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Preeclampsia often provokes feelings of great loss, despair or confusion. In some cases, it is a traumatic event that leads to enormous emotional, economic or physical burdens. Fortunately, this website provides a place of learning and healing among the growing community of people who share an experience with preeclampsia.

Here you will find the face of preeclampsia and the many personal accounts of both survival and tragedy. Feel free to read and comment on their stories, view their photos, and take the opportunity to connect with them to share your story. Many people have found helpful support through this community. We hope you will too.

Please consider sending us your story for inclusion on this page.

My son was born October 25, 2009. He wasn't due until December 1, 2009.On

Posted On Thursday, May 13, 2010  by

My son was born October 25, 2009.  He wasn't due until December 1, 2009.On October 14, 2009, I went to the emergency room in my hometown because I was feeling a lot of pain.  Turned out I was having "threatened pre-term labor". They sent me to another hospital right away where they are known for their NICU.  2 days into my stay in the hospital I caught H1N1 and they placed me in isolation for a week.  The doctors continued to monitor my blood pressure a... Read more

Hello -I had an up and down pregnancy last year. I was told I had

Posted On Thursday, May 13, 2010  by

Hello -I had an up and down pregnancy last year. I was told I had a 1/8 chance of having a baby with down syndrome so I did an amniocentesis and found he would be okay. It was the most scary time of my life. 1/8! I couldn't believe it since I was 34 and thought I had better odds than that. Anyway, at 29 weeks for my regular check up I went in to my appointment letting my ob-gyn know that my swelling had gotten worse and I was down to only one pair of comfortable shoes. She felt my legs and i... Read more

Hi my name is Adryan,I am Lisa's son. My mom was pregnant with twins and

Posted On Thursday, May 13, 2010  by

Hi my name is Adryan,I am Lisa's son. My mom was pregnant with twins and her due date was Dec 23. She was married to my dad who beat her. One day he beat her and she went into labor and had them both on September 25, 2009. My sister was born Lynnzie. May was fighting for her life but gave up and on October 6, 2009 she went to be with our God and my little brother died right after he was born. His name is Tristan Jamie. Now my mom was fighting for her life with ca... Read more

I think a lot of people don't know that eclampsia can hit after giving birth.

Posted On Wednesday, May 12, 2010  by

I think a lot of people don't know that eclampsia can hit after giving birth. I have spoken about my condition at a Heart and Stroke Foundation event and am now trying to raise awareness for eclampsia. Everything I have read seems to point to mother's dying in the emergency room due to lack of knowledge on this subject. Doctors just don't know what they are looking at.My story is from April 2008. My husband Chris and I anxioulsy awaited the birth of our first child, we had no idea wh... Read more

My Story. My Daughter Alexis was born at 31 weeks, 3 lbs. 6 oz. and

Posted On Wednesday, May 05, 2010  by Dina

My Story. My Daughter Alexis was born at 31 weeks, 3 lbs. 6 oz. and 17 3/4 inches due to severe preeclampsia. This is my 2nd pregnancy. My first was delivered full term with no preeclampsia and my only issue was Gestational Diabetes which was under control via diet.This time I was really sick. No Gestational Diabetes but severe morning sickness for the first 6 months. I was fine up until the week I had her. I began not feeling well one Sunday. My feet were swollen but my doctor was not conce... Read more

I developed preeclampsia on 5/25/98 at 25 weeks along and I had to deliver the

Posted On Wednesday, May 05, 2010  by

I developed preeclampsia on 5/25/98 at 25 weeks along and I had to deliver the baby via c-section. Emilia weighed a little over 1 pound and lived for 7 days. This was the hardest thing I have ever had to experience. She was my first child, and I still feel responsible for what happened to her. I feel that I wasn't informed at all about this condition during my pregnancy and I maybe could've changed things had I known.I went on to have another baby a year later and everything went well... Read more

My pregnancy was going great I was so excited for my first child. Then out

Posted On Sunday, May 02, 2010  by

My pregnancy was going great! I was so excited for my first child. Then out of nowhere things got bad.  At 28 1/2 weeks I woke up completely swollen EVERYWHERE!  I called my ob/gyn &and they told me to come in. When they took my Blood Pressure it was 188/110. I was then sent to the hospital where they kept me for 8 hours monitoring me and my baby. Eventually the swelling went down a little and my BP became better so they diagnosed me with Gestational Hypertension and... Read more

I am a very lucky woman. I hear that every time I tell my story.

