At my 38 week appointment, my OB sent me to labor and delivery triage due to hypertension. My blood pressure was very high and the doctor wanted me to therefore start the induction process. I was not dilated at all so they prepared me for a lengthy induction. The doctors had to use every medical intervention to progress the process and after 48 long hours, receiving the epidural, and my baby’s heart rate going into distress once but then leveling back out, I was finally dilated enough to push. I wish I could have advocated for myself when my baby went into distress that I think it’s best and time for a c section being that I had already been in an induction over 24 hours. However, that is not what happened.

After 48 hour induction , I pushed for 3 long and hard hours. My baby got stuck in the birth canal and was in distress, and I needed to have an emergency c section. My body was already so run down, exhausted and I felt like I was going to pass out. I even told the surgeon before my spinal tap that I was seeing stars and did not feel well at all. I was in a panic because they had to move fast. The surgery went well but I was very uncomfortable and I only saw my baby for a few seconds before they had to take him to the NICU. My babies PH gas levels were not according to his umbilical cord testing great and the doctors were concerned he could have experienced brain damage due to the stress of getting stuck in the birth canal. His head was swollen and they diagnosed him with HIE, Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is diagnosed based on a combination of physical exams, blood work, and other tests. We would not even know the severity of the diagnosis until after the hypothermia treatment was complete and he could then get an MRI, this would take 7 days.

During that week I recovered down the hall going home on the 5th day. Going home without my baby was the hardest thing I ever had to do, besides give birth in the way I had to. I came home and my body needed to rest and heal as I was in a lot of pain due to the amount of trauma my body had to endure. My son, Brayden was doing well and showing signs of progress receiving positive results. We were so thankful this was the case and that his tests were going so well. It was still so hard feeling like my experience was so hard, and not at all what I had thought it would be. I could not even hold him the first few days and only being able to see him hooked up to wires and not bond with him or even feel well enough to was so difficult, when we were able to bring him home, it was my birthday and we had such a nice day. This moment was cut short as well when I had my follow up 2 days after bringing him home, my blood pressure was very high that I had to go right back to triage.

I was not admitted since the blood pressure meds they were giving me brought it down however, I started to have a headache that I thought was just due to lack of sleep from the prior days home with our newborn. However I found myself going right back the following day to then have to be treated for 24 hours with magnesium, monitored for another 24 hours after, and stay another day. My husband was driving back and forth with our newborn and I was pumping and providing him with breast milk while I was in the hospital. This was so hard because again I only had spent two day with my already newborn baby. The entire experience was just so hard to process, I’m currently sharing my story to let other moms know about the symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia, and to advocate for themselves during labor and delivery, along with postpartum. It’s hard enough going through pregnancy, and labor and delivery but when you have so many traumatic things happen to you all at once and have to keep going it can take a toll on you. I am getting help currently in therapy and am not stairs go ask for support.