A 31 Week Preeclampsia Survivor Interview: Thankful For Life

Interview with a Preeclampsia Survivor

I’m excited to share this interview with a 31 week preeclampsia survivor with you all this week. I met Charlotte from Instagram (If you don’t follow me there, you should! That is the platform I am most active in). If you missed my last interview, I talked with a postpartum preeclampsia survivor. She is one of the many women who were willing to share their stories with me about their experience with preeclampsia.

The main goal of my blog is to be a voice and share not only my story, but the stories of other women who have become victims of preeclampsia. One way I can do that is to share the stories of the moms and babies who had to endure the hardship of this horrible illness.

Below is an infographic from the March of Dimes that highlights some of the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia.

Meet Charlotte

I’m 28. I am from the UK, married to our gorgeous little girl Leela Stefani Margaret who was born 31 + 3 weeks and she weighed 3lb 1oz.

Pregnancy & Birth

Tell me about your pregnancy.

My Pregnancy was straightforward for the first 26 weeks or so, my BP was perfect, blood perfect, urine perfect and I was measuring a healthy weight. Hardly any morning sickness and I was having a very good pregnancy.

What was it like the day your baby was born?

The day Leela was born was such a blur, only now are things starting to take shape. I remember a group of about 9 doctors hooking me up to a magnesium drip which made me vomit and feel like I was burning. I had steroid injections, Labetalol, and Nifedipine. A catheter was fitted and they monitored my blood pressure every 15 minutes. My baby girl was going to be delivered that day.

When she was born I was able to hear her cry. I was so out of it. I could only muster saying “that’s our baby” to my husband. She was quickly shown to me, then taken to NICU. I didn’t see her for 24 hours. I felt very sick after the operation but it was very successful.

When did you know something was wrong?

I started with swelling in my feet, I couldn’t put my shoes on anymore, then my hands, and then I was getting breathless quickly, just turning over in bed was making me out of breath. My face was incredibly swollen. I knew something was wrong when I woke up for the toilet and when I got back upstairs I could hardly breathe. My headache was pounding and had for a week. I felt sick and dizzy, so we called the labor ward. I was admitted within 4 hours.

Tell me about your hospital stay.

My hospital stay on the labor ward was lovely. My midwives were so amazing and I felt so comfortable there. I can’t say the same for when I moved down to the normal ward after birth. Suddenly, I felt lonely and the baby blues hit me. I cried all day every day and wanted to be well enough to see Leela but I was too weak. My husband couldn’t stay with me because they had no beds only wooden chairs. In the normal ward, I was with all the women who had their lovely normal-weight healthy babies. All I could hear was babies crying all night and mine wasn’t with me.

Tell me about your baby’s NICU stay.

I am thankful that Leelas NICU stay was luckily a very straightforward stay. She was in intensive care for 3 days, which was fantastic, but seeing her in her incubator was so hard. Leaving her home every day was like tearing my heart out. She progressed very well in NICU and was in there for 4 weeks. We then moved to transitional care for a week where we established breastfeeding. Which was a struggle at times but she was so determined. She was amazing in the NICU.

How did it feel see her in the incubator for the first time?

Seeing Leela in her incubator for the first time was heartbreaking. She was so small, fragile, and covered in wires. I felt like the worst mum in the world because it was my fault she came early. Also knowing she was in there without her mummy was the worth thing. It broke my heart to leave her every time I had to. I felt guilty she was lonely and scared without her one source of comfort.

After the Preeclampsia Diagnosis

How has your life changed since the preeclampsia diagnosis?

Since having preeclampsia my life has changed in so many ways. I’ve learned to be more thankful for what I have and the life that my husband Leela and I have. I’ve started being a lot healthier. I am trying to give Leela the best life possible after her rocky start. I also want to reach out to so many women and tell them it’s okay to be scared. I’ve learned how strong women are to deliver being so ill. How much we put our bodies through to bring life into the world, and just how powerful a mother’s love is to heal.

As a preeclampsia survivor did you struggle with any emotions of failure/upset that it happened to you?

