When I went in for my scheduled c-section for my third baby, I hoped and prayed that everything was going to be routine. I had two prior c-sections, one was planned, the other was not, but this one was scheduled and I knew what to expect and it was going to be great. If you’ve never had a scheduled c-section, I compare it to checking into a hotel. You go in, tell them you’re there, get your room, and you are good to go! Still, I was nervous and excited and had all the emotions, but was hopeful everything was going to run smoothly.
I’ll start this out by saying my blood pressure has always been high towards the end of every pregnancy and I’ve been diagnosed with gestational hypertension in all three of my pregnancies, so it’s always been something we’ve kept an eye on. This was also the reason we scheduled our delivery for 37 weeks with our son. My blood pressure was back to normal after delivery, like it had been with my other pregnancies and we were excited to get him home and meet his brothers and sister. We stayed for two nights, and we went home to be with our family and settle in!
A week later, I went in for a check-up. Because of my history for hypertension, they wanted to make sure my pressures were in the normal range and that everything looked good. I remember thinking that I was only down ten pounds from my pregnancy weight after they weighed me. That’s what I was worried about. When the nurse took my blood pressure, it was in a critical range. I didn’t even feel bad at all, so I was super surprised. They took it two/three more times, and then the doctor came in and told me I would need to go to labor and delivery triage because they were concerned about postpartum preeclampsia.
It was then that I lost it.
I was one week postpartum, my husband and other kids and newborn baby were in the car waiting for me, and what I thought was going to be a quick in and out check-up, turned into an admission to the hospital to be put on a magnesium drip for 12 hours and blood pressure medication to get my numbers under control. It was one of the hardest couple days of my life. 
I was diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia, a serious condition that can develop after childbirth. It involves high blood pressure and may also affect other organs, making it important to recognize and treat early. If untreated, it can lead to seizures, strokes, or death.
I spent the next two nights in the hospital on a magnesium drip, which the nurses explained is essentially a full-body muscle relaxer. It’s used to calm the nervous system, prevent seizures, and often helps lower blood pressure as well. It leaves you feeling completely exhausted and flushed. Honestly, it’s a really uncomfortable experience. Because of the high fall risk, you’re not allowed to get out of bed during the treatment, which makes it even more difficult. Thankfully, the unit I was in allowed newborns to stay with their mothers as long as another adult was present. I was able to keep my son with me and continue nursing, for which I’m incredibly grateful.
After I was released, I was on blood pressure medication to continue to keep it under control and this resulted in one more trip to the hospital to have my medication adjusted and multiple follow ups for the next couple of months to make sure that I was doing ok.
Most times, with postpartum preeclampsia, the mother can wean off of medication by six weeks after delivery, however this was not the case with me and a year and a half later, I was able to reduce my medication substantially, but I’m still on low dose blood pressure medication to keep my numbers in line.
I tell you this story to say, if you are pregnant or have just given birth, and you are feeling like something is wrong, please don’t ignore your body. Some of the signs to look out for when it comes to postpartum preeclampsia are: swelling, severe headaches, vision changes, right upper abdominal pain, and high blood pressure. If you feel like any of this could be happening to you, call your doctor and let them know your symptoms to get evaluated. Also, if you’ve gone through this, know that you’re not alone and it does leave some scars emotionally that take some time to heal.
