This week, I am excited to share another interview with a preeclampsia survivor who also dealt with kidney stones. Can you imagine dealing with preeclampsia and kidney stones right after each other? Preeclampsia, eclampsia, and HELLP Syndrome survivors are amazing and strong women who have faced some of the worst things you can face during pregnancy and postpartum.
In the past few months, I have interviewed a preeclampsia survivor from the UK and her husband as well as a postpartum preeclampsia survivor. In other past posts, I have interviewed a preeclampsia survivor who started her own Instagram page to bring awareness to NICU babies as well as one who created her own non-profit.
I am a preeclampsia survivor, and if you would like to read my premature birth story and journey with preeclampsia, click here
Table of Contents
About Me
Hi! My name is Rachael from https://mamaofminis.com. I am a married 30-year-old stay-at-home mom of two sweet girls ages 2 and 8 months. We live in the Midwestern United States where we love to go on family hikes, spend time outside (when it is warm enough), and craft and play most of the day. I previously taught Kindergarten until COVID-19 hit. Then, I decided to stay home with my 2-year-old and newborn. I miss teaching and my students, but I also love my time staying home with my sweet girls.
Tell Me About Your Pregnancy
My pregnancies were both textbook pregnancies. I had a good amount of nausea and a large amount of exhaustion in the first trimester. I was usually able to keep it under control with a mixture of sea bands, eating often, and napping as much as possible. The second trimester hit, and I felt great. My energy came back, and I loved being pregnant during this stage. We found out the gender of our baby at our 20-week ultrasound and I was so excited to have a precious little girl.
The third trimester came but I really didn’t start to feel uncomfortable until I hit around 32 weeks. As a 5’0 female, there wasn’t much room for the baby to go but out, so I had a giant baby bump. Other than the typical soreness and uncomfortableness of being in the third trimester, I felt great all the way until my 36-week appointment. Up until this point I had perfect blood pressures, normal weight gain, no swelling, and overall a very normal and healthy pregnancy.
When I went in for my 36-week appointment I was shocked to hear my blood pressure had spiked. They sent me to the lab and did bloodwork where they determined I had preeclampsia. This came as a shock to me as I still felt great (aside from the normal pregnancy aches and pains), had no swelling, or external symptoms at all. My doctor wanted me to see if I was able to make it to 37 weeks to ensure my girl had more time to develop so I was given strict directions to monitor my blood pressure at home and come into the office if it got any higher.
My BP remained high but stable, so they had me come in at 36w 6 days for a steroid shot and then at exactly 37 weeks for the induction. I was a working Kindergarten teacher at the time and was able to work and teach up until the weekend before I was induced.
What was it like the day your baby was born?
The day my baby was born was exhausting and exciting. It was the hardest and the best day of my life at the same time. I went in at 7 pm to be induced and had my little girl the next afternoon at 2:58pm. She was 5lb 4oz and so perfect. Because I was able to wait until 37 weeks, she was born healthy and strong and didn’t need any NICU time which I am so thankful for. The whole process was very overwhelming, but I had great doctors and my wonderful husband there to support me.
When did you know something was wrong?
When I went in for my 36-week appointment, I was told that my blood pressure had spiked. It was at this point that I knew something was wrong. However, I don’t know that I truly grasped the severity of preeclampsia at the time. I saw it as an opportunity to get to meet my baby girl sooner and was actually excited. I still felt great up until I was induced at 37 weeks and didn’t truly realize how serious things were until I was in the hospital. The doctors around me were hurrying to get me a magnesium drip and trying to bring my blood pressure down.
Tell me about your hospital stay when you were diagnosed with preeclampsia.
Overall, I had as positive of an experience as one going through preeclampsia could have. My doctors were awesome and responsive to everything and seemed to be very knowledgeable about the whole thing. I was induced starting in the evening with Pitocin. I labored overnight and, in the morning, things started to speed up. I really started to feel the contractions and wanted an epidural. While I was waiting to get my epidural my blood pressure took off. All at once, there were a bunch of doctors that came in and I was given both my epidural and put on a magnesium drip.
Within a few hours of having the epidural, it was time for me to push. According to my doctors, if my blood pressure raised even a little bit more, I would have needed an emergency c-section. Because it stayed just below this line, I was able to push three times and my little girl was out. She was very tiny (she just missed the NICU requirements at the hospital by 4 oz), but she was healthy and strong.
I remember the first day after birth I have never been so exhausted. I could not keep my eyes open, get out of bed, or stand up on my own without passing out. I was so swollen that it almost seemed blurry when I looked around the room. I figured that it was because I had just given birth. I had to be on magnesium a full 24 hours after my daughter was born.