I struggled a lot with my emotions and still do now. I feel I failed as a mother to grow and deliver a baby normally and feel guilty bringing her into this world too early so she had to fight for her life in hospital. Grieving not being able to have a normal birth. I wanted a vaginal delivery so bad and have that pure feeling of holding my baby after delivery but it was torn away from me.

At times the midwives in the normal ward didn’t understand why I was crying all the time. But I was so lonely in hospital. My baby was so sick and I was battling high blood pressure. I was not in a good place. Luckily my family and friends have helped me through and they are the best support I could ask for.

If you go could back to the day Leela was born, what would you tell yourself?

I would tell myself that no matter how hard things are, the outcome is worth it and you will be thankful in the end. My daughter is worth it. Also, I would tell myself labor isn’t as glamorous as the movies! Breastfeeding is a challenge and having a C-section is not the easy way out! It’s far from it. Just be thankful for what you have and know you’re in the best place possible.

How long did you suffer from the effects of premature birth?

Premature birth affected me in a lot of ways. It broke my heart seeing Leela so small and fragile but knowing how much of a fighter she is. She is my hero.

How is your baby doing today?

I am thankful she is doing so so well! Leela was born with 1 kidney but it is no cause for concern. She is such a healthy happy little lady. So full of life at 9 months old!

Describe your journey with having a preemie in 3 words

Heartbreaking, Overwhelming, and Rewarding

As a preeclampsia survivor what do you wish people knew about preeclampsia?

I am thankful many women don’t have to go through what I went through, but I wish people knew how serious it is. A lot of people think it’s just high blood pressure, which can be solved with tablets. People were always so shocked when I tell them I could have died if I didn’t deliver when I did.

Did you know preeclampsia existed before it happened to you?

I knew preeclampsia existed but I didn’t know the severity to an extent. I knew it was bad because a lady I know had it. But I didn’t know the signs and symptoms. I was never told to look out for anything like this.

As a preeclampsia survivor what would’ve made your stay in the normal ward better?

I think having [my husband] would’ve made my stay better. But they have no sort of sofa bed or sofa for dads here in the UK onwards. It’s just a wooden chair that I couldn’t expect him to sleep on for a week. I was very lucky that a midwife on the ward I went to school with. She was amazing. Some midwives I had were a little less approachable, but all-around most of the midwives were lovely. But yes, having Lee with me would’ve been so much easier for me.

As a preeclampsia survivor did you have to stay on BP medication postpartum?

I stayed on medication for 7 weeks postpartum. I was on Fragmin injections for 2 weeks after having Leela. For the first 4 weeks, I was on 2x 100g Labetalol 4x a day and 1x 10mg of nifedipine 2x a day. I was also on paracetamol and tramadol for painkillers. After 4 weeks, my medication was reviewed and I started to be weaned off. I came off nifedipine after 4 weeks. Then Labetalol 3 times a day. After a week, twice a day, another week once a day, and then stop taking it.

What advice would you give to women who were just diagnosed with preeclampsia?

Be calm. You are in safe hands. Don’t feel guilty or blame yourself, this is something you could not have prevented. Your blood pressure might not go down straight away but don’t be disheartened, it will eventually go down. Try to relax as much as possible, rest! You are a lot stronger than you think and you are going to be an amazing mummy to your baby! You are a superwoman!

How was your postpartum recovery (physically, mentally, emotionally)?

Postpartum recovery was hard, physically I struggled the first night on the ward. I was used to the labor ward where I had an electric bed. When I transferred downstairs I was in a normal bed. I found it hard to get comfy and especially getting out of bed. On my first night, it took me 20 mins to get out of bed to use the toilet. I realized I had to rest and let people do things for me.

Mentally and Emotionally: I recovered as soon as Leela was home with me. I struggled with her being in NICU, I felt so guilty about her being there on her own. I did struggle to get to see her as I was too weak, but I managed every day for a few hours. As soon as she came home a huge cloud was lifted and I was thankful. I was so happy to have my baby home, I was finally the mum walking out of women’s and children’s hospital with my baby!