I’ve been talking about making this specific podcast episode for over two and a half years now, and I finally have buckled down to do it. Today, we are going to talk all about HELLP syndrome, which stands for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count. We’re also going to talk about preeclampsia.
I feel like part of me was kinda dragging my feet, if you will, on recording this episode because I didn’t feel like a true, quote, unquote, expert on the subject or that I really had a solution for people because I really had only experienced it myself one time, and that was in my first pregnancy.
And trust me when I say one time is more than enough. But now going through a second pregnancy, which, spoiler alert, was successful and I was able to combat HELLP and preeclampsia, I feel like I have the tools to share with you now.
Introduction to HELLP Syndrome and Preeclampsia
And the tools to not only have informed consent in making all of your decisions, but also natural ways to combat this pregnancy complication. If you’re new here, I developed HELLP syndrome in my 36th week of pregnancy. In my first pregnancy, I literally researched everything, but I never thought I would become a statistic.
.7% of pregnancies result in HELLP syndrome per year. Before I switched to midwife care, I had been told by standard care doctors that I should be taking baby aspirin daily. Because I checked 2 of the boxes that made me susceptible to preeclampsia. This risk list that they go off of, and if you have 2 or more of these qualifying conditions, they wanna put you on baby aspirin starting at 12 weeks. So let me lay them out for you.
Risk Factors for Preeclampsia
- First-time pregnancy
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Age – Women 35 and older, they’re considered a geriatric pregnancy.
- Ethnicity
- Multiple gestation
- Family history
So you want to know what my quote unquote risk factors were?
The fact that it was my first pregnancy. I mean, so everyone’s gonna have that box checked at one point in time. Right? And, yes, I was 35 years old. But I literally got pregnant the same month that I turned 35. It’s not like I was even trending towards 36.
But that’s considered geriatric, which is so funny to me because even in standard care, the doctors that I worked with, they told me that I was healthier than most young people they see. And that arbitrary 35 number, that’s just it’s like throwing spaghetti against the wall. Because at some point, they had to come up with a number that was a cutoff.
Concerns about baby aspirin as a preventive measure
So why not 35? Right? Midway between 30 and 40. Needless to say, I wasn’t buying into the idea that I needed to be taking baby aspirin daily, simply because it was my first baby or that I was 35 years old.
You’re literally talking to someone who doesn’t take over the counter drugs, unless I’m knocking on heaven’s door. And because I’m a healthy individual, that doesn’t happen very often. I always revert back to holistic methods for myself, my husband, and my children.
And not to mention, the math didn’t math for me with the baby aspirin. I’ve had major surgery before. So what do you think is one of the things you have to stop taking weeks before you have surgery? Baby aspirin. Any kind of aspirin. Any kind of blood thinner.
I mean, forget even major surgery. I’ve had my eyebrows microbladed multiple times, and they tell you to stop taking aspirin 5 days before you even go in for your, you know, your your tune up, if you will. Right? For your freaking eyebrows. That’s because it thins your blood.
So why on earth would we recommend women to take this for gosh. Like I said, it’s They would They recommend it at 12 weeks, but, you know, say in my position, it was offered to me at 20 weeks before losing a massive amount of blood during childbirth. Because quite frankly, you do. Yes. It’s natural, but you are losing a ton.
And now you wanna thin that poor woman’s blood for months leading up to it. Now, my blood pressure and liver enzymes, they remained stable throughout my first pregnancy. But in week 36, I did have a big drop in my blood platelets.
Personal Experience Leading Up to The Birth of My First Child
So the baseline for blood platelets, when you go in or your CBC, there’s a range of 200 to 400,000. Now, outside of pregnancy, my blood platelet levels, they’re never really that high. And I usually hang out in the low 200,000 range. So call, you know, like, 220, 225.
But when my panels ran in that 36 week, and, like, they said they they had stayed steady leading up to 36 weeks, and then it just was like a roller coaster. It just went tick tick tick tick and boom dropped. Because they dropped all the way down to a 115.
