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	<title>WIRL Project &#187; Preeclampsia</title>
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	<description>What It&#039;s Really Like.</description>
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		<title>Leaving Your Baby at the Hospital &#8211; Two Weeks as a NICU Mom</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/leaving-your-baby-at-the-hospital-two-weeks-as-a-nicu-mom/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/leaving-your-baby-at-the-hospital-two-weeks-as-a-nicu-mom/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2015 18:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mandi Johnson]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blood Pressure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hospital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[newborn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NICU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pre-eclampsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Preeclampsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protein]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight gain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6922</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[15 Days. Fifteen days that felt like an eternity. Having a child in the NICU is a long, emotional roller coaster that nothing can prepare you for. Luckily, my story is a good one, and we now have a healthy 19 month old. However, I’ll never get back those minutes, those hours that I could not hold him, I could not kiss him. I wasn’t the first, second, or probably even the third person to hold my son. Back to the beginning – after 34 weeks of what seemed like a “normal” pregnancy, I was starting to swell.  My shoes didn’t fit, my ring didn’t fit and I felt miserable –but I thought this was all “normal” pregnancy symptoms. I gained 10 pounds in two weeks. At my 34 week appointment I was admitted to the hospital for high blood pressure. After 24 hours and an extremely high protein count I was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia. My son needed to be born now. Pre-eclampsia is the the leading cause of maternal and infant illness and mortality.  (For more information visit here) Pre-eclampsia is the the leading cause of maternal and infant illness and mortality. I was rushed to the OR – I didn’t have time for my doula to arrive, I didn’t have time to think about what was going to happen to me, and I definitely didn’t get to ask the question about what would happen to my baby after. I knew he would likely spend some time in the NICU. But no one warned me that I couldn’t hold him, that I wouldn’t even get to see him (other than the quick – over the sheet glimpse) for OVER 24 hours. Those hours were the most agonizing 24 hours I have ever had to endure. Because of my blood pressure and my high protein levels, I was at risk for having a seizure. To minimize that risk I was on a magnesium sulfate drip. “Mag” as it is lovingly referred to – is really nasty stuff. I felt like I was on fire. It makes your muscles feel like rubber bands. &#8230;no one warned me that I couldn’t hold him, that I wouldn’t even get to see him (other than the quick – over the sheet glimpse) for OVER 24 hours. Those hours were the most agonizing 24 hours I have ever had to endure. I felt like I was a prisoner. I couldn’t go see my son – I was hooked up to two IV lines, oxygen, leg pressure cuffs, an oxygen monitor and a BP cuff. They had the lights off in my room, and the TV was not on. All to minimize the risk of having a seizure. My husband split his time between staying with me and visiting our son. I recorded a tearful message on his phone that he played for him in his incubator. It wasn’t until months later that I found out that he didn’t hold him in the NICU until I was allowed to go and see him. My husband wanted me to hold him first. It wasn’t until months later that I found out that he didn’t hold him in the NICU until I was allowed to go and see him. My husband wanted me to hold him first. The day after he was born the doctor came in and I was awaiting the words that I was ok to be taken off of the magnesium and wheeled down to the NICU and I could finally hold my baby boy. My blood pressure was still high and initially I was told I would not be allowed to see him – that I still needed the “mag” for another 24 hours. I broke down. I balled. I couldn’t handle it.  They couldn’t keep me from my baby! I was told to “calm down”  because my BP skyrocketed. In the end I was told I could be taken off the magnesium to go and see him for an hour. I could barely stand to get into the wheelchair and the nurse shielded my eyes in the hallway from the lights. Finally, I got to meet our son. This was just the beginning of our NICU journey. I was discharged two days later – only to leave the hospital and leave our baby boy behind. Coming home without your child is probably the hardest thing to do. However, knowing he was ok, and was in good hands in the NICU is a small comfort. Coming home without your child is probably the hardest thing to do. Our daily routine consisted of my mother-in-law driving me to the hospital in the morning, me sitting by his side – staring at him in the incubator and hoping that all of the nurses notes would show that he was doing better, getting stronger, and meeting the milestones he needed to in order for us to bring him home. Those milestones consisted of getting him to eat so much at a feeding, gain weight, and to keep his body temp up on his own. I was an emotional wreck and anytime there was any setback I wanted to scream. I remember trying to coax him to eat just a few more milliliters from his bottle. My husband went back to work so that he could take time off when we got the baby home instead of spending time at the hospital. We would both go back in the evening, or if I was too exhausted my husband would go and stay with him. Our first diaper changes were through the portholes of the incubator.  We had to watch the “wires” and re-connect his oxygen monitor. We would sit and listen to the different beeps that came from the monitors showing that he was breathing, and that his oxygen level was ok. The first few times an alarm goes off it&#8217;s scary! Those beeps become strangely comforting and the first night home without them is nerve-wracking! Our first diaper changes were through the portholes of the incubator.  