Having a Difficult Pregnancy?
Apr 16 '00
I decided to write this epinion to help other moms who are experiencing a less than enjoyable pregnancy, hopefully something I share with you here today will help you make the duration of this difficult time easier.
Last year I became pregnant with my daughter. I've had two other children, and felt like I knew what to expect for the most part and was doing what all prego's need to do, take care of themselves and their baby. You know the whole scene, eat well, rest, exercise, vitamins, eat a bag of oreo's at 3 am, all the routine stuff. .
My world was turned upside down when I went for my monthly check-up. I was 27 weeks pregnant. I'd been fairly uncomfortable, but was just figuring it was because I'd had 2 previous c-sections, that my scar tissue was making this pregnancy a little harder. My Dr. told me I had a cyst, an ovarian cyst . Apparently the cyst had been there on the previous ultrasound by the size was nothing extraordinary and the fact that it was there really wasn't all that unusual. So what was wrong now? Well in less than a week it had doubled in size. This was due they believed to pregnancy hormones. I was sent immediately to the hospital for bed rest while my doctor got in touch with maternal/fetal specialist's.
At this time the cyst was the size of a tangerine. This isn't huge, but it can be problematic and uncomfortable. The problem with these cyst's is they can rupture and cause serious problems for the mother and child.
The Maternal/Fetal specialist met with me and I went from having a OB/GYN to having a TEAM of Dr's. This was scary. I was told I'd probably be spending the duration of my pregnancy in the hospital. I was constantly monitored and poked and prodded at. So what can one due to keep their spirits up? I was told repeatedly my attitude toward this was so vital to having a healthy baby. I needed to not be upset, not be emotional, not cry too much, and about a million other things. But that's very hard to do, when you're contemplating the birth of a baby at 28 weeks, knowing what that means, touring neo-natal ICU's, etc. How am I supposed to be chipper? Well I pulled my boot straps up and decided I needed to do what I could to make my baby happy.
I'm stuck in a bed, watching hospital cable (a nasty little selection of TV), screaming at cleaning people for disrupting my sleep with their vacuum's and basically, turning into the GRAND WITCH. But this wasn't good either. My husband travels and we need to make a living so he couldn't just drop everything and come sit with me everyday.... sometimes a week would go by and I was alone. I would sit and watch the nurses treat the other women on this high risk floor, I began to see patterns, I knew when another woman was losing her baby. Would I be next? I had to find something to do, I had to change my thought's.
I enjoy crafts, I decided to have my husband bring my craft things to the hospital. He brought my computer, I could surf the net. He brought my favorite blankets and pillow. He brought me pictures of my kids, and family. We found lists of restaurants that deliver to the hospital and menu's so I wasn't forced to live on nasty hospital food. I talked with the chaplain about every other day, it changed everything. All these little things made a world of difference. My room looked like a room right out of my own home.
What I began to realize was, I was going to have to live here in this room, I needed to feel secure, and in turn help my unborn baby by not being stressed. It helped, my attitude made a world of difference. I began treating this like a vacation. I had a maid, I had cooks, I had nurses, and I had visitors... my TEAM... (of course this was all in my imagination) but it helped!
I also took the time in bed to research ovarian cysts... the doctors loved all my questions, I'd point out pictures of them that I found on the internet, and ask them if that's what it looked like, etc. They answered every question I had. I educated myself against my adversary, and it helped the unknown become known and less feared.
I ended up having a c-section at 33 weeks to deliver a happy, healty ovarian cyst.... Yep, you read that right, we had a cyst, not a baby, this time..... the TEAM decided to help my daughter, she should remain in utero for at least another 4 weeks, this was the best thing they could do. The cyst had become the size of a cantaloupe, and was infringing on her space and ability to grow, it had to go, she did not, yet. They figured if she was born as a result of premature labor from the operation, it would at least be controlled and not an emergency situation, and at best, that wouldn't even happen, and she would be allowed her own unobstructed area to grow in for another month or so. It was worth the gamble to me. So after my section, I was sewed up and managed to somehow not go into labor... it took a lot of medications and the pain was horrendous, but it was worth it. After another 2 weeks, I was actually allowed to return to my own home. The surgery was a success, and while I was still confined to bed for the most part, and had to have a home fetal monitor, and home IV's (I was taught to do this myself) to keep my contractions down, we were going to have a healthier child as a result.
I learned a lot during this pregnancy. I learned that no matter how bad things may seem, no matter how hard it is too keep your spirit up, you can do it. I walked in fear and had to turn my fear over to God in order to get through this time, and he in turn gave me a beautiful little girl. I learned a lot about faith. I learned most of all what the power of positive thinking can do. I witnessed that first hand. I refused to give in to depression during some very dark days, and I feel that as a result of that, I have been blessed. I didn't do it alone, I did it with a TEAM: God, doctors, nurses, family, friends, my baby and my attitude!
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Member: Shanna
Location: Pensacola Beach
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