Now for reference, in HELLP syndrome, the blood platelets fall into 3 different classes.
Results between 100 and 150,000, those are considered class 3.
Results between 50 and 100,000 are class 2, and results under 50 are class 1. And that anything in that class 1, you’re very close to losing the mother and or baby.
So at 36 weeks, I was already a class 3 case for HELLP. And my midwife, she this popped up. Right? Like, she she immediately recognized it, and she had me taking alfalfa pills as a good form of folate, like, trying to to boost those platelet levels, but it wasn’t enough.
Like, in hindsight, I now know that doing that one thing wasn’t going to change the trajectory of where my body was going. And my blood platelets in the next few weeks, they began to drop even more.
Now remember, you may or may not know this, but your platelets, they can grow or decrease every 2 weeks. It’s kinda like a game. Like, how how much effort can you put in in a 2 week frame to try to stay above average with your platelet levels?
And in that 2 week time from when she tested me, my platelets dropped from 115,000 down to 85,000. Not only that, but my blood pressure, which, like I said, was never an issue, began to become an issue.
It had been perfect the whole time, and then it, out of nowhere, went through the roof. I’m talking, like, 160. Right? And I think my bottom number was, like, in the eighties or something like that. Now I recall distinctly the weekend before I gave birth.
Acceptance of modern medicine when necessary despite holistic approach
I was not feeling well. I did not feel I remember I was doing my mom’s hair. I was coloring my mom’s hair. I went to the beach with my husband, and I think I was only there for, like, 15 minutes. And I told I said, Nick, I gotta go. I can’t I don’t feel well. Like, I can’t be here. And usually, the ocean is my my happy place.
And I just felt god awful. And then I went in for an induction massage on Monday, which was already scheduled. And I went home that night, and same thing. Still wasn’t feeling well, cooked dinner, and I was eating dinner, and I took my blood pressure because I just noticed my feet were swelling, and it just wasn’t feeling right.
And that’s when I had that reading on the blood pressure cuff. And I told my midwife, and she said, do it again. Like, that can’t be right, because like I said, it’d been fine the whole time. Did it again.
Now she was in Target. I’ll never forget. She was in Target, buying diapers and clothes for her toddler, and she FaceTimed me. And she said, go lay down on the couch, take a few, you know, nice inhales, exhales, calm yourself down, and take it again.
This time, I want you to, like, lay down, be well relaxed. Took it again. Same thing. So she immediately had me come into her office so she could do it manually and not just based off of a cuff, And the same thing. They were awful. My numbers were awful.
So she sent me to the hospital. And the reason for that is because I was supposed to have a birthing center birth. And when you end up as a transfer, you’re treated like trash. K? I’m just calling it how it is. The doctors, the nurses, they they literally treat you like trash.
Because in their minds, they’re like, well, see, told you, you should have had your baby here. It’s kinda like a gotcha moment.
And she didn’t want that for me. And she’s like, listen. I want you to go check yourself into the ER, and then they’ll run tests on you. And if you need to stay, they will keep you.
And she knew it wasn’t safe for me to have the baby with her, and then, like I said, end up in a transfer, and it would it would have been hot mess. So that’s what we did.
We went to the hospital. They ran all these tests, and they still the doctor on call still treated me like trash. When she heard that I was, like, in midwifery care and where I had planned on having my baby, when I told her I had an induction massage that day, she played stupid.
Like, I don’t know what that is. But I needed to be there. I did. And, you know, the the good news is while it was too risky to continue to have my birthing center experience, I did end up having my little girl the next day. And she’s healthy, and she was thriving, and all of the things.
You know, in those gazillion tests they ran on me in the 3 hours I was up in triage and had no contact with my husband, my liver enzymes, they tanked. My blood platelets, they dropped down to 83,000, and I did have protein in my urine.
