I had no idea that preeclampsia could occur postpartum until it happened to me.

I was very lucky to have had a healthy pregnancy all the way to almost 41 weeks. Unrelated to preeclampsia, I had to have an emergency c-section under general anesthesia (my baby was in the occiput posterior position and suddenly not tolerating the pushing stage of labor). I woke up from surgery expecting to meet my baby - we had chosen to wait until delivery to find out if it was a girl or a boy. Instead, I found I had been hooked up to a magnesium drip and my bedrails padded because I had developed severe preeclampsia, putting me at risk for seizures. This was extremely disorienting and scary, especially since I had no symptoms or risk factors during pregnancy. On top of this, the medication made me feel so woozy that I could not get into a wheelchair to go meet my new son in the NICU, where he had to stay for his first 12 hours of life. All night, my husband was overwhelmed, running back and forth between my room as I recovered, and the NICU to spend time with our baby.

Thankfully, our son and I both stabilized and were discharged from the hospital 3 days later. Like any new parent, I was overwhelmed and sleep deprived, focusing on caring for my newborn. However, I was also very anxious about how high my blood pressure continued to be at home (sometimes in the 150s/100s). Over the next few days, I was very short of breath and felt like my heart rate was abnormally low. It took 3 more calls to the doctor, and a blood pressure reading over 160/90 for my doctor to prescribe medication to help lower my blood pressure. I'm not sure what would have happened if I did not advocate for myself in this situation.

The most frustrating part of this experience was being told "we don't know why" since I don't fit the typical preeclampsia risk profile, and "there isn't much known about why postpartum preeclampsia happens," since usually the "cure" is delivery.

While my blood pressure has normalized and I'm no longer on medication, I have found out that there is little known about the lasting effects of preeclampsia and the risk on potential future pregnancies. Everyone should know that preeclampsia can happen AFTER birth - up to 6 weeks postpartum - not just during pregnancy. And postpartum preeclampsia actually has worse outcomes, partially due to this lack of education. I share my story to spread awareness of postpartum preeclampsia to hopefully prevent someone else from being caught off guard like me, and to advocate for more research on this awful condition - many mothers and babies are not as fortunate as we were. Moms, babies, and their families deserve better.