You are called to a code blue medical on labour ward – a previously well nulliparous woman has just had a seizure, and now seems confused. Her observations are normal, she is not hypertensive and the CTG appears fine. She is presumed to have had an eclamptic seizure and is given oxygen, magnesium and has some urgent pre-eclampsia bloods and urine sent. The midwife states she has been trying to stay well hydrated with lots of coconut water and has been on oxytocin to augment her labour for a number of hours. Her results are all normal except for a sodium of 111. She suddenly starts to begin seizing again…….

Hi everyone,

This week I am joined by two guests – Siv our current education fellow and Jess who is a senior ICU trainee working in our department to discuss a very important but perhaps somewhat often overlooked condition – peripartum hyponatraemia. As we acknowledge in the podcast hyponatraemia is a huge topic and in order to make this podcast more manageable and practical we have chosen to focus specifically on peripartum hyponatraemia, it’s common causes, recognition & diagnosis, practical management and how to avoid the harms associated with excessively rapid correction.

Thanks Jess!

Guideline for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Hyponatraemia in Labour and the Immediate Postpartum Period – GAIN Northern Ireland March 2017