So I had never had protein in my urine, and I never had issues with my blood pressure, a lot of these markers. But then when it hit, it hit It it comes on very fast, which is also what makes it so dangerous.
So all of those markers that I just told you that they ran those tests on me in the hospital, those are all signs of HELLP.
The good news, like I said, was that I was still able to have my girl in the hospital, and it was unmedicated, and it was a natural childbirth. I had minimal Pitocin. They did require that I have Pitocin because when you have your numbers in the garbage like that, you’re risking the mother and the baby’s life.
Embracing Both Natural and Modern Approaches to Childbirth
While I’m a strong advocate for natural and holistic methods in pregnancy and childbirth, my experience taught me a valuable lesson: there’s a time and place for modern medicine. My first birth, though not the home birth I had envisioned, was a testament to this balance.
Despite needing Pitocin to speed up the process due to complications, I still managed to have an unmedicated, natural childbirth in the hospital. It wasn’t the birthing center experience I had hoped for, but it was what my baby and I needed at that moment.
In my second pregnancy, I continued to favor holistic methods to prevent HELLP syndrome. However, I want to emphasize that there’s no shame in medical interventions when necessary. The goal is a healthy mom and baby, regardless of how we get there.
It’s crucial to let go of the idea that there’s only one “right” way to give birth. Whether it’s a home birth with twinkly lights or a hospital birth with medical support, every birth story is valid and beautiful in its own way. Let’s support each other’s journeys rather than passing judgment.
And I’m here to tell you that’s not the truth. You do everything in your power to try and get the result you want, and then sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Things are out of your control, truthfully. And I think that we really need to accept that sometimes those things happen.
Like, you can try the more natural things first and see what happens, but sometimes you do need that modern medicine. And it can be really difficult to accept that. And I, for a long time, I truly did. I did. I beat myself up, and I want you to learn from me, and I want you to know that you don’t need to. Seriously. Don’t. I’m really passionate about that.
I really am. And especially the second birth, if you haven’t listened to my birth story with my second daughter, You know, the same same thing could be said. I had a home birth. She swallowed meconium.
That’s not something you mess around with. Your child can die. You know, she happened to be talking and screaming and crying as half of her head was still in my body. Not normal.
My Home Birth Story: Challenges, Amazing Support, and New Beginnings
I guess she just wanted the whole the whole world to know she was here, ready and ready to come out. And we called EMS. They were here in 5 minutes, and she went to the hospital. They got all the fluid out, and she’s perfect.
But I just I just really want you to know that and believe that in your heart. So if I could go back and, you know, everything that I know now. Right? Like, go back, know what I know now.
Second Pregnancy and Monitoring
Yes. There are things I would change, but luckily for me, I was able to take all of that experience and knowledge and then carry it into my second pregnancy. And I remember saying that to my midwife as I was being wheeled into the hospital to meet my daughter in the NICU.
You know, yes. She ended up there, but I got the home birth, and I kept this diagnosis away. Like, I did that, man. Like, obviously, with the support of my midwife and, you know, my family, they did a lot for me too. Right? Like, my dad would help me cook the beef liver.
Oh, my gosh. Yuck. I can’t. My mom would go shopping for the parsley. Right? They would stay on top of me. My husband would sneak extra spinach in my salad. Like, they all supported me, but, ultimately, I did it, and I believe that there’s a reason for that.
God has always told us that we’re we’re gonna have problems. We’re gonna face adversity, but he’s gonna help us through it. He’s gonna walk alongside us. And so now I’ve been able to do that, and now I can share it with you.
My second pregnancy, 100% came as a shock, and it was a very emotional thing for me. I’ve talked about how both my husband and I are only children, so the idea of having multiple children was not, like, something we’ve ever experienced. It’s not something our parents have ever experienced.
Because we’re only children. It’s a different dynamic. Plus, given what I went through in my first labor and delivery experience, like, I was nervous. And if you listen to any standard care doctor, they’ll tell you that the likelihood of you developing preeclampsia or help a second time is high.
