Experience Stories: This is my personal story about preeclampsia
Hello, I'm Sophia, I'm happy to share my experiences on the Pregnancy Maternal Health blog to tell you my own story. I welcome all mothers, although my story is very sad, as I lost every fetus that was inside my womb.
It was extremely painful to see my children born dead. I lost 6 children each time I was pregnant. However, I want to share my story with you and how this terrifying nightmare that haunted me for many years ended, so that every woman and future mother can benefit from it. Let's start:
My story began when I got married and was happy with my husband. We lived in a small village surrounded by beautiful mountains and green trees.
Our house was small but we were very happy. A few months passed after our happy marriage when I felt some sudden symptoms. At first, I felt nauseous in the morning, loss of appetite, fatigue, and a desire to sleep.
I couldn't stand some smells, especially the smell of certain foods, milk, and coffee, as well as the scent of perfumes, especially those sprayed by my husband on his clothes. These symptoms lasted for more than a week. I went to the doctor with my husband, and after the examination, he told me to take a pregnancy test, which turned out to be positive. I was very happy, and so was my husband. We did the necessary tests and then returned home.
It was an unbelievable joy. I was going to be a mother in just a few months. I started planning with my husband for the future: what to name the baby if it was a girl or a boy, and many other plans. However, reality was not as we wanted. After 4 months of pregnancy, I experienced many symptoms. I started hearing ringing in my ears, my feet were very swollen, my breathing was labored, and I had occasional headaches as if my head was going to explode. I was not at peace with the happy pregnancy, as these symptoms intensified every week.
In the seventh month of my pregnancy, I felt that it was very exhausting. It started to bother me, a ringing in my ear, a headache that wouldn't go away, my body was completely swollen, even my face became like a balloon, my fingers became like barrels, and my wedding ring became too tight on my finger, causing my husband to cut it off so I could remove it. In the middle of the seventh month of my pregnancy, I spent a night where I felt like I was dying.
I felt intense pain in my abdomen, and the ringing in my ear and the headache wouldn't stop. Then the bleeding started, it was bleeding from the uterus, the blood was black. I felt that my stomach was very hard and rigid like wood, the world darkened in front of my eyes, and I didn't see anything after that.
I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the bed. I raised my head, oh, I am in the hospital, and my husband was sleeping on the couch. I called out to him, "David, David, David." He opened his eyes and came to me. He was very tired. I asked him, "What am I doing here, David?" He said, "Sophia, my dear, you are okay, the danger has passed." Then tears fell from his eyes, and he said, "The baby, the baby has died, he died inside the womb."
He was silent for a while, and tears poured from my eyes. It was like a thunderbolt. I imagined every moment when we were happy, I imagined the beautiful moments when we started preparing the baby's room, when we bought some toys. David said, "The important thing is that you are okay." I said to him, "How did all this happen?" He said, "The doctors said it was pregnancy poisoning (preeclampsia)."
We returned home, and sadness overshadowed us. I continued to follow up with specialist doctors, and took medications, and unfortunately every time I became pregnant, I faced the same situation. The second, third, fourth, fifth, and even the sixth baby died.
However, I did not feel despair, and David did not feel despair. We waited for a long time, and the good news is that I am in my seventh pregnancy. The doctors insisted that I stay in the hospital for the entire 9 months of the pregnancy, and that did happen.
Yes, we were blessed with a baby boy. It was an indescribable happiness, yes, he was alive. The doctors were diligent in monitoring me and my little baby. And so, I was blessed with another baby girl and then another baby boy. Now I am a mother of 3 wonderful children who fill my life.
In the end, what I want to say is that my experience was exhausting, tough, and sad at the same time. I went through a lot with my husband over the years, and now I thank God that I am a mother of 3 young children. My advice to you, madam, is to be prepared if you decide to become a mother, and to prepare yourself in advance through the following:
- Consult an obstetrician if you want to get pregnant, as they will help and guide you in preparing for pregnancy, especially with regard to pre-pregnancy vitamins that protect the fetus from congenital deformities. For example, folic acid protects the fetus from cleft palate.
- Medical follow-up during pregnancy: at least once in the first trimester, once in the second trimester, and twice in the third trimester.
- This medical follow-up is important for detecting pregnancy complications (preeclampsia, high blood pressure during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, etc.).
I hope that my story reaches as many mothers and mothers-to-be as possible.