Preeclampsia can happen at any point in pregnancy and it can also happen postpartum. My friend Sarah suffered from preeclampsia a few days after delivering her second child. Sarah had no idea it could happen postpartum. Sarah is volunteer organizing the Promise Walk in Cherry Hill, NJ on May 12.
Preeclampsia is a condition that all women need to know about--if you are pregnant, thinking of getting pregnant or have a friend who is pregnant--learn the symptoms and warning signs. There is no cure--but there are treatments to protect your health and your baby's health. The most important tool: awareness and knowledge.
Here is Sarah's story adapted from her blog Finnegan and the Hughes. You can read the full entry here.
When I had my daughter Hayley Jane at full term via c-section on October 25th we were on cloud nine! Our little princess had arrived and even my son Derek, at just 26 months old, was thrilled for our family. I was released from the hospital and spent two days in that post baby honeymoon phase then I woke up on October 31st I knew something was off. I told my husband Rob I couldn't fully catch my breath, I had a dull headache and I thought my vision seemed blurry. Then I thought I was being paranoid; I was recovering from a c-section and had a new baby that was nursing every 2 hours but Rob told me to call the doctor. I was surprised at the stern immediacy in the doctors voice when she said to "grab your pump and get back over the bridge" My in-laws rushed over and I kissed my babies good-bye trying to be strong but unable to hold back the tears. Derek was going to be a fireman for Halloween that day, plus my brand new Hayley Jane, I needed to be home and dress Hayley in pink and cuddle her...would she forget me, would we never bond!! I didn't realize then that it would be 3 hellish days till I saw them again.
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Hayley and I (2 days before I was readmitted to the hospital) |
In the Emergency Room they had no idea what to do with me. I was a basketcase, I cried to EVERYONE!! If the person changing the trash even glanced in my direction and made eye contact I would cry to them and say "I just want to go home to my babies" After many hours in the ER I was sent to Labor and Delivery where I was told what I had was preeclampsia. WHAT? I was so petrified and just wanted to be with my babies and here I was a mother of two, about to be hooked up to a magnesium iv so I wouldn't have a seizure due to preeclampsia and I had NEVER even heard of having preeclampsia postpartum!! A very sweet nurse sat down next to me and she grabbed my hand firmly, she spoke clearly and calmly about how awful I was going to feel on the magnesium and she asked me to tell her what I was thinking and I told her "I'm scared, I just want to be home with my babies and I'm nervous what will happen to me and I'm afraid that I might die" She told me this would help me and that my husband could stay. Rob stayed by my side for 3 long days. The first night I was on the magnesium he snored away in the chair next to my bed while I saw 5 of everything, I had to wear an oxygen tube because my oxygen saturation levels kept dropping so low every time I would drift into sleep I would wake up gasping for my breath, I was pumping every two hours, unable to get out of bed and was hooked up to a catheter. I felt so sick, oh so sick, the magnesium makes you so so so sickly feeling. After I came off the Magnesium I felt "better" my blood pressure was still high but low enough that I could go home eventually!! It took a few weeks for my BP and me to get back to normal.
Thousands of women and babies die or get very sick each year from this dangerous condition called preeclampsia, a life-threatening disorder that occurs only during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies, preeclampsia and related disorders such as HELLP syndrome and eclampsia are most often characterized by the presence of protein in the urine and a rapid rise in blood pressure that can lead to seizure, stroke, multiple organ failure and death of the mother and/or baby. Swelling, sudden weight gain, headaches and changes in vision are important symptoms; however, some women with rapidly advancing disease report few symptoms.
Typically, preeclampsia occurs after 20 weeks gestation (in the late 2nd or 3rd trimesters or middle to late pregnancy), though it can occur earlier. Proper prenatal care is essential to diagnose and manage preeclampsia. Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) and toxemia are outdated terms for preeclampsia. HELLP syndrome and eclampsia (seizures) are other variants of preeclampsia.
"It ain't no Cabbage Patch" is a series on preeclampsia, a life-threatening disorder that occurs only during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Preeclampsia and related disorders such as HELLP syndrome and eclampsia are most often characterized by a rapid rise in blood pressure that can lead to seizure, stroke, multiple organ failure and death of the mother and/or baby.
Join me and my team LilCoCo at the May 12 Promise Walk to the benefit the Preeclampsia Foundation in Challenge Grove Park in Cherry Hill, NJ.
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