I’m not even gonna bother to give you percentages in the statistics and all that because, like everything else, the range is far and wide. They’ll tell you it’s anywhere from 13 to 65%. I mean, seriously.
Now my midwife was aware of what happened in my previous pregnancy, so we were monitoring the specific blood tests regularly.
I was totally gaslit after my anatomy scan, which was done by a standard care doctor, when I was told the likelihood of me developing HELLP was 50% or more. So, like I said, somewhere in that wide range.
And funny enough, in the hospital, with my first daughter, the doctor who did my final checkup, he told me because I asked. I said, you know, what’s the likelihood that I get this again?
You know, here I am. I have a newborn baby in my arms 2 days, and I’m already worried about, like, what does this look like for me in the future. And that doctor was like, oh, yeah. You know, you’re not gonna develop again. It doesn’t happen twice.
But meanwhile, I know women that I’ve become friends with on social media and in these support Facebook groups who have had it multiple times. So you figure it out. I just I can’t.
Like, you know and circling back to that doctor who said, oh, you know, it’s most likely, definitely gonna happen. She said, oh, yeah. You gotta be on baby aspirin. What do you mean you’re not?
Like, she was shocked that at with the time she’s seeing me, you know, 20 weeks, your anatomy scan, that I wasn’t already taking baby aspirin. She, like, looks at me like I had 5 heads.
And my husband, who’s definitely not as crunchy as me, he immediately wanted to hit up the nearest Walgreens for baby aspirin.
And part of it, I understand. He saw what happened last time, and he wasn’t willing to risk my life or his unborn child’s life again, and I get it.
But in our relationship, I’m the research queen. Let’s call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel. I’m the reason our children are not vaccinated. I’m the one who read through all the books, exposed him to the documentaries.
He did watch the documentaries himself, but it’s because it’s something that’s very important to me, and I’m going to look at both sides of the coin.
So I immediately started diving into HELLP and preeclampsia groups to start my research as did my midwife, because, obviously, I’m one of her moms, and she’s trying to help me have a successful birth and reach the finish line.
MTHFR Genetic Mutation
The one test that I had not had in my first pregnancy that I did do in my second was for the MTHFR genetic mutation. Now we had suspected that I had this mutation in my first, which also is another big reason that I chose not to vaccinate my daughter, but I never had full confirmation. I never was tested for it.
My midwife in this pregnancy, she called in for the test, and sure enough, I have the mutation. And I felt that in my gut that there has to be some kind of connection between preeclampsia, HELLP and MTHFR. I just like I said, I feel like God puts you through certain things, and it’s all connected.
And so many people are walking around with the genetic mutation, and they don’t even know it. Up to 60% of the US population have an MTHFR genetic enzyme variant that, for the most part, it goes unnoticed.
In individuals with two copies of the common MTHFR variants, like a1298c, which is the one that I have, and c677t, the ability to convert folic acid into active MTHF is reduced.
The percentage of those with preeclampsia is also very high. And you’re talking about people who are very healthy people too, all of a sudden developing preeclampsia and health.
Now through my digging, I sure enough found out that studies have shown that variations or subtle differences in MTHFR gene are associated with increased risk for many common conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and preeclampsia, among several others.
If you don’t know, MTHFR, it helps metabolize folic acid that leads to the breakdown of an amino acid homocysteine. Homocysteine is increased with heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and, you guessed it, preeclampsia.
One variant of the gene for MTHFR is very common and makes a, quote, unquote, weak enzyme that doesn’t work as well. It’s thought that the weak enzyme leads to an increase in homocysteine levels, which explains why this gene variant is associated with cardiovascular disease and preeclampsia.
And according to the preeclampsia organization website, they say, quote, “despite the ability of folic acid to protect against high homocysteine, which is thought to be why the MTHFR gene variant is associated with preeclampsia, reports of an association of the abnormal gene and preeclampsia persist. This may be related to the vulnerable population not taking folic acid, or there may be another effect of the abnormal gene”… end quote.
