On May 7th, 2013, the Preeclampsia Foundation introduced a new education tool to inform expectant mothers about the life-threatening disorder of pregnancy. This is a must read for anyone who is trying to become pregnant or currently pregnant. Preeclampsia Foundation Introduces Education Tool to Inform Expectant Mothers about Life-Threatening Disorder of Pregnancy Illustrated preeclampsia symptoms tear pad now available, already adopted by California healthcare initiative Melbourne, Fla. — May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The Preeclampsia Foundation today released the Illustrated Preeclampsia Symptoms Tear Pad, a patient education tool that was developed in collaboration with health services researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Ill. The tool effectively informs pregnant women, even those with potentially poor literacy, about preeclampsia. Because preeclampsia is a disorder that can have grave consequences for a mother and her unborn baby, the goal is for the tool to offer information in a way that allows women to assimilate and retain knowledge related to preeclampsia, leading them to promptly seek medical attention should they have symptoms related to preeclampsia… To read more… Click Here or Click Here to see Multimedia Version © Preeclampsia Foundation 2013 | www.preeclampsia.org
Month: July 2013
Inspiring Stories: Healing Through Sharing
Below are some links to stories and resources I found inspiring and hopeful. I hope reading these stories about miscarriage will help you find some hope too. I will be posting links about pregnancy, miscarriage/recurrent loss and preeclampsia regularly so please return frequently for other stories and resources like these. BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA: We Need To Talk About Miscarriage (worldmomsblog.com) “We need to tell people when we suffer a loss. We owe them that, and we owe ourselves that, because for all we know, they need someone to talk to, too. Don’t assume that they don’t know what you’re going through, because chances are, they do.” Finding Hope after Miscarriage (well.blogs.nytimes.com) “Two months after I had surgery to remove my fourth pregnancy, I fell pregnant again. Just like the last time, nausea hit hard by week 5, and by week 7, we saw a tiny heartbeat. “Is it too much to ask for that heart to keep beating another 80 years?” I asked my husband, and we laughed and laughed, because we knew exactly how much that was to ask. But a little over seven months later, I was holding our son.” Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (www.nobiggie.net) “As hard as this trial has been,…Continue reading Inspiring Stories: Healing Through Sharing
Creating an Awareness About Preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome
With the anniversary of Holdon’s death last weekend, I have been thinking a lot about my first pregnancy and the events leading up to my emergency c-section at 28 weeks. I was told I had a variant of Preeclampsia, called HELLP Syndrome and that I needed to deliver immediately or I could die. I had very little warning that I had this serious pregnancy complication. My only early symptom was upper abdominal pain, which I mistook for heartburn for weeks before finding out at a doctor’s appointment that I was seriously ill and had to deliver right away. Holdon was born, 3 months early and due to severe growth restriction as a result of a problem with the placenta, he was only the size of a 24-week-old baby, measuring only 1 lb 8 oz at birth. Holdon fought incredibly hard for 3 ½ months in the NICU but in the end it was too much for him. The official report from the doctor on his death certificate, said the cause was Cardiorespiratory Arrest, Multiple Systems Failure, Sepsis, and all a result of Prematurity. My doctor also believed the problem with the placenta is likely the cause of my Preeclampsia. We…Continue reading Creating an Awareness About Preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome
Remembering Holdon
Three years ago today, our beautiful angel Holdon passed away. Every year on this day, I go through the two scrapbooks I made for him. This year, in memory of him, I am sharing some of my favorite pages from his books. I am also including a link to the short story my husband wrote shortly after our son passed away. My husband’s story tells it all. It’s the story of our first pregnancy, the story of all the emotional ups and downs of having a baby in the NICU, and the story of our brave little angel, Holdon. We love you Holdon! Holdon’s Story – Written by Arun Regunathan
Hugh Jackman Talks About Miscarriage
Shortly after my recent miscarriage, I was looking online for inspiring stories and came across the story of Hugh Jackman and his experience with miscarriage. I couldn’t believe it. The wolverine and I have something in common! Check out his story it’s really touching to see how he and his wife survived their difficulties with miscarriage and came out of it happy parents in the end. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/hugh-jackmans-children-les-miserables-fatherhood-katie_n_2318329.html
Creating a Community of Hope
It’s talked about in little circles. It’s discussed in hushed tones amongst family and friends. It’s brushed aside as a sad part of life that one should not dwell on and certainly should never be talked about with strangers. What am I talking about? Miscarriage. I am starting this blog because I recently experienced my fourth loss in three years and I no longer want to hide it and be ashamed of it. Why is it that people can post every detail of their pregnancies on facebook and other social media sites, right down to the sex of their baby months before the baby is even born, but talking about miscarriage, another part of pregnancy, is taboo? After my most recent miscarriage, I really hit an all time low. This was my third miscarriage in two years and I delivered a baby boy prematurely at twenty-eight weeks due to preeclampsia the year before. He died after three and a half months in the NICU. These were four incredibly painful events in my life. I was tired of it all. I was heartbroken. I was angry. I asked, how could this happen again. I wondered how it is possible that there…Continue reading Creating a Community of Hope