Went into the ER at 35+3, was admitted and delivered at 35+4 via emergency section. I would have had to deliver earlier but they needed me to get platelets first and those came from a university hospital so they held off.
BP went to 190/110 and stayed there. My platelets were extremely low and my liver and kidney were failing. So ir progressed to severe HELLP within like an hour.
I was never given BP meds, they just told me baby needed to come out and I was given IV fluids and insuline for me my type 1 diabetes.
Baby was born 35+4 (by 4 minutes) and weighed 3,570kg and was 49cm tall.
Our NICU stay was 13 days (we got home late Friday afternoon). He was on oxygen via nasal canula for around one week and NG tube for the full two weeks. I saw him for a few seconds before he went to NICU and properly maybe 8h after delivery.
Be perpared to take baby home at their due date at the earliest. Be as involved as possible but make sure to take care of yourself. Rest enough, drink enough and enough calories.
I didn't leave my bed from the second I got to L&D until 26h after my section when I was able/allowed to move around.
Admitted at 28 weeks because BP was 170 at prenatal appointment. Discharged after 2 nights but admitted again at follow up appointment 2 days later and stayed in again for 2 nights. Stopped working and got monitored 2x per week (plus obsessively taking BP) and was on labetalol and nifedipine. (Spelling). Went in at 32+1 because BP readings were 160+ and was diagnosed with pre-e based on urine sample. Started having trouble breathing at 32+5 because I developed a pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs) and started induction but made no progress and so had c-section at 32+6.
Above meds plus lastics and magnesium once breathing was a little more controlled, was on oxygen for 2 days prior to c-section and 2 days afterwards.
Had some visitors, slept a lot, read, watched Netflix, ordered “good” meals (had gestational diabetes so was limited), was allowed short walks around floor.
Sanity- lol. Just tried to take it all one hour, one day at a time and then things escalated really fast and just kind of have to go with it.
6&7. Pulmonary edema and BP rising quickly led to needing the induction and then c-section. Had seemed pretty stable until the night before and started having breathing issues but thought maybe I had a cold and then was tested for Covid in the morning. Things kept getting worse and they did a chest c-ray around 1pm and I was in labor and delivery by 3. That morning the doctor had said I was her “most boring patient”. Ha, that changed rapidly.
8&9. 4lbs 2 oz, was intubated at birth and then on CPAP for 5 days. In NICU for 58 days, mostly as feeder and grower but took a long time to learn how to feed and then got COVID when we were about to be discharged, adding an additional week to our stay.
In retrospect, my doctors and I should have realized things were escalating. I had attributed my breathing getting worse over the previous days and even week to just normal pregnancy things and the fact that I was really swollen as well. I’m guilty of downplaying health things and probably should’ve realized something was up. If they had known about the pulmonary edema earlier, maybe I could’ve kept him in longer. I didn’t know this was a potential pre-e side effect (knew about the others, headache, vision issues, etc) but didn’t connect the symptoms. My advice is to report any changes to your care team, no matter how small they seem. Also, we really thought we’d be out of the NICU quicker and should’ve believed them when they said due date was the goal- we were stubborn and he moved through initial milestones quickly so we had false hope and ended up disappointed when it took longer.
@reallyconfused0512 Thanks for sharing all this detail. Did they do steroid shots on your initial admission, or wait until things escalated?
Your experience with pulmonary edema sounds very frightening, I'm sorry you had to experience that. I appreciate you sharing it though as I didn't realize it was a possibility either, and I now I know to look out for it.
@kimhimmel Had steroid shots when I was admitted the last time- my urine tests on previous admissions were negative so they were waiting (it was always kind of a when not if for when I was going to officially get the pre-e diagnosis).
@kimhimmel I was admitted at 30 + 5 for severe preeclampsia. Everyday was a rollarcoaster for my blood pressure. Every time it would stabilize, it would shoot right back up a few hours later. They would max me out of medication and then have to add another medication. I gave birth at 31 + 2 via emergency c-section. My pressures couldn’t stabilize and it was the safest option. I knew about 30 minutes in advance. I ended up in the ICU and spent about 2 weeks after delivery in the hospital. My OB said my case was very very severe. I don’t think it was exactly the norm, but I’m not sure.
