When my friends get pregnant and they ask me what to expect, I tell them nothing. Seriously people, if my first go round of child birthing taught me anything, it’s that the unexpected can and will happen.
When I was pregnant with my first child, everything was going by the book in the beginning. We did everything when we should. We had our monthly, then bi-weekly appointments, all of the pre-natal testing they recommend, were given wonderful showers {yes, plural}, and read all the baby and parenting books.
But then life decided to throw us a curve ball.
I got sick {a little thing called HELLP}. HELLP syndrome is a group of symptoms that occur in pregnant women who have: hemolysis (the breakdown of red blood cells), elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count. Many women have high blood pressure {mine was dangerously high right before they delivered the baby} and are diagnosed with preeclampsia {I skipped right over this} before they develop HELLP syndrome.
All that prepping and planning went out the window. One minute we were sitting in the doctor’s office for a check-up and the next, we were rushing to the hospital for monitoring. Monitoring turned into being admitted to the hospital for testing which ultimately led to “Don’t go anywhere, Dad. We’re having a baby.”
All of our expectations changed in a matter of 24 hours.
At that point, our only expectations were a healthy baby and a healthy momma. And, thankfully, we got both. It took some time to get it, but we did.
Because Ethan was 5 weeks premature, he had to spend 10 days in the NICU. Miraculously, he didn’t have any breathing problems and just needed to learn how to eat.
After they delivered him, my blood pressure almost immediately returned to normal. My body did take a little while to catch up on making blood platelets but when I returned for follow-up blood work 10 days after delivery, my blood work was perfect.
Not only do I tell my friends to have no expectations, I also tell them to make sure they are advocates for themselves. The only reason they caught the HELLP was because I insisted on being seen. I had an insane headache, my feet were so swollen that I couldn’t bare to look at them, and I just didn’t feel right. I trusted that I knew my body and that my body was telling me that something was wrong.
Looking back on both of my pregnancies, I honestly wouldn’t change a thing. OK maybe, just a few things, but the outcomes have greatly outweighed what I had to go through.
Stephanie is the mom of two boys, Ethan and Benjamin. She blogs over at A Grande Life where she is trying to figure it all out with the help of her side-kicks: coffee and her camera. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Heather says
Thanks for sharing your experience with HELLP Syndrome. I had only heard of it from a little sentence in one of my baby books, and honestly I just passed right over it. I admire that you were an advocate for yourself and are now encouraging women to be the same!
Raya says
I never heard of this before, thank you for sharing. This is really encouraging for women who struggle during pregnancy.
Jennifer says
I learned of HELLP after the fact, too. Looked it up afterward and saw that it was a footnote in my pregnancy book. I also skipped preeclampsia – but I did stop off at eclampsia before I got to HELLP – or more accurately, because of undiagnosed HELLP. I had no idea that this could happen, nor that it could happen so quickly. My son and I survived, but it could easily have gone the other way.
Shannon says
holy heck! it’s so scary…you go into pregnancy thinking everything will be glorious and wonderful, and it is such an intense 10 months!
Kami says
WOW! What a scary event! I’m so happy everything turned out okay. Such a great, informative post!!
Leah Baker says
Thank you for sharing your story! It sounds so similar to mine! I also developed HELLP syndrome with my first son.
My pregnancy was literally textbook right up until the day before my scheduled induction.
I went to the hospital in excruciating pain around my liver.( in heinsight I had really bad swelling like you & abnormally high blood pressure at the docs that day that went undetected) Blood work was drawn & I went from last on the list to first priority!
I had no idea what was really going on or how “sick” I was (that’s what the doctors & nurses kept telling me). Somehow I was able to deliver my son naturally & he was perfectly healthy!
My health continued to decline after birth with my platelets continuing to drop. I was one round of bloodwork away from a blood transfusion. Luckily my counts slowly started to climb. I ended up spending 3 days in my delivery room & a total of 5 days in the hospital. It wasn’t until I went home & researched HELLP syndrome that I realized I was actually really close to dying! That was really hard to digest & grasp.
All I can say is I am forever grateful for every day I’m alive & my sons health.
This illness is most common in first pregnancies which is scary because most first time moms have no idea what’s going on & whether it’s normal or not. I’m 100% with you that you are your best advocate & if you think something is wrong go with gut instinct & seek help!
I would like to end my post by saying I just delivered my second son complication free! 🙂
Sarah says
Leah! I am so sorry and thank you for sharing…isn’t it amazing how each pregnancy is so different. Do you participate in the Promise Walks?? if not check them out http://www.promisewalk.org
I am the coordinator for the Philly/South Jersey Walk
~Sarah
Shannon says
My cousin had HELLP with her first son 2 years ago. Her only symptom was right upper abdominal pain (because her LFTs were so high). Her platelets got as low as 36 (normal is 150-300). Its always best to trust your body and insist on being seen, no matter how “silly” you may think your complaint is!
KP says
Me too. My blood pressure was just high for me, not outside normal range. It went undetected 37 weeks. My son and I both survived, but it took months for my blood work to return to normal. Thank you for sharing! Your advice to newly pregnant women is spot on, you just never know.
Becky says
This was an important story to share, especially for first time moms. Thanks for putting it out there and glad to hear that you advocated for yourself!