We had to watch the “wires” and re-connect his oxygen monitor. Each night we had to say goodbye. They tell you it’s hard to leave your baby, but they fail to mention that you have to repeat this day after day after day. I was told that this wouldn’t last forever, that it would come to an end and it did. Thankfully, I had a wonderfully supportive husband and we got through it together. We were the lucky ones, our baby boy is doing just fine and at the end of our 15 days – we finally got to take him home. &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Preeclampsia: What It&#8217;s Really Like</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/preeclampsia-what-its-really-like/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/preeclampsia-what-its-really-like/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2015 22:40:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sara Brennan]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blood Pressure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C-Section]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Delivery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Preeclampsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Swelling]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6687</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Don’t you love when someone points out to a pregnant woman that she looks &#8220;terrible&#8221;? Who do they think they are telling you that you’re swollen, puffy, look tired, or even that you look “painful”. I think people who aren’t, especially those who have never been, pregnant say these things as if it&#8217;s somehow comforting for a second or third trimester pregnant lady to be reassured that yes, you actually are pregnant. Well, guess what people; it&#8217;s not comforting! In fact, it sucks and makes us feel like crap! &#160; I felt great during about 90 percent of my pregnancy, but I would actually get both sides of this spectrum. For a while, some people said to me that I looked too thin to be pregnant then others, who knew that I was just petite in nature, would say, wow you’re getting so big so fast! And I have to admit, I wanted to get the “belly”, I wanted to “show” and it wasn’t until about 6 months that I had a significant enough bump for strangers to notice and comment on. But I did notice that everyone loved to point out how “huge” I was getting once the real “growing” started. So when I approached the 9th month of my pregnancy, in the heat of a Carolina summer, I noticed that I actually was starting to really swell up. My feet and ankles would get very puffy, along with my hands and fingers. So I bought new shoes, asked my husband to rub my feet and kept on with life as usual. Then, people told me I looked like I was “in pain” and “puffy” and although it wasn’t the nicest comment I&#8217;d ever received, I summed this up to the heat, the baby, me not taking enough time to rest, but never Preeclampsia. The dreaded Preeclampsia – the jerk of pregnancy! It&#8217;s the little sneak that hijacks your body, inflates you with water weight, and constricts your blood vessels so much that your kidneys can malfunction and your blood pressure soars. It beats on your head like a drum while also making you feel like you’re being spun around on a merry-go-round too fast, when all you really want to do is get off. It’s not fun and loves to make it&#8217;s appearance when you’re least expecting it, 37 weeks to 48 hours post delivery. It&#8217;s the little sneak that hijacks your body, inflates you with water weight, and constricts your blood vessels so much that your kidneys can malfunction and your blood pressure soars. It beats on your head like a drum while also making you feel like you’re being spun around on a merry-go-round too fast, when all you really want to do is get off. Below, I tell the story of my joyride with Preeclampsia along with signs and symptoms that should raise a red flag. So, go ahead, read about my misery…you know you want to! I visited my OB for the typical routine checkups and towards the end, we noticed a trend…high blood pressure. Starting at about 33 weeks, they’d strap on that stupid cuff and it would read around 140/90. It wasn’t that bad (not good either), but normally my BP is very low, so that was pretty high for me. I’d also do the whole pee in a cup thing and my urine never showed signs that anything was wrong (no keytones or proteins). This continued on for weeks but with each visit, I was gaining about 5 pounds, swelling more, and my blood pressure was increasing. I knew there was something wrong; I didn’t feel like my glowing pregnant self anymore. So, what is Preeclampsia? It&#8217;s characterized by having high blood pressure and protein in the urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy (Preclampsia Foundation). Basically, it&#8217;s like a huge, grey storm cloud that suddenly forms over your head and rains on your beautiful pregnancy parade. It is sometimes referred to as Toxemia as well. It&#8217;s like a huge, grey storm cloud that suddenly forms over your head and rains on your beautiful pregnancy parade. &#160; I never, ever, had the protein in my urine, but by the time I was 38 weeks, I had full blown Preeclampsia and my doctors weren’t on top of it until it was almost too late. I found out that it&#8217;s a very progressive condition that is only cured by having the baby. So, to “cure” me, I was induced and eventually had an emergency C-section because my condition kept worsening. This was not what I wanted to do and I was quite frustrated that nobody caught this along the way, but I later learned that it’s typical to not have any signs or symptoms until about 37/38 weeks. Now, ladies, if you’re reading this and you’re pregnant; don’t freak! Preeclampsia only effects about 5-8% of all pregnancies and a little (sometimes even a lot) of swelling is expected with pregnancy. Below, I am going to go through the signs and symptoms to help to distinguish between whats “normal” and what should raise a red flag about this condition. Here are some signs and symptoms to watch for, along with my take on each symptom that I had: 1) The most obvious one – High Blood Pressure. When I’d visit my OB, they’d strap on that stupid cuff at the beginning of each visit. Starting at about 33 weeks, my blood pressure (BP) started to get really high. By the time I was 38 weeks my BP was 190/120 and I was admitted to the hospital. My advice would be to pay close attention to the number from week to week and if it increases a little, it should be alright, but if it ever reaches 140/90 then you should talk to your doctor about it, even if they brush it off. 140/90 is the threshold between normal and “high”, so if you are reaching these numbers tune into your body closely. Because the condition is quite rare, they sometimes assume the high BP is nothing to worry about unless it’s accompanied by protein in the urine. They also would have me lay on my left side to “bring it down”. This is a bad idea and provides a false sense of assurance. I was told that laying on your side helps the blood flow better temporarily and gives you an improved BP reading, but it does not mean the problem is fixed. 