Parenting Yourself with respect to Health Care
When I was still early in my first trimester of pregnancy, one of my great mom friends told me that parenting begins before your child is born. As I progressed through my pregnancy, I learned firsthand what she meant by that and also that she was right for saying it. Think about it: Growing a whole human being inside of you forces you to contemplate what you put inside of your body – foods, drinks, medicines, tobacco smoke, etc. It also makes you think about what sorts of activities you can and cannot engage in, even if you were able to engage in such activities before your pregnancy.
Another parenting consideration you mull over as a mom or mom-to-be is your medical care. Not only do you have to take yourself into account, but now you also have to take your unborn child into account. My pregnancy affected both my physical and mental health care.
I was diagnosed with gestational hypertension at the end of my 36th week of pregnancy. Following a routine OB appointment, I was told to go to the hospital because my blood pressure was too high. I didn’t know right then what that meant for my baby or for me. All I knew is that I now had to call out of work, get to the hospital, and wait. My mind was racing with all kinds of what-ifs and now-whats. I was tested for preclampsia, which is characterized by high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine, but my labs were negative at the time. Upon discharge from the hospital the first time, I was told by the attending physician that it would be fine for me to continue working as long as I took my blood pressure medication as prescribed and kept my weekly non-stress test appointment to check on my baby’s well-being. Based on my discharge instructions, I went back to work that weekend. However, at my appointment with my obstetrician the following Monday, I was put on bed rest, which, of course, required me to begin my maternity leave sooner than expected. Looking back on my conversation with the attending physician, I realized that she did not even ask me my profession or what type of setting I work in. I do ultrasound in a hospital setting, so I am on my feet most of the day, I push a heavy machine around the hospital; transport patients to and from the ultrasound department via wheelchair, stretcher, and bed; scan critical patients and patients who are experiencing various complications – whether that be with their own health or with their unborn baby’s health; etc.
My blood pressure problems coupled with my unborn child’s decreased fetal movement prompted my obstetrician to strongly recommend inducing my labor at 39 weeks rather than at 40 weeks and 1 day like we had originally discussed. Given my profession, I know more than the average person about pregnancies, labor, and delivery. For instance, having an induction before your due date likely means that you will be in labor longer. Hence why I went back and forth about whether I actually wanted to be induced early or whether I wanted to wait. In my perfect world, my daughter would have come on her own before having to make that decision. But alas, that did not happen. It was not only my doctor recommending an earlier induction; I was also advised by the phone nurse at my obstetrician’s office that the longer I postponed my child’s delivery, the higher my chances of developing preeclampsia – even though my blood pressure was “normal” at that point. Moreover, my blood pressure problems meant that my placenta was likely aging and thus unable to adequately provide the nutrients needed for my unborn child’s development. I ultimately decided to be induced at 39 weeks. I figured that this would be the best decision not only for my baby but also for myself.
I followed the advice of my medical team. I “did everything right.” And yet, one week following my baby’s birth, I was hospitalized and diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia. I was hospitalized again for the same thing the next night. Typically, preeclampsia occurs during pregnancy and resolves after birth. But, you know me – I have to make things interesting by keeping my doctors on their toes. Just kidding. It was a heart-wrenching experience being away from my newborn and my family, especially during the holiday season.
Looking back on my pregnancy now, I wonder whether my hypertensive problems could have been caught and addressed sooner. I had never had issues with my blood pressure prior to pregnancy. While my blood pressure was not abnormally elevated early in pregnancy, it was abnormally elevated for me personally. That is to say that my blood pressure usually hovers around the average, 120/80 mmHg, but during pregnancy, it was more like 130/85 the entire time. It only got concerning towards the very end of my pregnancy and afterwards.
I guess that my being a first-time mom, I was so concerned for my baby that I neglected myself. My pregnancy journey has taught me so much, but the takeaway of this blog post is that advocating for yourself is just as important as advocating for your baby. Medical advice is not a perfect science. You are not at the mercy of your health care provider. Just as you parent your unborn baby, you can also parent yourself.
Signed,
Lai (Bipolar I)