But here’s the thing.
Notice how they said folic acid. That is the main supplement that I changed changed in my second pregnancy compared to my first.
In my second pregnancy, now that I knew 100% confirmation that I had this MTHFR genetic mutation, I switched out some of my prenatals and went completely to methylated b vitamins and only folate. No folic acid.
Folic acid, that is the synthetic form of vitamin b9, and it’s found in some dietary supplements and fortified foods. And quite frankly, yes, some of those things are going to be difficult for you to avoid. Folic acid is not in usable form.
It has to be converted by the body. If you have the genetic mutation, your body cannot convert folate into the methyl hydropholate. So that’s the MTHF. That’s the methyl is what you wanna look for.
When this conversion mechanism is lacking certain enzymes, it’s overwhelmed, or it could be too slow. So folic acid can build up in the serum as unmetabolized folic acid.
How do you lower histamine levels? Proper supplementation through methylated b vitamins and folate, not synthetic vitamins and not folic acid.
I want to stress, this is not medical advice. I’m not a doctor, nor do I play 1 on TV. I’m just someone that connects dots and does a lot of research. It is simply what I have personally researched and done to avoid having a second case of HELLP syndrome.
As with everything I talk about, do your own research, so you too can have informed consent on all of your decisions. I’ll go over all the changes I made, and I encourage you to make sure you check out this show notes for a complete list.
HELLP Syndrome Guide
In this HELLP resource I’m sharing with you what I learned through my journey, warning signs + symptoms, along with tips + resources I was able to successfully implement in my second pregnancy.
Once you know better you can do better, and I hope this helps.
Natural Approach to Prevention
But here we go. So first and foremost, methylated b vitamins and folate.
The brand that I recommend and I’ve done my research on of being, quite frankly, the most potent and clean one out there is the Healthy Elephants. And you can use my code, Maren, to save on your first order.
And I recommend everyone be using it. Whether you have the MTHFR mutation or not, methylated is always better than synthetic.
Now, one of the big things, I told you I made the shift. So I want to note, my second daughter, she did not have a tongue tie like my first daughter did. And tongue ties is another major sign of the MTHFR gene mutation and not supporting this mutation properly with the nutrients that you truly need.
Specific supplements and foods recommended
I also added in a lot of foods with natural folate, like spinach, parsley. Oh, my gosh. The parsley is brutal, but it works. And remember I told you those platelets turn over every 2 weeks?
And I noticed, like, when I would go on vacation or maybe I was like, you know, I’m good. My numbers were good.
And then if I stopped and I dipped on my parsley intake, my numbers and my blood platelets, they dipped too.
I took chlorophyll drops.
I did beef liver and spleen capsules. I highly recommend the capsules, because I did make beef liver ice cubes to put in my smoothies. And, oh, my word, it is, a test of endurance. It’s very unique. You gotta mask it with a lot of fruit. And I’m telling you, I was so determined not to go through HELLP again and prove that I could beat it naturally.
Like, I sucked it up. I did all of these things. It it became a job, truthfully. This became a job, and there were times where I felt very frustrated. There were times where I was unsure of myself, but I just stayed the course.
,000And aside from those foods, I made sure I was also getting regular glutathione shots. And if you don’t know what glutathione is, I highly recommend it. It is safe for pregnancy.
It is safe for postpartum and breastfeeding. It is so good for you. And I would get injections. I would get an IV drip. Glutathione is known for slowing the aging process, preventing chronic illness, boosting athletic ability, and controlling inflammation. But my focus was on detoxifying the liver.
As I mentioned earlier, HELLP attacks the liver enzymes. It is very important while you’re pregnant, especially if you have these precursors.
But I will say I think everyone should be kind of focusing on these numbers no matter what. I would recommend that all women watch these levels while they’re pregnant, whether they have precursors to preeclampsia and HELLP or not.
