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When we're pregnant, we worry. Luckily most complications are very rare, says Dr Howard Lee
HELLP Syndrome
HELLP syndrome is a rare but serious illness of pregnancy. The name is made up from initials that are the condition's symptoms: H = haemolysis, or rupture of red blood cells, EL = elevated liver enzymes, which indicates liver damage; and LP = low blood levels of platelets, which are specialised white cells vital for normal blood clotting.
The cause of HELLP syndrome is not really known, although it is often linked to pre-eclampsia or previous pregnancies - especially if there was a problem with any of them. It is not possible to know who will get it, as it can affect any pregnant woman.
There have been some suggested links between the development of the syndrome and a reaction with the genetic material that was supplied by the baby's father - a type of allergy to the father's genes in other words. There is a 27 per cent chance that it can occur again during a subsequent pregnancy, but if it does it is usually less severe.
The treatment for HELLP syndrome is ending the pregnancy by delivering the baby. But as the condition - which most often occurs in the last three months of pregnancy ? can also start long before a pregnancy reaches term, the baby may not be ready to be born. It will not be able to survive if very premature.
A woman diagnosed with HELLP syndrome is very ill, but after delivery there is usually a fairly rapid improvement within a couple of days, and it is only in the very worst cases that the life of the woman is threatened.
There is no way to prevent this serious illness, but attending regular antenatal reviews and reporting any undue symptoms to your doctor is important so that an early and proper diagnosis of the condition can be made. It is not infrequent for the syndrome to be easily misdiagnosed as hepatitis or gall bladder disease, as upper abdominal pain is an occasional symptom.
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