This won't be posted until I announce that I am pregnant, but I think I need to blog about it anyway. I was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome during my first and only prior pregnancy.
H (hemolysis)
EL (elevated liver enzymes)
LP (low platelets)
For more information and specifics about HELLP syndrome, click here, but the short version is that if Preeclampsia were little league baseball, HELLP is a similar World Series winning variety of pregnancy induce disease.
I was not treated as a HELLP patient until many weeks after it reared its ugly head. The honest truth was that the doctors and nurses prepared my family for the possibility that only my baby would be leaving the hospital with my family. The short and least dramatic version of this story is that after a week of hospital, I did get better, and I left the hospital, healthy baby and healthy me.
Fast forward to now. I am almost 5 weeks pregnant. I have wanted this for a long, long time. I have prayed for this. I have longed for this. And now that I am pregnant, I am scared. I am scared because fate in was in my favor for my last encounter with HELLP syndrome. The more research I do, the more I wish I would stop. I seeing things like way premature birth, extended hospitalization towards the end of pregnancy, and fatalities. Awesome. Because what a pregnant woman really needs is cause to worry. Because pregnant women surely do not worry about anything else while pregnant.
All sarcasm aside, I need a plan. I am of the opinion that in many situations, mind is way over matter. I need a positive attitude. This is going to be okay. I am also of the opinion that natural, preventative is best, but I am grateful for medical science when the need arises. In the world today it seems like natural medicine and medical science are always at odds with one another (To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, to have Pitocin or let your body create Oxytocin), but I believe the farmer and the cowman can be friends. I believe I need both to ensure a healthy and long baked pregnancy.
It turns out, much to my dismay, I might need a specialist OBGYN. And that sucks. I love midwives. I love the low key, this-is-what-your-body-was-made-for attitude of midwives. They don't push Pitocin simply because they are tired of waiting for you to deliver. They listen. They believe you deliver your baby while they catch the baby. Doctors seem to be the complete opposite. Check out The Business of Being Born. This documentary changed my view of birth forever. I am dreading going to an actual OBGYN, but it seems that my prior experience with HELLP leaves me with little choice. However, that does not mean that I will develop HELLP this go round. It means I have between 1 in 5 and 1 in 4 chance of developing HELLP again this pregnancy. So, here's my plan: natural and preventative health so that I do not develop HELLP syndrome again and a specialist OBGYN if I do. I am going to keep a log of my HELLP-free journey because there is a serious need for one. Looking forward to your support and encouragement!
H (hemolysis)
EL (elevated liver enzymes)
LP (low platelets)
For more information and specifics about HELLP syndrome, click here, but the short version is that if Preeclampsia were little league baseball, HELLP is a similar World Series winning variety of pregnancy induce disease.
I was not treated as a HELLP patient until many weeks after it reared its ugly head. The honest truth was that the doctors and nurses prepared my family for the possibility that only my baby would be leaving the hospital with my family. The short and least dramatic version of this story is that after a week of hospital, I did get better, and I left the hospital, healthy baby and healthy me.
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| taken from www.physio-pedia.com |
All sarcasm aside, I need a plan. I am of the opinion that in many situations, mind is way over matter. I need a positive attitude. This is going to be okay. I am also of the opinion that natural, preventative is best, but I am grateful for medical science when the need arises. In the world today it seems like natural medicine and medical science are always at odds with one another (To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, to have Pitocin or let your body create Oxytocin), but I believe the farmer and the cowman can be friends. I believe I need both to ensure a healthy and long baked pregnancy.
It turns out, much to my dismay, I might need a specialist OBGYN. And that sucks. I love midwives. I love the low key, this-is-what-your-body-was-made-for attitude of midwives. They don't push Pitocin simply because they are tired of waiting for you to deliver. They listen. They believe you deliver your baby while they catch the baby. Doctors seem to be the complete opposite. Check out The Business of Being Born. This documentary changed my view of birth forever. I am dreading going to an actual OBGYN, but it seems that my prior experience with HELLP leaves me with little choice. However, that does not mean that I will develop HELLP this go round. It means I have between 1 in 5 and 1 in 4 chance of developing HELLP again this pregnancy. So, here's my plan: natural and preventative health so that I do not develop HELLP syndrome again and a specialist OBGYN if I do. I am going to keep a log of my HELLP-free journey because there is a serious need for one. Looking forward to your support and encouragement!
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