HELLP syndrome and pre-eclampsia

The name describes haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet levels. It can occur with pre-eclampsia, although blood pressure and urine findings may not always look dramatic at first. Symptoms can include severe pain beneath the ribs or in the upper abdomen, nausea or vomiting, headache, visual disturbance, swelling, feeling very unwell, or unusual bleeding or bruising.

This condition can affect the pregnant person and the baby. A maternity team may check blood pressure, urine, blood counts, liver function, kidney function, and the baby’s wellbeing. The findings guide monitoring and treatment.

Contact your maternity unit immediately if you have warning symptoms or have been told that tests are abnormal. Take your pregnancy records and medicines list if it is safe to do so. Do not wait for a scheduled antenatal visit, and do not rely on rest at home to settle severe upper-abdominal pain, headache, or visual symptoms.

Hospital care may include blood-pressure treatment, medicines to reduce seizure risk, corticosteroids when appropriate for fetal development, repeated blood tests, and close fetal monitoring. The team may recommend induction of labour or caesarean birth when that is safer for parent or baby.

Call emergency services or go to maternity triage for severe upper-abdominal pain, a severe headache, flashing lights or blurred vision, difficulty breathing, collapse, heavy bleeding, seizures, or a major reduction in fetal movement. These symptoms need immediate assessment even if a previous blood-pressure reading was normal.

What do my blood pressure and blood tests show? Are my liver enzymes, platelets, and kidney function changing? How is the baby being monitored? What treatment is planned, and what findings would make induction or caesarean birth safer?