After having a very “easy” and uneventful pregnancy, at 38 weeks my feet started to get very swollen. Because both of my parents are hypertensive, I was at high risk of preeclampsia, so my doctor had me keep an eye on my blood pressure. After several high readings, I went to the hospital where they ended up inducing labor. After ~24 hrs of unsuccessful dilation, I ended up having a c-section because baby’a heart rate was spiking. The c-section experience was traumatic. I felt like I was losing consciousness when they were closing. I was shaking uncontrollably and later found out I was bleeding out and almost needed a transfusion. One week postpartum I ended up at the ER with postpartum preeclampsia and was hospitalized for very high blood pressure. They infused magnesium IV, which ended up causing my milk supply to dry up very quickly in the weeks that followed. I had to take BP medication for a month and thankfully was able to be taken off of it, but preeclampsia made me very afraid of ever getting pregnant again. I thank God for my life and the opportunity of watching my baby grow