Before delivery, I wasn’t allowed out of my room. When my pressures were super high I couldn’t even get out of bed. They gave me a bedpan.
My son spent 56 days in the NICU. I had 2 rounds of the steroid shot, so I think that helped a lot. He was only on oxygen for the first 2 weeks. The longest part of our stay was for feeding. Make sure you take care of yourself! It’s okay if you need to take a day and not visit. I was really struggling mentally being there everyday. It isn’t a fun place. Find someone (support group, former nicu mom, etc) that you can vent to. It does help! I also highly recommend therapy. Feel free to message me if you ever want to chat. I know how boring the hospital is.
@kimhimmel I had him at 35+1 I was in and out of the hospital about a week before I had him. I was really stressed. It started with his heart dropping. I got sent to the hospital for evaluation. They tested me. And apparently my liver enzymes were going up. I had to stay overnight so they could test my urine for protein. The concern was preeclampsia. My urine protein was barely normal so I was sent home. A day or two later I left I went into labor. My liver in enzymes kept climbing. And I wasn't really progressing so I was induced. My liver looked like I was an alcoholic and I don't drink. I was super sick. I was on deaths door. When he came out he had the cord wrapped around his neck. He had respiratory issues for about a week. The whole experience is hard to talk about. I probably need counseling for PTSD. The NICU stay was two weeks
@kimhimmel Mine is a little bit different, but is a reminder that preeclampsia can happen up to six weeks after delivery.
I ended up hospitalized for it AFTER my baby was born and when he was in the NICU. I went to triage one day while we were visiting our son because my incision was opening up. Got that handled; they ran my vitals. I was in the 190s/110s. They asked how I wasn’t having a stroke right then, and I explained I was really stressed out because my son was down the hall in the NICU, but I was fine really, thank you for checking, now let me get back to my son. Well apparently I couldn’t go back. I was readmitted and put on a magnesium drip so I was considered a fall risk and couldn’t even go and see him for a 24 hour period. I just sat in the hospital bed and cried because I was so close but couldn’t see him.
My blood pressure went back to normal ranges and never went up again. I didn’t need any medication, just some extra post partum checkups. We were able to time my discharge with my son’s discharge so we were able to then go home the same day.
@makesense114 My son's music teacher just had a baby and ended up admitted for postpartum preeclampsia. Honestly, that scares me more than preeclampsia!! Like with preeclampsia you deliver the placenta and the disease goes away but if it's postpartum preeclampsia then it's clearly not being caused by the placenta! I'm glad that you didn't end up needing medication. How scary though!
Admitted at 28wks and 2 days. Delivered at 30wks and 5 days on February 19th. I was in for a total of 4 weeks until I was discharged. I had a fast onset of preeclampsia and intermittent dopplers, and my son was iugr.
At the time of admission, my blood pressure was 160s over 100s. Before that, my pressures were normal throughout my pregnancy. I received mag and one round of steroids.
I ended up having to take 800mg of labetalol 3x a day and 60mg of Procardia XL once a day to keep my pressures in a normal range. They changed my dosage twice while I was admitted, including an emergency IV dose after it spiked.
I was able to walk around my room while I was there but had to use a wheelchair if I wanted to go outside the room.
The first few days were rough, and my husband and I considered AMA paperwork because we weren't getting the answers we needed by the on call doctor. After my ob came back, everything was explained more clearly to us. My friends and family were able to keep me somewhat sane along with binge watching hulu.
The night before delivery, my son started to have multiple decels on the NST, and the morning of delivery, he had dropped from the 9th percentile to less than 1 percentile according to the ultrasound. I honestly didn't have any warning whatsoever that he would be coming that day until right after the ultrasound. I was rushed back to my room and prepped.
They delivered my son via c section due to his size, and he was also breeched.
He came out 2lbs 5oz. His cord also ripped below the clamp. He did not need to be incubated but did require a little extra oxygen the first night. He has had two days of phototherapy. They put in a picc line because they could not get an umbilical line in place, and he kept trying to pull out his IV. They placed an NG tube as well for feedings.
