An Eventful Pregnancy
One of the few pictures I have of my belly that I didn’t take standing in front of a mirror…Gatsby can never stay away from a picture.
We had a different experience than what we anticipated to get pregnant with our first daughter, I talk about doing IVF and what I experienced in this article. Once we got pregnant we thought it would be smooth sailing but my pregnancy would prove to be unique all on its own. The term “every pregnancy is different” is heard a lot as once you’re pregnant and even after the baby arrives but some women have a pregnancy that is different on so many levels. Hopefully others can find comfort in knowing they aren’t alone if they didn’t have a “textbook” pregnancy. I do want to note you will see me referring to our baby in general terms this is because we didn’t know the gender until our baby was born.
We got pregnant with our first child after we started to see a fertility doctor and went through the IVF process. For the first trimester I would still go to see my fertility doctor every week for blood work and an ultrasound to ensure everything was moving along as expected, also to check that the baby and myself looked healthy. About two weeks post implantation I had some bleeding, which is to be expected with any pregnancy (natural or IVF) and is known as implantation bleeding. However implantation bleeding is usually light and what I started to experience was only increasing. I immediately thought miscarriage and called my husband, followed by another call to my nurse. My fertility nurse asked me a few questions to try and get an idea to the extent of the situation, all while trying to calm my nerves. She told me this didn’t sound to be a miscarriage but wanted me to come in for an ultrasound, I immediately left work and raced to the doctor’s office praying the entire way everything was OK.
Good news was that it was not a miscarriage but the ultrasound showed I had an subchorionic hematoma which is a collection of blood that can develop between the gestational membranes, such as the placenta, and the uterus during pregnancy. The hematoma was located just to the side of the placenta and implantation location, if the hematoma continued to grow this would cause the placenta to dislodge from the implantation site resulting in a miscarriage. In my case they had no answer as to why this happened and unfortunately the only thing we could do was wait and hope the hematoma started to shrink and the embryo continued to grow. I started to go to the doctor twice a week for ultrasounds and had to monitor any bleeding that continued. Unfortunately there was more bleeding and more phone calls to my nurse, she was such an amazing support from the first day we met with our fertility doctor...she is the best! After what seemed like eternity we had positive news that the hematoma was shrinking and the embryo was growing and looking good!
After my first trimester I was cleared to start seeing my OBGYN for the remainder of the pregnancy. Things continued to go smoothly...my check ups were going well and I was feeling good!
We had our anatomy scan ultrasound coming up and were going to finally see our sweet little baby! The ultrasound started and the technician was explaining all she would be checking. I was feeling good to start out and then a hot flash came over me, I brushed it off as pregnancy hormones. But as the ultrasound continued I started to get dizzy and was seeing spots that’s when I knew something wasn’t right. I said I wasn’t feeling great and really hot, my husband and the tech started to help sit me up. The next thing I knew I was waking up surrounded by a whole slew of faces, turns out I had fainted and was out for a few seconds. Luckily my doctor’s office is just one floor below and she was called up along with her nurse, the baby was checked and everything looked good, thank goodness! I was starting to feel a bit better but nobody was sure what had happened and the tech thought I may have had a seizure. My doctor asked some more questions and concluded she didn’t think it was a seizure. But my doctor decided to have some tests run to be safe so off I went to the ER. Luckily the hospital is attached to my doctor’s office so they wheeled me over. My husband and I ended up staying in the ER for almost nine hours and I was finally given the green light to go home. I had not in fact had a seizure but they did find that the baby was resting on my inferior vena cava and putting some additional pressure on that vein. This combined with me laying on my back during the ultrasound caused me to pass out. I would have to be careful and watch for signs of fainting for the remainder of my pregnancy.
My fainting happened about halfway through the ultrasound so we had to reschedule to complete the ultrasound and this happened around 30 weeks, this ultrasound would also prove to be very eventful. After your ultrasound your images are sent to be reviewed in the office and also sent to your doctor whom you meet with after to discuss and have your check up.
My doctor is so fabulous, kind and no nonsense. She delivers any news in the most personable way you know she has your best interest in mind with her decisions. During the ultrasound it was discovered that our baby had restricted growth; the baby wasn’t growing at the rate it should be based on where I was at in my pregnancy. I would have to spend the night in the hospital for observation and there was the possibility I would be delivering our baby in the next few days. The hospital stay would give my doctor a better understanding if it was better for the baby to be delivered or stay growing and hanging out in my belly.
During my hospital stay I was given a steroid shot for the baby’s lungs to give them a jump in development and strength should we need to deliver early. I was hooked up to heart rate monitors along with the baby (via monitors on my belly). We talked with a NICU doctor about all sorts of outcomes and what the next few months could look like should the baby be delivered. The staff was amazing and helped us feel a tad less stressed and worried. In the end it was decided the baby would not be delivered but I would start going into my doctor’s office twice a week for non-stress tests, additional ultrasounds to monitor the baby’s growth and to see my doctor. One of the positives to this whole process was we got to see our baby a ton and see it’s little heart beat! During the non-stress test I would lay down and a heart rate monitor (similar to when you go in for delivery) would be strapped onto my belly. I also had a buzzer to push anytime I felt the baby move, I felt like I was on Jeopardy!
My doctor had told us that the possibility of delivering early was always there if our baby didn’t continue to grow according to it’s own chart now. We were ready and comfortable with any decision as long as it meant the baby was safe and healthy. My doctor felt comfortable with letting me go until 38 weeks, which is technically full term and at that time I would be induced. When we got pregnant with our second baby it almost felt weird not going to the doctor’s office on a weekly basis! it’s so very true that every pregnancy, baby and delivery are completely different!
