My pregnancy with my daughter started out pretty typical - I experienced morning sickness (basically all day sickness) for the whole first trimester. Nothing too significant happened in the second tri, except my weight gain was pretty slow. My doctor was not concerned about the lack of weight gain or the size of my daughter.

When I was about 32 weeks my doctor began to show concern over my blood pressure rising. I didn't think much of it because I wasn't told about the effects high blood pressure can cause in pregnancy. I was prescribed a blood pressure cuff to take home with me and told to take it morning and night. If my pressure ever got above 140/90 I needed to go to my doctor's office, if it was opened right away or if it was not to go straight to L&D. I was never explained why or what 140/90 actually meant. I didn't think much of it and just thought checking my blood pressure was just another thing I had to do before and after work. One morning before I went to work I hit 140/90. After calling my husband and my parents I went straight to my doctor's office.

Once I got there, I had to wait for a long time to be seen. I then ended up seeing a doctor I hadn't seen before who took my blood pressure several times manually and with a cuff. He then explained that he thought I had gestational hypertension and I would began to be monitored very closely. I was set home with an appointment for a few days later. At that appointment there were a lot of blood draws and ultrasounds. I was scheduled for more appointments so I could be closely watched. But I was never explained the seriousness of high blood pressure.

At one of my appointments at 33 weeks I was sent straight to the hospital for a 24 hour urine analysis. That hospital stay turned into a 3 day stay because of my blood pressure. My doctor was trying out different dosage of medications to try and get my blood pressure stable. I was also given steroid shots to help develop my daughters lungs if she were to be born early. I was released on day 3 on strict bedrest and told if my blood pressure ever got to be at certain levels I had call the on call nurse. Almost every day until delivery I had to call because I would reach a new blood pressure and my medication would be increased.

Once I reached 35 weeks and 3 days my blood pressure could no longer be controlled and I was sent to the hospital to deliver from what I thought would be normal appointment. I was 3-4 cm dilated and was having steady contractions. My doctor broke my water to further progress labor. I was hooked up to magnesium and got an epidural. I labored for a few hours before things turned worse. My blood pressure was high. And my baby's heart rate was decelerating. A c-section was decided and then preformed. My daughter was immediately given to the NICU team as soon as she was born. She was 4 pounds and 17 inches. I don't remember much and I'm not sure if my memory is fuzzy due to the trauma I experienced or all the medication I was on. After birth I was taken to the recovery room and I was on magnesium for another 27 hours. As soon as I was able to get off magnesium I was able to go see my baby in the NICU. I didn't meet her until 27 hours after birth. That moment of being able to meet my baby after birth was taken away from me by preeclampsia. I spent 6 days in the hospital due to my high blood pressure. I had multiple tests and blood draws.I also had lots of fluid in my lungs so I had an EKG and an x-ray done. I was released on blood pressure medication and now, 2 years out, I do not have any high blood pressure problems. My daughter was in the NICU for 15 days. She was diagnosed with IUGR after birth and struggled for a while with developmental delays, but today she is just like any other 2 year old. But we got lucky.

Update: 

In 2023 I gave birth to a second daughter full term during a calm scheduled c-section. I had no preeclampsia in my pregnancy or postpartum. I went to a different doctor's office during this pregnancy and I was placed on low-dose aspirin. The doctor there was very kind, knowledgeable, and trauma-informed. He never made me feel crazy for all the questions and concerns I would have. The pregnancy was emotionally and mentally difficult especially when I hit the weeks where things started to go wrong with my first. It was incredible to have a redemptive birth after my traumatic first. My second daughter had no problems with growth during the pregnancy either and my doctor monitored for IUGR since I had it with my first.