I’m barely making the deadline but May is Preeclampsia Awareness month and I definitely wanted to take a second to talk about something so important.
Lukas arrived a little early due to preeclampsia. Our due date was set for early November but that’s not how it worked out. The night before we went to the hospital I worked a long night at school holding parent teacher conferences early since I’d miss them on maternity leave. I came home complaining of a headache and a little blurry vision but figured it was from the long day or dry contacts lol. I went to bed but woke up with the same headache and just felt off. I called my hospital which was literally minutes away.
They informed me that my symptoms sounded like preeclampsia making me high risk and meaning id have to go to a different hospital! I was distraught but assumed maybe I’d get the day off or get put on bed rest. As soon as we arrived and checked-in the nurse said “I know I don’t know you but I can look and guess you have preeclampsia”. At the time I was like 😯😠 “Whatever!” but I didn’t realize how round and swollen my face was.
As you could guess the test came back positive for preeclampsia and so began our 5 day hospital stay. We hadn’t even brought the car seat but of course we fixed that real quick.
I was induced but my stubborn baby boy want really feeling it 🤣. We arrived on a Thursday, he arrived on Saturday. There was even talk of a C section but I asked for a second opinion thank goodness. The second doctor gave me a 18 hour window and baby boy came about 12 hours later. Even after he made his entrance and was cleared to go my blood pressure remained high, extending our stay.
Thank goodness we were eventually cleared to go home and we didn’t have any complications afterwards. I had NO IDEA about preeclampsia and was surprised it wasn’t really mentioned much before. My ankles and face swelled a bit but I didn’t really think much about it. I’m glad everything went well for us but I know things can get even more complicated and none of that was on my (mental) birth plan. God was watching over us for sure.
I hope that more mamas are made aware of preeclampsia and other complications that could arise during pregnancy. I also want more moms to know their rights like asking for a second opinion. Having a baby is magical and tough. You don’t need any avoidable issues! Do your research, stay healthy and stay prayed up ❤️
Making the Martins 