The Age of Influencers...........and Preeclampsia

We need to talk. I love me some Instagram, but I need to share something that has been on my heart for a while. Choose who you follow, and who you allow you to impact your decisions carefully. Here’s why, lately I am seeing downright dangerous advice. Now, I know that most people are careful, and I also know that people want what is absolutely best for their baby, that being said, just DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. Just yesterday I saw a post that was downright false and dangerous. I’ll share it with you. An account run by someone who offers childbirth education, AND is launching a doula training program made several posts about how Pre eclamsia can be managed with exercise and diet. THIS IS FALSE. She even went so far as to say that it isn’t really a medical emergency if someone is presenting with some of the tell-tale signs that very obviously are emergent in a lot of cases.

Preeclampsia is a complication that is characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, often the liver or the kidneys. It usually presents after 20 weeks in people who have had normal blood pressure. Here are the facts. This can lead to a serious-even fatal-complications for both the birthing person and the baby. Below are some of the signs of preeclampsia:

  • Excess protein in your urine

  • Severe headaches

  • Changes in vision, including temporary loss of vision, blurred vision or light sensitivity

  • Upper abdominal pain, usually under your ribs on the right side

  • Nausea or vomiting

  • Decreased urine output

  • Decreased levels of platelets in your blood (thrombocytopenia)

  • Impaired liver function

  • Shortness of breath, caused by fluid in your lungs

I’m sorry, but the above-mentioned symptoms should not be ignored, nor should they be rectified with diet and or exercise. This is absurd!! The specific cause of preeclampsia includes several different factors, and experts believe “it begins in the placenta-the organ that nourishes the fetus throughout pregnancy. Early in pregnancy, new blood vessels develop and evolve to efficiently send blood to the placenta. In women with preeclampsia, these blood vessels don’t seem to develop or function properly. They’re narrower than normal blood vessels and react differently to hormonal signaling, which limits the amount of blood that flows through them.: (Mayo Clinic)

That brings me to my next point….Do some of your own research. I will go back to what a doula’s role is. We should not be giving medical advice, we should not be inserting our views of what you should do. I’m going to be honest on this one, RUN if that is the practice of a doula you are considering. As I see what some of these accounts on Instagram are sharing, I cringe, and I also worry. Before you follow blindly, consider their training. Look at their profile. Do they have a website that very clearly list’s their credentials, or are they someone that just has a lot of opinions which then would make them full of bias and render them unable to provide sound evidence-based information. I just had to get this out there. There are a ton of reliable accounts giving great information, and there a lot of accounts giving uninformed opinions of topics that could lead you down a path of making dangerous decisions. I urge you to consider these points when making decisions for your family. Ask the questions, and read the evidence. You have a right to make decisions that you feel comfortable with, AND that make you feel safe. Someone’s dangerous bias has no place in your birth space.

XOXO

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/preeclampsia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355745