He's still currently in NICU. He weighs 3lbs 3oz as of yesterday. Taking 27ml of breast milk each feeding, and they are slowly giving him a bottle as well. He occasionally has brady moments, but he's able to bring himself out after a few seconds. And he has what is called a germinal matrix hemorrhage. Both of which are common in preemies. The hemorrhage tends to resolve itself with little to no effects.
NICU life is rough. It's been difficult to leave him there, but I know it's for the best. Some NICUs have cameras that you can set up so you can look in anytime you want. Unfortunately, ours does not, but we are able to call anytime we want if we are unable to visit. I will say don't beat yourself up if you are unable to visit as much as you want. And make sure you take care of yourself too before your little one comes home.
I was admitted at 32+2 and delivered at 33+0. I was in the hospital for a total of 10 days; 5 prior to deliver and 5 post-delivery.
I can’t recall exactly but it was extremely high, I think around 180/110 or 190/110. I was immediately put on a magnesium drip. Initially I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, but by the 3rd day I was diagnosed with preeclampsia with severe features.
My BP remained high throughout my stay. They tried a few different meds/interventions and it would stabilize, barely, for a little bit and then it would get high again. I am still on blood pressure medication now and, even on meds, my BP is not great.
I was basically on bedrest. The magnesium drip makes you a fall risk so I was not allowed to get out of bed at all, not even to use the restroom. I could have as many visitors as I wanted, however, my room was small so it was really only comfortable to have 2-3 people with me at a time.
Having people visit and keep my mind off things help. I also watched a lot of Food Network. My husband brought activities for us to do together too, like card games, adult coloring books, etc.
At 33+0 they were having trouble stabilizing my BP and decided to induce me around 2 pm. By about 9 pm, I had not progressed at all and my BP was still dangerously high so they decided to move forward with a c-section. It all was pretty fast after that. They prepped me, did the c-section, and baby was born at 10:53 pm. I would say overall, there wasn’t much warning.
C-section
Oh gosh, I can’t recall the grams but she was born at 3 lbs 15 oz. She was considered to be low birth weight for her gestational age. She did extremely well though. Although she was 7 weeks early, she came out breathing on her own (I was able to get the steroid injections prior to her birth) and was only on a nasal cannula for the first 48 hours. She did not have any health complications during her 2.5 week NICU stay. She just needed to grow and learn to feed. She’s continuing to do well now at 7 months actual/5 months adjusted.
16 days
This one isn’t specifically related to the NICU but no one told me how swollen I’d be from the high BP and magnesium. It was difficult to even move due to the swelling. I recommend bringing slip on slippers and loose, soft clothing! My feet did not fit into my regular shoes for about 2 weeks after delivery.
Admitted at 26w2 and delivered at 29w3. It was only from talking to the nurses that they let me know I wouldn't be going home before baby arrived. The doctors initially kept saying oh they'd keep me for a extra 24 hours for this and that.
I can't actually remember blood pressure now, but I think it was above 140/90. I had gone for a standard check up with my own doctor who sent me in to the maternity emergency department. I had protein in my urine, swelling and high blood pressure, when I got to the hospital they also found my liver numbers were way off as well.
They started me on labetalol and this managed my blood pressure well enough, although they did have to increase the dose as time went on.
They encouraged me to go for a walk around the hospital every day. Depending on when during my stay I was able to go out and about for a meal or a walk. They would give me a verbal checklist of things to watch out for and tell me to come straight back if I noticed anything. I was never further than maybe a fifteen minute walk away, but it was great for my headspace to get out of the ward and meet with family.
Knowing that I was doing the best I could be doing for my baby by being in hospital. A laptop to binge trashy netflix shows cos I couldn't concentrate on anything more serious or a full book. It was during COVID restrictions, so only my husband could visit, but he came in almost daily while I was in with nice treats like strawberries or fresh carrot sticks. The little jail breaks to somewhere nearby made a big difference too.
Also I hadn't had a baby shower as it was so early on and unexpected, so my friend organised a zoom baby shower and even dropped in a gender reveal game we could do over the video call.
