PIH Leading to Pre-e?

[cozyjeans]

I had my 18 week midwife appointment last Monday. Everything went swimmingly, heard the heartbeat right away, growth on target, all that jazz. But my BP was a little high, as it seems to have been this whole pregnancy. They took it twice, the first time it was 140/90, and then after about 10 minutes of lying down, it came down to 130/90. Normally I’m around 118/65 or so. They suggested drinking the pregnancy tea made by Traditional Medicinals, saying that would help bring it down. They’re not terribly concerned about it at this point, but if it stays the same or continues to rise at my next appointment, they want to talk about a low dose of medication. What I’m wondering is, how often does pregnancy induced hypertention lead to pre-eclampsia? I know it’s a little early to be fretting about that, given that my midwives aren’t yet worried, but I want to be prepared in case it happens. I really don’t want to risk out of my birth center birth plan, and pre-eclampsia would undoubtedly do just that. Another question. If you had PIH, and you were put on medication for it, did your dosage continually have to be increased as the pregnancy progressed? Did you avoid pre-e, and get the birth you wanted? Or did it all fall apart and you wound up with pre-e and subsequently had an induction or c-section? Tell me all about it, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Thanks for any info.

18w4d