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel with CMP and CBC
I really recommend that you focus on a comprehensive metabolic panel, so that’s a CMP, and a CBC, which is a complete blood count. So you monitor your liver enzymes through this CMP, and you’re gonna focus on AST and ALT.
Those are the two tests. The normal range for AST is 10 to 40. For ALT, the normal range is 7 to 56. A red flag would be AST over 80 and ALT over 112.
When you do your CBC panel, the important result on this test is the platelet count. That’s what I was watching like a hawk. And HELLP, once again, is classed on platelets. So 100,000 to 150,000, that’s a class 3.
Results between 50 to 100,000, class 2. Results under 50,000 are class 1. You wanna fall above that 200 range because the range for that is 200 to 400.
Now, naturally, I will say your platelets will decrease a bit just because you’re creating more blood volume.
But, still, if if you’re falling in those classes that I said, that is definitely a red flag. And I was practically a regular at Quest taking these tests. It ended up being biweekly by the time I was in my 3rd trimester, and then starting at 36 weeks, I was going there weekly.
I want to stress that everything I’ve mentioned are things that I would recommend any pregnant mom to implement. These diagnoses do not discriminate, and I encourage all pregnant moms to stay active, keep hydrated, eat clean healthy nutrition, and add on these specific supplements that I use the second time around.
I truly believe that many more moms are walking around with MTHFR genetic mutations, and they don’t even realize it. It is a topic that many are not educated on, and it’s not a standard blood test.
Your doctor has to give you a prescription for it, and your insurance, most likely, I have really good insurance, and my insurance did not cover it.
But to me, spending the $300 and change is worth it to find out. So that way, you know how to support your body and be able to avoid further health issues. Also, it’s genetic, so you wanna know the likelihood of your child having it as well.
Do not wait to be diagnosed and have a very stressful pregnancy, where you’re on medication, you’re tracking your blood pressure daily. That, I can attest to as being very stressful.
And on the worst end of that spectrum, having to deliver your baby early due to preeclampsia and or health.
And, typically, one of 2 things happens.
If you’re delivering very early, your baby’s gonna have have health complications, have to be in a NICU, and or if you are able to go as late as I did in the pregnancy, you’re still gonna have induction methods that you probably are trying to avoid.
So to avoid that issue as a whole, I’m telling you, focus on these supplements. Focus on these natural ways to combat it.
Turn Your Pain Into Purpose
In closing, I believe in turning your pain into purpose, which is why I’m advocating for all women to have this information and for more research to be made.
I did share what I was doing in a particular Facebook group that has a lot of preeclampsia and HELLP moms. I shared I tried sharing my beef liver ice cube recipe, and I was shot down. They didn’t approve my post. And that really annoyed me because I know that this information can help another mom.
And I do believe there are other ways to support your body besides freaking baby aspirin. So I encourage you to make sure you download my list and add those supplements to your prenatal routine, and it should be noted that your prenatals should be taken in postpartum too to help support your body through all of the hormonal changes.
I’ve been taking mine now for over 3 years through both of my pregnancies and in postpartum. Obviously, I have a few more added to the routine now knowing what I know.
But when you know better, you do better. If you’ve been through a scenario like this throughout your pregnancy, postpartum, or motherhood journey, please know you’re not alone. This is the most difficult yet rewarding job you’ll ever have.
And I’m here to help support you in each season. I have 30 minute motherhood mentorship calls that I offer to help talk you through your questions, your research findings, your birth preferences, and more.
This is added support on topics like we’ve discussed today. But it is your time, so we will customize the conversation to best fit your needs. Sign up for your motherhood mentorship call.
Motherhood Mentorship Call
Sometimes We Just Need To Talk It Out
I’ll help you talk through your questions, your research findings, your birth preferences and more. This is your time, and we will customize the conversation to best fit your needs.
