HELLP syndrome natural history, complications and prognosis

• There can be complications before and after the baby is delivered, including:

• Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC): a clotting disorder that leads to
• Excess bleeding (hemorrhage)
• Fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema)
• Kidney failure
• Liver hemorrhage and failure
• Separation of the placenta from the uterine wall (placental abruption)

• After the baby is born and HELLP syndrome has time to improve, most of these complications will go away.

• Mortality is 7-35% and perinatal mortality of the child may be up to 40%.
• When the disease is not treated early, up to 1 out of 4 women develop serious complications. Without treatment, a small number of women die.
• The death rate among babies born to mothers with HELLP syndrome depends on birth weight and the development of the baby’s organs, especially the lungs.
• HELLP syndrome may return in up to 1 out of 4 future pregnancies.

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