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Kaz, there was another post on one of the Q&A boards on this site and the woman had Type II Diabetes AND high blood pressure. It was being managed during her pregnancy. If I recall correctly, too, she was overweight and had gained only a couple pounds (both she and the baby were doing fine). Your doctor should monitor your blood pressure and prescribe any necessary medications. What may help is for you to exercise, but nothing strenuous. Walking is great exercise! Doing the stuff that's always recommended helps, as well...eat healthy, don't smoke, avoid caffeine, don't drink alcohol, don't take drugs, get enough rest. But, I understand your fears. When many of the doctors explain the risks to you, they explain them in such a way that they seem more like "absolutes" when, in reality, they're not. Let me put it this way...my first trip to the OB/GYN with this pregnancy (my sixth, at age 47)was so traumatizing that both my husband and I still haven't completely shaken the dark emotional storm cloud that was hung over our heads. Unfortunately, as I went for counseling (due to the trauma), the counselor let me know that obstetrics has changed quite a bit over the last several years (my previous child, one of four, was born nearly 17 years ago, so I can attest that things have changed significantly). One of the things that's changed is the malpractice suits, so now you've got doctors trying to cover themselves...and if I didn't know better, I'd swear it was at the expense of horrifying their patients half to death even if the risks were slight. I'm still checking into this, because my counselor advised me to write a letter to my first OB/GYN to save someone else the grief of what my husband and I were put through. To feel as though you have no sane alternative other than to terminate your pregnancy is a horrid place to be...especially when you find out later on things are going well. The information was given WITHOUT an exam, and WITHOUT an ultrasound. Once I went to another OB/GYN, the doctor gave us the risks, but not in such a bludgeoning manner, ordered some blood work (which was fine), and a vaginal ultrasound (which showed that I, indeed, was pregnant with a baby, not an empty sac or a blighted ovum, that had a good heartbeat). You may want to give it some time before making a decision, because it could end up being one you'd later regret if you learned those risks weren't near as risky as they were originally made out to be. You may want to do as I did, too, which is to change providers (and I'm not one to change horses in midstream). Others things that helped keep my sanity (what little I had of it at the time) was this board, counseling with an online reverend, and the March of Dimes site (you can talk with one of their counselors). Your provider, too, if he/she is any good, should also be concerned about your emotions as that can affect lots of things about your pregnancy. Anyway, best of luck and God bless to you!!

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