Submitted by Crystal
My fourth pregnancy was a planned home birth baby, however things didn’t go as expected. By 37 weeks, my midwife noticed something wrong as the growth pattern of my uterus was off - it jumped enormously in just a couple of weeks. We suspected too much amniotic fluid (called polyhydramnios), and ultrasound showed it to be on the higher end of normal so we would just keep watch. One week later, I noticed my urine was orange (thought THAT was a bit strange and definitely a red flag!). I casually mentioned it to my midwife, and to make a long story short, the following blood tests confirmed HELLP syndrome, a very serious disease and potentially fatal to mother and baby.
I was rushed to the hospital where the only cure is to deliver the baby. My son was born two weeks early via C-section. He was my smallest baby yet at 7 lbs. 1 oz (such a peanut compared to my other two boys!) but was perfectly healthy and beautiful! My case of HELLP was far from normal as most women who present to the hospital with this disease are extremely sick and have many complaints. The doctors were puzzled as I looked and acted and felt perfectly normal - my only problem was strange color urine! But thank goodness I listened to my body, did tons of online research to know it was problematic and mentioned it to my midwife. My birth experience was not what I had hoped for or planned for, but how can I complain when I have three adorable sons and a beautiful daughter? My message to other women now is to be smart and always listen to your body paying very careful attention to it, even if it seems minor and insignificant - it could save your life and your baby’s!