2) Protein in the Urine Preeclampsia temporarily changes the way the kidney filters out some proteins from your blood, therefore extra protein can show up in the urine; this is a sign that you may have Preeclampsia. I never had this show up in my urine, not even once, and I think that’s why nobody at my OB’s office took me too seriously. My warning is that you don’t need to have extra proteins show up in your urine to have Preeclampsia. If you are feeling other symptoms and also have high blood pressure, talk to your doctor and if they don’t take you seriously, get a second opinion. 3) Excess Swelling This is technically called Edema and it&#8217;s different than the typical pregnancy, swollen ankles type of thing. This is when your face, eyes, and hands feel so swollen that you might just explode. This is how I felt! And looking back, I did look terrible with a capital “t”, but because it was my first pregnancy, I thought this was just normal. By the time I was admitted to the hospital, I thought my feet were going to get stretch marks because they’d grown so large. The top of my foot almost came up over top of my sausage toes…it was weird, painful, and ugly! Absolutely no shoe fit me, not even slippers, and I had several chins at this point because my face had become so swollen (I’d post pictures, but nobody wants to see that!). If you start to feel like you’re swelling more rapidly than the pace you’d been keeping, talk to your doctor. 4) Headache and Dizziness No matter what kind of headache it is, dull, throbbing or stabbing, if it’s accompanied with high BP and any other symptom listed above, call your OB and schedule a visit right away. This is a sign that your BP is getting too high and your body is not handling it well. Try to rest and prop up your feet, but don’t ignore this symptom. Honestly, it was the only way I knew my blood pressure was high, beside taking an actual reading, because I could feel it in my head, like a pounding headache that would not go away accompanied by dizziness. 5) Rapid Weight Gain Up until about 34 weeks, I’d gained about 25 pounds from my pregnancy. I was doing really well, staying active and even doing some strength training. Then, at my 33 week visit, I had gained about 3 pounds, which wasn’t bad, but more than previous visits. Then I gained 5 at my next visit, then 5 again, and I ended up tacking on almost 25 extra pounds, in the last 5 weeks, due to this condition! 25 pounds in 5 weeks people! It was bad. So, again, if you experience this type of weight gain, it’s not normal. Your baby is not growing THAT much that you should pack on the pounds like this. For me, this was a huge sign of preeclampsia looking back. There are a few other signs and symptoms that you can encounter with this condition and you can read more about them here, but it&#8217;s really important to pay attention to what your body is telling you. I also want to put out there that Preeclampsia can actually have no symptoms, in some cases, because many of the signs resemble regular pregnancy progression type things. Just pay attention to what is normal for you along your entire pregnancy and if this “normal” ever changes, ask your doctor. And if they tell you you’re fine, but you don’t feel that in your gut (no pun intended), ask another doctor. This condition can be serious and lead to seizures or even death, so please just pay attention and watch for little signs. Who gets preeclampsia? Some people are more prone to getting this than others: this list includes, but its not limited to, women who are: Pregnant for the first time Over 40 years old Having multiples Already have a blood pressure condition Overweight The complete list can be found here, and if you fall into one of these categories (and just because its your first pregnancy does not mean you have to freak!), know the signs and pay attention for changes as you progress. &#160; I ended up having to be induced and put on anti-seizure medication because my blood pressure had reached the point where it was dangerous for me and the baby. My baby was fine during the entire course of this, he was happy and healthy with a very strong heartbeat and lots of movement, but it was me that was going downhill quickly. It was important to control the seizure component, because if I had a seizure, the baby could possibly suffer due to lack of oxygen. So, after 26 hours of labor and all was said and done, I had my baby boy and was on my way to being “cured” from this condition. It did take me a few extra days in the hospital and about 3 weeks to actually completely recover, as my blood pressure stayed high and I had headaches and felt dizzy for quite a while (plus the pain from my lovely c-section). I lost that extra 30 lbs I gained towards the end of my pregnancy in about 10 days after giving birth, it was mostly water weight anyway, but losing 30 pounds felt great nonetheless! I lost that extra 30 lbs I gained towards the end of my pregnancy in about 10 days after giving birth, it was mostly water weight anyway, but losing 30 pounds felt great nonetheless! Well, that’s it for you – my preeclampsia story. If you think you might have symptoms, definitely call your doctor or even send me an email and I’ll be glad to talk this over with you personally. I am not qualified to give medical advice, and this article is just for awareness purposes, but I will help anyone in any way that I can. I’ve been through it and it is not fun, but it’s important to know the signs and symptoms and how to handle something like this. Remember, preeclampsia is rare (only 5-8% of pregnancies), so don’t over analyze and pay attention to your symptoms. Most pregnant women will, thankfully, never have to go through this! &#160;]]></description>
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