Pregnancy/Postpartum Warning Signs
Marie McCausland, PhD, MPH
If you told me in 2016 that I would be writing a blog 6 years later about pregnancy and postpartum warning signs as a business owner and maternal health advocate I’d be SO CONFUSED.
In 2016 I had just finished my PhD, I was going to conferences talking about my HIV research and living it up! I thought I was going to be a research scientist for the rest of my life. Then I had my son and everything changed.
I had postpartum preeclampsia (Preeclampsia 5 days after I gave birth…yes it can happen after!) and had gone to the emergency room and they told me I was fine. My blood pressure peaked at 200/115 while I was there, without any treatments for preeclampsia. After 10 hours they finally got ahold of an on call OB who had me immediately transferred an treated. I would have died if I hadn’t refused to be sent home.
I first shared my story publicly only months after I nearly died. If I’m being honest, that interview a week after my near miss was too soon but I’d do it again. It was a blur that first year. Everyone wanted to hear my story, and I shared it with everyone who would listen.
I would go on to share my story in a TedX talk that shares the same name as my non profit Mom Effect.
Today I am an advocate for all birthing individuals to know the signs and symptoms that scream “go to the ER”.
This is personally one of my favorites because it tells you what the sign/symptom could be a sign for. For example it says that pain in chest or trouble breathing could be a sign of a blood clot or heart problem.
This website has another good graphic as well, but just lists the symptoms.
My recommendation is to take a screen shot of the above graphic and keep it on your phone. Print it out and keep it on your fridge. Share it with your family and those who will take care of you postpartum. Some of these won’t show up until after you have the baby, when the attention is all on baby and less on mom. Lets remind everyone that the focus needs to remain on BOTH OF YOU, so that you stay safe and healthy. I know it is easy to put yourself last, especially once baby is here, but these symptoms are not something to ignore and could be life threatening.
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are not being taken seriously, you can do a few things.
1) Ask for them to record that they are not doing the tests you are asking them to do. This may change their plans and get you the care you need.
2) Ask to physically SEE an OB. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
3) Call your doula. If you don’t have a doula, get one! Or join our facebook group DigiDoula Village to get support.
4) Go to a different hospital, or go to your labor and delivery ward. I’ve found that you will get much better care in the Labor and Deliver ward triage than at a the ER, where they aren’t used to dealing with pregnant/postpartum people.
In the end, YOU KNOW YOUR BODY BEST. One of the biggest symptoms I’ve heard from other near miss survivors is that they just felt “off”. That’s not something you can describe to a physician without getting an eye roll, but it really is true. We know when something is wrong with our bodies, and unfortunately we have to figure out a way to convince others to take us seriously.
If you are someone who has experienced a near miss and needs extra support, I recommend joining the Maternal Near Miss Survivors Support Group on Facebook. It has helped me process a lot of things over the years. You are not alone.
Sending you love and light.
-Marie