Posted On Thursday, April 29, 2010  by

I am a very lucky woman. I hear that every time I tell my story. I am a 37 year old mother of three. My oldest daughter was born at 33 weeks after I was finally diagnosed with HELLP syndrome. I had major swelling.......gained 20 lbs in one week. Maggie was in the NICU for 2 weeks and did very well. She had respiratory issues until she was about 3, but is a healthy active almost 10 year old now. We felt we had been very lucky. The stress and emotional battles did not keep ... Read more

In June of 1986 is were my story begins. I was 7 months pregnant, happily

Posted On Tuesday, April 27, 2010  by

In June of 1986 is were my story begins. I was 7 months pregnant, happily married or so I thought when my baby's father told me he was leaving. This of course placed a lot of stress on me, so I made sure to keep a regular check on the baby with my health care provider. I didn't have a family doctor at the time, I was being cared for at the health clinic in my town, but I was assured at each visit that things were going fine. Since I wasn't working at the time, I moved in with my parents, which w... Read more

I had a rough start to my first pregnancy with hyperemesis severe nausea/vomiting and constant

Posted On Tuesday, April 27, 2010  by

I had a rough start to my first pregnancy with hyperemesis (severe nausea/vomiting) and constant diarrhea (caused by Crohn's disease, then undiagnosed). So I thought pregnancy was pretty rough. I kept looking forward to that middle trimester everyone talks about, but it never seemed to arrive!Around twenty-seven weeks I went shopping with my mother and bought some slippers and pyjamas for the hospital. I remember thinking it odd that I needed medium size slippers (my feet are usually sma... Read more

I had a great pregnancy. We were so excited as it took us about

Posted On Friday, April 23, 2010  by

I had a great pregnancy.  We were so excited as it took us about 2 years to get pregnant in the first place. I was first diagnosed with PCOS, so in order to get pregnant, was put on Metformin and rounds of Clomid. When that didn't work, we did an IUI with an Ovadryl shot which did work.  We were even more excited at 20 weeks when we found out it was a boy. I didn't have any problems until 5 months pregnant with severe headaches. I was prescribed Tylenol. Repeat headaches.&... Read more

Hi, my name is Alyssa McLaughlin. I'm 19 years old and I was 5 months

Posted On Thursday, April 22, 2010  by

Hi, my name is Alyssa McLaughlin. I'm 19 years old and I was 5 months pregnant when I got severe preeclampsia. It was at 11pm January 31st when my husband and I got home from Walmart. I had to buy some Tylenol because what I thought was severe rib pain was hurting so badly I couldn't sleep or walk. It hurt to even breath. I went to the hospital but they said nothing appeared wrong and it might be bronchitis. Right when we got in our driveway I threw up and my whole body swelled u... Read more

My name is Melisa. I am 22 years old and live in Arizona. I recently

Posted On Wednesday, April 21, 2010  by

My name is Melisa. I am 22 years old and live in Arizona. I recently had my daughter Jayden Lynn who was born on May 13, 2009. I've had a history of high blood pressure since I was 18 years old, but nobody could get it under control with any medications. I developed severe preeclampsia when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Jayden and was admitted to the Hospital. The doctors kept trying so hard to push me into having her, but I would tell them no. I ended up having her May 13, 2009 which was at 23w... Read more

My daughter, who is 22, started getting PIH Pregnancy Induced Hypertension when she was 4

