After having a very “easy” and uneventful pregnancy, at 38 weeks my feet started to get very swollen. Because both of my parents are hypertensive, I was at high risk of preeclampsia, so my doctor had me keep an eye on my blood pressure. After several high readings, I went to the hospital where they ended up inducing labor. After ~24 hrs of unsuccessful dilation, I ended up having a c-section because baby’a heart rate was spiking. The c-section experience was traumatic. I felt like I was losing consciousness when they were closing. I was shaking uncontrollably and later found out I was bleeding out and almost needed a transfusion. One week postpartum I ended up at the ER with postpartum preeclampsia and was hospitalized for very high blood pressure. They infused magnesium IV [to prevent seizures], which ended up causing my milk supply to dry up [indirectly] in the weeks that followed. I had to take BP medication for a month and thankfully was able to be taken off of it, but preeclampsia made me very afraid of ever getting pregnant again. I thank God for my life and the opportunity of watching my baby grow