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Not Again??!!

I had very mild gestational hypertension with my son 8 years ago. I was able to make it to 39 1/2 weeks with him and he was a healthy 8# 2oz. with no complications. I remarried since that time and had a little girl with my new husband last February, but developed chronic hypertension in between my first and second child. So I developed severe pre-eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension at 28 weeks and was hospitalized until 34 weeks when my daughter was delivered at only 3# lloz.

With unilateral right sided hearing loss (they say it may have been related to the pre-eclampsia). I was done having children after that. Too scary to chance another pregnancy as far as I was concerned. So when my daughter was 5 months old, I made an appointment with my gyne to discuss getting my tubes tied, my husband was looking into vasectomy on his end also.

Guess what, doctor says at consult, your urine pregnancy is positive! What??!!! So much for condoms doing their job, huh? So now I am 4 mos. pregnant, and the headaches are starting again almost daily, blood pressure is up and down (all over the place really), and at last ob appointment I had trace protein in my urine, which they said was probably due to not drinking enough water.

I am scared to death this is the same nasty disease again, rearing it's ugly head even earlier. I know the statistics say it's rare to get it again, but all the nurses at the hospital last time said "The docs will tell you it usually doesn't happen again, but from what we see, it usually almost always happens again when it's severe, and it seems to get worse with each pregnancy".

Hence, why I wasn’t going to do this again. I'm afraid to take my blood pressure, but I do. I am also afraid to even ask the doctors if there's anything they can do to check - blood work or something to see if this is developing way early this time, the medical nurses and doctors seem to not want to even consider this possibility until it's right in their faces! Anyone else ever have problems this early? What did you do?


Kristin

Pre-eclampsia

I experienced preeclampsia with my first and probably only pregnancy. It was such a horrible experience. I developed hypertension first and then the protein in my urine increased tremendously, doctors even said my levels were off the chart. I guess you could say I was retaining fluid...I didn't realize how swollen I was until after delivery. I was told I needed to deliver due to increase in urine protein levels. I was wheeled into delivery where I was given a pill to make me go into labor. I started having contractions and that made the baby's heart rate drop. They decided it was time to do an emergency c-section. On the way to the O.R., I was having a contraction. And once I entered the O.R., which was when I delivered vaginally. There wasn't even enough time to give me my epidural. I pretty much shocked all nurses and doctors. The doctor was not even in the room when I delivered. The nurse practically caught my baby. I then developed pulmonary edema due to the fluid from the pre-eclampsia. I have to say, I'm not sure if I can take the chance of having to experience such a traumatic event again.

Kristi

My Experiences

My first birth with my daughter was very painful. At 8 months pregnant I was dilated to 3 and put on bed rest. I couldn’t get comfortable and I was so tired all the time from not being able to move around. Two weeks later I went in for my doctor’s appointment and I was dilated to 5 and dilating fast. I remember the nurse telling me to tell her when I felt the urge to push. But honestly I felt nothing. It was as if all of a sudden I wasn’t in pain anymore and more than anything I was scared. But I pushed out of pure fear. Three hard pushes were all it took to bring my baby girl into the world. She is now 4.

My son on the other hand was my second birth and very sudden. It was Valentine’s Day and my husband and I went for a walk. And within minutes I started to go into labor. I timed the contractions and the faster the came I called the doctor. We were all scared. I was barely six months pregnant. By the time I got to the hospital I was dilated to 7 and bleeding heavily. It only took me 10 mins to push him out. But the second he was born they flew him to NICU in Iowa City. Where he spent three months in the hospital weighing less than a pound. I, on the other hand, left the hospital the day after giving birth to rush up to see him. Now he is almost two and very healthy. You wouldn’t be able to tell he was premature by looking at him. I am now 6 months pregnant with my third child. Be very careful if you’re at high risk. Take good care of your body and stay away from stress as much as possible. Good luck to all those giving birth.


melissa

Scared & Worried

I had taken the AFP test to determine any birth defects. My husband & I were ecstatic because this is our first baby. I took the test when I was about 16 weeks. I was scared to find out the results so kept myself busy. To my surprise, I get a phone call at work a week later from my doctor's office telling me to call back. I called back immediately and waited to be connected to my doctor's office. The nurse had told me I had tested positive for the possibility of Down syndrome, 1/95 chance. I was so sad when I hung up the phone.

The nurse gave me a phone # to see a periontologist for further testing. I scheduled my appt to be seen immediately. When I got to the office, I had a counselor talk to me first, went over some family history and what I could expect. When I saw the doctor, he did an ultrasound & I lay there as they took all the pictures of my baby's organs & limbs. I was so happy, I even found out the sex of my baby that day. The baby looked fine.

I decided to have the amnio done the same day I wanted to make sure. I'm lucky because I hardly experienced the cramping they say I would have after the amnio. Right now I'm waiting for my results & am very anxious to know. I am keeping my faith & staying positive. Please pray for me.



CD

Pregnant Again

I have had 3 healthy pregnancies, which resulted in 3 beautiful boys 9,7 and 5. Last November 2006 I found out I was pregnant again but a week later I started bleeding, I was sent for a scan to be told that I had had a missed miscarriage at 8 weeks. I was booked in to have a d & c; I ended up with an infection and was very ill.

I have just found out that I am 5 weeks pregnant again. And even though I have had 3 perfect pregnancies before my miscarriage I am really worried that it’s going to happen again, paranoid every time I go to the toilet.


lyndsey