Tag Archives: Pregnancy

Listeria “Mysteria” & Pregnancy

OB/GYN – “So now that you’re pregnant, you should stay away from alcohol, illicit drugs, caffeine, swordfish or tilefish, raw fish sushi, cigarettes, deli meats and soft cheeses… gain 25-35 lbs throughout your last two trimesters, try to eat healthy, exercise regularly, take a folic acid supplement, also a DHA/Fish oil supplement, a prenatal vitamin, ….”

Newly Pregnant Woman – “Sure, yeah, ok, got it”

Somewhere along that whole spiel of overwhelming information, the deli meats and soft cheeses point may have been lost. Sound familiar?

I mentioned in this week’s WSDW post that I was considering writing about listeria poisoning (& its relevancy with pregnancy precautions) because of a family friend who recently died of listeria poisoning. If you want to read about it, the FDA recall of his suspected exposures is described here. It’s been an extremely awful and painfully devastating experience that this family has been through. And who would’ve even guessed that it could come from a popular ice cream distributor that sells to nursing homes, hospitals, and schools? It’s absolutely frightening. Mom and Dad, this post is dedicated to you.

So let’s talk listeria. Continue reading “Listeria “Mysteria” & Pregnancy” »

What is a “High-Risk Pregnancy”?

Now, let me start off by saying that my pregnancy was not considered uneventful, but I also don’t personally consider it a “high risk” one, either. Sure, the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy were spent on early dismissal from the demands of ICU bedside nursing, and yes I saw a high-risk fetal medicine doctor every single week for being on “pre-eclampsia watch.” After my weekly OB appointment, I was sent downstairs to the docs with the big guns. They hooked me up to the external fetal monitoring set-up (for those who want technical terms: the tocodynamometer which measures uterine contractions/activity and the ultrasound transducer to monitor baby’s heart rate) then brought me into the ultrasound room for a quick scan to measure the placenta and amniotic fluid levels. But, after each appointment, everything seemed completely on track. I didn’t necessarily “feel” high-risk, even though we were labeled as such.

That was me. However, going into a routine run-of-the-mill OB appointment can quickly turn any soon-to-be parent to panic-mode once your OB says with that concerned-but-trying-to-still-sound-upbeat tone, “well, just to be sure, we’re going to send you to high-risk fetal medicine to run some tests to make sure that {insert reason for concern} is okay…” Your OB may want you to see them immediately, the same day, or no later than the next day. Either way, thoughts of panic begin to flood your mind as the room starts spinning and you feel your face turn flush with anxiety. As your heart begins to race, you think to yourself, well if the baby’s heart rate wasn’t high enough before, it certainly must be NOW!

So What Does it Mean to be Considered “High Risk”? Continue reading “What is a “High-Risk Pregnancy”?” »

You, Preeclampsia, and Your Sprout

Since this is my first pregnancy post on Little Sproutings, I wanted to write about something relevant that I went through during mine. (You can skip ahead to the “So What’s Preeclampsia?” part if you don’t want to read about my experience.)

My “Pre”-Preeclampsia Experience

For the last month and a half of my pregnancy, I was on “pre-eclampsia watch.” It was hard for me to distinguish between pre-eclampsia symptoms and being stressed out at a busy job as an ICU nurse. My heart rate would go up, sure, but whose wouldn’t when one of your two patients is crashing? My feet were ridiculously swollen, but I was pregnant! And on my feet all day! Sick patients don’t take a break so a swollen busy nurse can elevate her feet! Sure, my charge nurses and manager had no problem (as far as I know) with my frequent trips to the bathroom, needing to sit down more often as I lugged around my planet-sized mid-section, or taking lots of mini-breaks to eat a snack. They were great in assigning me with patients that didn’t require super heavy lifting and avoided putting me with patients that were on contact/droplet/airborne isolation (and we had quite a few during my last trimester). The nurses I worked with were so sweet and helped grab supplies for me, would turn my patients for me so I didn’t have to strain; they really were the best nurses and coworkers I could ask for. Continue reading “You, Preeclampsia, and Your Sprout” »