Posted On Monday, April 19, 2010  by

My daughter, who is 22, started getting PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension) when she was 4 months pregnant. Her OB had her on 600mg a day of labetalol, which kept her stable until her 38th week. Her BP was 170/130, so she had to have an emergency c-section. That was April 8th. Still today, April 19th, she has high blood pressure and she is breast feeding. Her labetalol isn't working any longer. We tried aldomet also. Has anyone been told you can't breastfeed being on lisinopril? I have ... Read more

I remember coming to this website looking for hope after having HELLP Syndrome with my

Posted On Monday, April 19, 2010  by

I remember coming to this website looking for hope after having HELLP Syndrome with my first pregnancy, so I wanted to come back and post my story to give hope to anyone in the same position. My first pregnancy went very smoothly, I was all about having a natural birth. I exercised regularly and ate well. I did however seem to be putting on a lot of water weight but my doctors said it was normal. I gave birth at almost 41 weeks. I needed to be induced because my water broke a... Read more

I was hospitalized with preeclampsia at 23 weeks. I tried to stay pregnant for as

Posted On Thursday, April 15, 2010  by

I was hospitalized with preeclampsia at 23 weeks. I tried to stay pregnant for as long as possible. My beautiful son, Ayden Joshua Williams, was born at 24 1/2 weeks on 3/18/2010 at 6:09 PM. He was spunky and fighting all the way.He was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He passed away on 4/6/2010 at 2:35 am in our arms. He contracted an infection in the NICU, and could not fight it due to the lack of his immune system, as he was born premature.Although he was here ... Read more

Hello. My name is Samantha. I have experienced preeclampsia twice now. My first son was

Posted On Wednesday, April 14, 2010  by

Hello. My name is Samantha. I have experienced preeclampsia twice now. My first son was born 9 weeks and 1 day premature by emergency c-section because of my preeclampsia. I had a very quick onset in his case and don't think they could have caught it any sooner than they did. They gave me steroids before he was born so that his lungs would develop more rapidly. He was born at 3lbs 12 oz and was in the NICU for only 12 days. He never had any complications to speak of and was gaining weight... Read more

My name is Jennifer. I am both a product and survivor of preeclampsia. I was

Posted On Wednesday, April 14, 2010  by

My name is Jennifer. I am both a product and survivor of preeclampsia. I was born at 29 weeks in 1984, weighing 2 lbs. 8 oz. and have been healthy since. I am now 25 years old and just recently lost my first child, Kelsie Mae due to severe preeclampsia. I was diagnosed at 27 weeks and sent to hospital bed rest. I delivered a healthy baby girl, Kelsie Mae, on January 10 ,2010. She weighted 2 lbs. exactly. She was doing great in the NICU and I truly thought she would come home to my husband an... Read more

I remember when I was first pregnant we were so excited and scared. Since I

Posted On Wednesday, April 14, 2010  by chat

I remember when I was first pregnant; we were so excited and scared. Since I had miscarried before, we weren't going to tell anybody until I was through my first trimester. When I had my first doctor's appointment, she said she thought I was 10-12 weeks and scheduled me for a sonogram in 2 weeks. I was due on Christmas day. The day before my sonogram I told my mom, thinking I was near the end of my first trimester. At my sonogram the baby measured 8 weeks. My husband was so disappointed he was g... Read more

My daughter was having very bad and unusual symptoms her last 2 weeks of her

Posted On Monday, April 12, 2010  by

My daughter was having very bad and unusual symptoms her last 2 weeks of her first pregnancy. She was 19 years old. She had all symptoms of acute fatty liver of pregnancy. She went to the ER twice and was sent to labor and delivery then sent home within these two weeks. She went to her last doctor's appointment and they did nothing. This was on the Tuesday before she lost her full term son Saturday. The doctor on call knew something was wrong during delivery. Which at this time my daugh... Read more

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