here. And now, the conclusion …
 

It was very hard being in the hospital. I didn’t get much rest in the hospital. A nurse or nurse’s assistant came in my room every 4 hours to take my vitals. Then a nurse would come in after that to give me medicine. Other medical people or staff came in other times too throughout the day. I hated it when people came in and saw that I was sleeping and then left. They woke me up so they should have stayed and just let me know what they wanted. This happened even when I had a sign on the door that said Mommy is sleeping.

It got depressing at time being in there all the time. I didn’t feel sick and I wanted to go home. It was difficult.

I told myself that it was better for me to be in the hospital than for my little daughter to be born and in the hospital. I could go on a 30 minute leave from the Mother / Baby Unit on a wheel chair ride. My husband took me on a wheel chair ride most days. We would sit outside or just go down hallways when it was raining.

When I got close to 34 weeks, the doctor told me that since baby and I were doing ok, that I was not going to have my baby at 34 weeks. My next goal was to get to 37 weeks. This is the longest they will let go when you have preeclampsia. It was kind of a letdown, but at the same time, it was great news. My baby had a better chance of surviving and being ok.

My blood pressure started going up again. I was at 36 weeks 3 days. My OB was the doctor on call that evening. She came in to see me. She recommended that I have a scheduled C-section the following morning. She said she would perform my C-section if she was fresh in the morning and that if she didn’t get enough sleep during the night (since she was on call) that she would have the doctor that was on duty in the morning perform my C-section. Luckily, she delivered my baby the next morning.

My baby scored 9 out of 10 on the APGAR test twice. I thought she would be ok and go to the newborn nursery and not the NICU. I didn’t get to hold her or touch her. I got to see her for a few seconds and the nurse took her away to the transition room to see if she would go to the newborn nursery or the NICU. My husband asked me if I wanted him to stay with me or go with our baby. I told him to go with our baby.

I was moved to a labor and delivery room. I was put on a magnesium IV that I would need to be on for 24 hours to help control my blood pressure so that I did not have a seizure. This is the standard protocol for preeclampsia. My husband came in without my baby. She was sent to the NICU for various reasons. I could not go see her since I was on the magnesium IV and she could not come to me since she was in the NICU. If she had gone to the newborn nursery, she could have came to my room even though I was not in the Mother/Baby unit where the nursery is located.

I was monitored heavily for the next 24 hours with someone coming in my room every 15 20 minutes. The only picture I had of my baby was on our camera on a very small screen.

About 27 hours after my baby was born, I finally got to go see her in the NICU. I was in extreme pain from the C-section and being immobile for over 24 hours. She was the most beautiful baby. Of course every parent thinks that about their own child. Unfortunately I didn’t get a room in the Mother/Baby unit since she was not in the nursery and all the rooms were full. I had to be in a room 3 floors from her. I didn’t get to go see my baby very much over the next 4 days due to my health issues and because I was on a different floor. My husband slept in our baby’s NICU room. He got to feed her and change her diaper. I couldn’t get up there to do those things. After 4 days of being in the NICU, she was able to move to the newborn nursery! I finally got moved that night into the Mother/Baby unit with my baby.

The next day my blood pressure was still high. The high risk OB let me go home though even though it was over the limit they said it could be to be discharged from the hospital. I went home on blood pressure medicine. I had to monitor my blood pressure at home and take medicine for a while.

My baby was enrolled in a preemie program to monitor her until age 3. That program monitors preemies and provides development assistance when needed.

I realize that both my daughter and I could have died from preeclampsia. I didn’t realize that then since I felt fine. I never felt sick from the preeclampsia. I am very grateful that my daughter is now a healthy, active, and healthy 5 year old.

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Pre-eclampsia, Preeclampsia

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