I suffered from obstetric cholestasis as well as eclampsia. Cholestasis came on half way through pregnancy. Eclampsia hit me 12 hours after my c-section. I was nervous for baby #2. It took a lot of prayer to prepare my heart for going through pregnancy and birth again.
For baby # 2 I did several things to prepare my body for pregnancy & did not have either of these issues. Ultimately I believe it was the grace of God, but I will also share what I did to prepare and prevent.
CHOLESTATIS
Five months before we started trying to conceive baby #2, I saw my chiropractor who specializes in natural medicine. She recommended I do a liver cleanse to prepare my liver. Obstetric cholestasis is a liver condition during pregnancy. I followed the protocol and took a Chinese-medicine based liver cleanse for about two months. At this time I also began taking iodine & tyrosine to boost my thyroid function.
Cholestasis has an 85% chance return rate. When I became pregnant I wanted to do an approach that I read about online on various websites about cholestasis. I first came across this testimonial of a woman who "cured" or "reversed" her cholestasis symptoms (severe itching) by taking Dandelion Root supplements and Milk Thistle! Both of these support the liver. So much hope flooded in when I saw this blog post because in my research I have learned that MOST women get cholestasis again & are subject to the torture that it is. I really couldn't imagine going through that again. Much of the "official" medical advice out there does not list these supplements as remedies. But I did come across a few legit and respectable websites that promote them & I also met a doctor on a cholestasis support group page who shared that these supplements helped her first hand.
When I began my second trimester I began taking both a low dose of dandelion root & milk thistle—one capsule a day. Then I moved up to two a day for awhile and then back down to one a day, alternating which ones I took. Result: I suffered from NO cholestasis this pregnancy!
ECLAMPSIA
My grandmother had pre-eclampsia & so did my mother with me. A return of pre-eclmpsia or full on eclampsia is less likely to happen in subsequent prengnacies, there is still "scientifcally" a 15% chance of it happening again. I spent a lot of time praying about this & preparing my heart for another pregnancy that could possibly face this condition. I gave it to God and came to a place of surrender. Once I was pregnant with baby #2, I researched ways to help support my body in preventing it from happening again.
Something helpful I came across was this website that shares what they believe to be the main cause of eclampsia. If this is relevant to you, read up on this here. It is a MUST READ! Grab your favourite warm drink & cozy up. Note, the first few paragraphs explain the cause. The last few paragraphs talk about the diet remedy. Here are suggestions for the diet. I didn't follow this really, but kept the general idea of it in mind- really balanced and healthy meals. Plus salt, calcium and protein.
I also took these things that I found recommended on other websites. They help lower blood pressure. Note, my asterisk identifies particularly more helpful suggestions in preventing high blood pressure:
- Nightly magnesium*
- Lots of water
- Lots of calcium
- Vitamin E* (take via walnuts & broccoli, not synthetic capsule)
- Vitamin C
- Fish Oil
- Spirulina tablet*
- Juiced beets (with apple & carrot)*
- Eggs every morning*
- Garlic tablets*
- Potassium through bananas, apricots & coconut water*
- Vitamin D- tablet and natural sunshine when possible
- Tart Cherry Juice almost nightly (about 1/4 cup)*
Blessings on your pregnancy! Prayer & intentional nutrition work!
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