Aberdeen. “We followed her closely, got to about 33 weeks and her blood pressure started to go up. That’s when we started to be concerned about possibly chronic hypertension.”
That’s when Desiree found out she had gestational hypertension, or high blood pressure during pregnancy.
“I was definitely scared because I had no knowledge of what gestational hypertension was,” said Kolb.
Treatment Options
Dr. Born and her team recommended Desiree take steps to decrease stress on her body to help lower her blood pressure.
“She recommended bed rest, blood pressure medication and daily blood pressure logs,” said Kolb. “I stayed in close contact with them during the remainder of my pregnancy and they answered any questions or concerns that I had so it was very reassuring having them, it was amazing.”
“High blood pressures in pregnancy can decrease blood flow through the placenta to the baby. Babies can have growth problems and low fluids, so we followed growth, fluid, we did fetal surveillance testing to make sure the baby was doing well and then when she got to 37 and a half weeks, blood pressure started going up again despite using medications and it was at that point we decided it was safest to get her delivered,” said Born.
Healthy Baby and Healthy Mom After Delivery
Since this diagnosis was caught and addressed, Desiree is able to cherish these moments with her son.
“That’s why prenatal care is so important, so that we can monitor blood pressures and we can catch it if it occurs and we can address it and keep both mom and baby safe,” said Born.
And Desiree offers this advice for moms who may be in a similar situation.
“I would say listen to your body, ask questions when you need to, and trust your doctor,” said Kolb.
Most gestational hypertension resolves itself after baby is born. Learn more information about women’s health and pregnancy care at Avera.
