My husband and I decided to have a baby after a year of marriage. I |
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My husband and I decided to have a baby after a year of marriage. I conceived immediately and had a trouble free pregnancy except for severe morning sickness in the first trimester. I kept my prenatal appointments faithfully and routine blood pressure and urine tests were fine. Blood pressure was slightly elevated, but my obstetrician told me that was normal in most people. A routine ulta-sound at 20 weeks showed the baby to be a few days too small for gestation age but everything else was just fine. This continued to progress normally until the 31st week when getting dressed for a wedding, I found that I could not fit into anything, not clothes, not shoes, even my bracelet would not go around my wrist. Although a little puzzled, I did not worry too much. I started getting a headache in the mornings, concentrating mainly in the back of my head and neck area. I also started getting a severe pain in my chest which I attributed to heartburn. I continued to work even though the headaches were so bad, I had to sleep sitting up in bed. On the Thursday of the week, I just felt that something was wrong. My baby was not moving as much, I was feeling very agitated and it just felt wrong. As I arrived home my husband was concerned about how I looked and walked me over to a clinic across from our home. The doctor measured by blood pressure at 160/110 and told my husband to take me to the emergency room immediately. On arriving at the maternity section of the hospital, my BP showed 180/130 and still climbing. I was told that my kidneys were barely functioning and so was my liver. The worst moment was when they were searching for the baby's heartbeat and could not find it. After frantically repositioning for about 15 minutes .. there it was!! It was the sweetest sound I will ever hear. My blood pressure began to soar and started climbing over 200/140 and I was put on anti-seizure medication and taken to a quiet dark room. My husband and I were told that that the baby would have to be delivered immediately. My husband was in tears, but I instinctively felt the baby would be ok. Everything after that seems a blur after that. The doctor decided to induce labour and after 7 hours Sasmita was born at 3 lbs 6 oz. Her weak cry was music to my ears. I was allowed to hold her for a few seconds before she was whisked away to the NICU. She remained in the NICU for 3 weeks and progressed rapidly. She did not require any assistance breathing and was feeding at the breast within 3 days. She is now 14 1/2 lbs at 5 months. Unbelievable. I continued to have headaches and chest pains for days after delivery and was kept in the ICU. Once the blood pressure showed signs of dropping, I was sent home on oral medication. This is Sept/2002 - 5 months after delivery and both mother and daughter are thriving! |
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