The minute they removed the magnesium I felt so much better. I was able to stand up within 10 minutes, walk around a bit, and really hold and enjoy my little girl. The swelling went down, and I started to finally feel like myself again. I had to stay three total days after birth to ensure that my blood pressure was going down but didn’t have to be on any additional blood pressure medication.
How has your life changed since the preeclampsia diagnosis?
My blood pressure went down within a few weeks of having my first. I didn’t really have any major long-term blood pressure problems or effects. However, at 8 months postpartum I ended up in the hospital with a very bad kidney infection and kidney stones.
I ended up having to have surgery to have the stones removed and was put on some very strong medications for two weeks. This ended my breastfeeding journey well before I was ready as I wasn’t able to give my daughter any of the milk while I was on the medications. By the time I was able to feed her again my supply had drastically dropped, and I couldn’t produce any more milk for her. The doctors didn’t say for sure, but it is a possibility that preeclampsia was the reason for all of the kidney problems at the time.
I also had another kidney stone at around 3 months postpartum with my second daughter (I had a very minor case of preeclampsia with her as well). This time around I didn’t have to have surgery and was able to pass the stone on my own. I have since had scans, and everything looks to be good, but I need to go back yearly and have my kidneys scanned/checked.
17 months after having my first daughter I became pregnant again. I was excited but terrified my whole pregnancy that something would go wrong, and I would end up with preeclampsia again. I was instructed to take baby aspirin starting at the beginning of my second trimester. I took this every day as suggested. I googled preeclampsia over and over and worried daily. Between the worries about preeclampsia and being pregnant during a pandemic, I was a worried mess.
I bought an at-home blood pressure reader and would take my blood pressure nightly once I hit the third trimester. I did end up being diagnosed with preeclampsia again at my 37-week apt with my second daughter. I went straight to the hospital and was induced as my labs came back abnormal again. However, my blood pressures stayed very stable during the delivery the second time around and I didn’t need to be put on magnesium.
The whole birth was so much smoother and easier, and the recovery was a night and day difference from my first pregnancy. I attribute a lot of this to the fact that I didn’t need to have magnesium the second time around. Even though I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, I had a very mild case the second time around and am so thankful for it.
Did you struggle with any emotions of failure/upset that it happened to you?
I did wonder if there was anything that I could have and should have done differently to prevent it. However, I had so much support from my OB and she was so great at explaining everything the day of the delivery and at my postpartum check that she really helped put my mind at ease.
How long did you suffer from the effects of preeclampsia?
My blood pressure went down within a few weeks of delivery. They were pretty much normal by the time I went to my 6-week postpartum check. I’ve had kidney issues since being diagnosed with preeclampsia the first time around. The doctors haven’t been able to confirm if these are lingering effects from preeclampsia or not. However, I had never had any problems with my kidneys or kidney stones pre-pregnancy.
Describe your journey with preeclampsia in 3 words.
Eye-opening, exhausting, life changing.
Did you know that preeclampsia could occur before it happened to you?
I had heard the word preeclampsia before it happened to me. However, I had no idea what it was or what it entailed. I didn’t know anyone who had had it before me and didn’t realize how serious it was. Even when I delivered the first time around, I don’t think I realized how serious it could have been until after delivery.
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If you are a preeclampsia survivor or HELLP syndrome survivor and would like to share your story, please contact me through email at courtney@knockonmotherhood.com. I would love to share your birth story and keep spreading awareness. I am trying to gather as many preeclampsia survivors birth stories as possible to spread awareness.
If you are a preemie mom, I would also love to share your story. Please contact me through email at courtney@knockonmotherhood.com.
Not only can you read my words, but you can also listen to me too! Here it is the Knock on Parenthood Podcast!
Wow! Why an incredible story. You have so much strength, new motherhood is hard even without the extra health complications but I am so glad it worked out in the end and hope you get to enjoy your girls each and every day!
Rachel really is a strong woman! I was honored to share her story
Enjoyed Rachel’s story so much..got to know many things about preeclampsia and other things.
I’m grateful she shared it.
Really incredible article. I was lucky enough not to have gone through this and honesty, didn’t know much about Preeclampsia until now. Thank you for spreading the knowledge!
Thank you so much!
Wow ! You are a strong woman and mama ! Preeclampsia can be a scary thing , thank you for sharing !
Preeclampsia is scary. I’m grateful Rachel shared her story with me.
What an insightful interview. I was monitored regularly for preeclampsia due to some symptoms I was having but was fortunately not diagnosed with preeclampsia. There are already so many worries being pregnant and then again with a baby, dealing with preeclampsia and then later kidney stones sounds too emotionally overwhelming.
It really is. I was amazed at her strength.