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” »