We were on higher alert as days went by, and there were one or two almost time to deliver moments based on my health, but in the end delivery happened because of my baby having major decels on the ctg/trace. (They had started doing them three times a day, but only started at 28 weeks because before this the baby is too small) I basically had no warning that it was going to be that specific morning, but they had started giving me early breakfasts and doing checks before I could eat dinner, so I knew it was getting more imminent. I wasn't sure my husband was going to make it to the hospital on time which did worry me cos he was out getting his COVID vaccine, but he made it in time in the end.
It was an emergency C-section. I had been warned that it would be a C-section and talked through all of the people I could expect to see in the delivery room. The teams for me and the teams for my baby. I had met the paediatric doctor who talked me through what to expect for when the baby was born which was very helpful. Definitely ask for this if you haven't already had the chance to talk to them.
975g (iugr) but she's now (at 2 and a half) caught up size wise and you'd never know looking at her that she was so tiny to begin.
She was in for two months exactly. We were very lucky that she was as the doctor said a "boring" patient.
Don't overthink what NICU will be like ahead of time, because it won't be exactly as you expect, you'll learn how to navigate it when you get there and you have enough on your plate at the moment to bee processing. In saying that I would get a small cooler bag if you can for bringing milk in with you. For some reason this was the most awkward thing to try and source after she had arrived.
Try and get as much information or guidance on expressing milk as you can. You are coming up against a lot of factors that will potentially limit your milk supply and it can feel like a lot of pressure to match your baby's need for milk when they are measuring it by the single ml for each feed. I was constantly trying to catch up to how much she needed and she did need to be supplemented with donor breast milk until she was an old enough gestation for formula. Know that your body can only do what it can do. You're not a better or worse mother because of your supply, but it can help to be more informed. Especially with expressing soon after delivery as this can have a big impact on milk levels.
@beginningoftheend This is INCREDIBLY helpful, thank you. My situation is likely to be similar. It sounds like your hospital took pretty good care of you. I’m glad all went smooth once she came out.
When did they do steroid shots? Also, did they put you on heparin for prevention of DVT? They want to start me on that but I am really trying to push back because I have been very active so far with walks, light yoga etc.
@kimhimmel They gave me the first steroid shot I think the evening I was admitted and then the next one I think the next day. Yes, I had to get heparin injections, and I had to continue them for a while after I had delivered as well. They were a bit annoying, but clots can be very serious. They also had me wearing compression socks. I was up and about, but I think being in hospital you're quite sedentary compared to normal and then you have all the cannulas and blood draws and things as well.
@kimhimmel I started developing pre-e at maybe 33 weeks? It progressed (to HELLP syndrome) and I was induced at 35 weeks. I was not hospitalized prior to the induction. Vaginal birth, baby had brief nicu stay. My blood pressure never did go down so I’m still on meds at almost a year post birth.
I can't remember systolic was bouncing between 120-140s. My kidneys were at limited functioning, but I have no more details that I was given about it.
3-7. Taken straight from MFM appointment to L&D, c-section approx 5 hours later. I asked to attempt a vaginal delivery, but was told babies wouldn't tolerate well, but no further explanation given. Delivered same day as pre-e diagnosis. I was given magnesium, but for a bit longer than 24hrs. Blood pressure medication. And another medication, basically a water pill, I believe it's called lasix.
4 lb 1 oz and 4 lb 2 oz
About a week.
I didn't start getting better from the pre-e until my lasix dose was tripled from the starting dose. When it kicked in I was urinating more than a liter every hour. I don't know how much more, I just know the measuring tool was for a 1 liter volume and I overflowed that bitch everytime. I lost 30 pounds of water weight in what had to have been less than 10 days. Ultimately I was back to the weight I was in high school about a month out from delivery, which was still about 50 pounds less than my prepregnancy weight. It was wild.
Depending on how realistic it is, try to see, smell, hold your babies as soon as you can. I didn't get to see mine until almost 2 days after having them. As soon as I did it's like it kickstarted my healing. Probably due to the sheer amount of anxiety that went away.
I found it really frustrating that nothing followed any sort of time line. At first we were told they were be there atleast a month. Then a few weeks. Then when I started asking questions, and asking for metrics and asking what goals they had for them all of a sudden they said they could go when they passed their carseat test. Then that was scary! Because I felt like they just didn't want to deal with me so they were sending them home when they should have stayed. I think my experience doesn't reflect what's typical though .
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