The best treatment for HELLP syndrome is to induce labor early when the baby already has well-developed lungs, usually after 34 weeks, or to accelerate its development for advanced delivery, in cases of gestational age less than 34 weeks.
HELLP symptoms usually improve 2 to 3 days after delivery, but if the baby is not sufficiently developed, the obstetrician may recommend hospitalization to maintain ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the health of the pregnant woman and baby, controlling symptoms with medications directly in the vein, until delivery is possible.
- In case of emergency.
- HELLP syndrome should be evaluated as soon as possible in the hospital.
- As soon as the first signs of suspicion appear.
- Such as severe headaches.
- Vision changes and general discomfort.
- See what are all the common symptoms of this complication.
From this gestational age, the baby is usually developed enough to induce childbirth and allow it to continue to develop safely outside the uterus.Then, in these cases, HELLP syndrome is usually treated with an early delivery.
Although symptoms improve within the first 2 to 3 days after delivery, the pregnant woman and baby may need to spend more time in the hospital under observation to make sure there are no complications.
If the baby is born before 37 weeks, it is common for the baby to be admitted to a hospital incubator until his or her lungs and other organs develop properly.
When the pregnant party is less than 34 weeks old, or when the baby does not have enough lung development to give birth, the doctor usually recommends hospitalization to make a constant evaluation of the pregnant party and start treatment with:
However, when symptoms of HELLP syndrome worsen or gestational age is less than 24 weeks, the obstetrician may recommend an abortion to avoid serious complications in pregnant women, such as acute kidney failure or acute pulmonary edema, which can be life-threatening.
In addition to this care during hospitalization, your obstetrician may also recommend corticosteroid therapy to stimulate the development of your baby’s lungs and allow for earlier delivery. This treatment is done by administration of a corticosteroid, usually dexamethasone, directly into the vein.
Although very successful in many cases, this therapy is quite controversial and, therefore, if it does not work, it can be stopped by the doctor.
Signs of improvement in HELLP syndrome include stabilizing blood pressure at similar values to women before becoming pregnant, as well as reducing headaches and vomiting.
In the postpartum period of HELLP syndrome, pregnant women will experience improvement in approximately 2 to 3 days, but should continue to be evaluated by the obstetrician or GP at least once a week for the first month.
Signs of worsening HELLP syndrome appear when treatment does not start early or when the pregnant woman’s body cannot withstand increased blood pressure and includes shortness of breath, bleeding and decreased amount of urine.