Our Birth Story...

It is funny how most events happen before you know they are happening. As I look back ,my birth story really began with a simple rash.

I developed a rash on Oct. 22nd. Now what gave me pause...other than the intense itching was what my google search (gotta love google) turned up. There are several rashes that one can develop during pregnancy. Most of them are just really uncomfortable, but there is one that can mean life or death for the mother and child. This is the one I was worried about. I went in to the doctor on Oct. 24th to get t checked out. My doctor took it very serious and immediately sent me over to the hospital to be monitores. They took blood and told me if my liver panel came back elevated, they would induce me and if my bile acids came back positive they would induce me. So to make a long story short, the liver panel came back 3 hours later (as I am laying in triage watching Seth appear to be kicking at the monitors on my belly) and they were normal. So we waited over the weekend for the bile acids. In the meantime, the rash cleared and I felt pretty good about everything.

Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) is a chronic hives-like rash that strikes some women during pregnancy. Although extremely annoying for its sufferers (because of the itch), it presents no long-term risk for either the mother or unborn child.

The following Monday I went back to the doctor's office. I met with Dr. Stone at this point and she said that my bile acids were normal. We both sighed with relief...and then she did a double take on my chart. She was like, "Oh, well we know it is not cholestasis, but you are showing some protein in your urine". So essentially we cleared one hurdle just to prepare for another one. Once again they took a blood sample and then I had to collect my urine all day the next day. Yes, you read that correctly. I had to collect ALL my urine over a 24hr period. Sounds fun? Exactly! I decided to stay home that day, because I figured my co-workers would not fully appreciate the jug of urine next to their salad. With the suspected protein in my urine, the doctors were thinking preeclampsia. They said that once they tested the 24hr urine, they would determine whether to induce me.

All along my blood pressure was not terribly high and had been normal throughout the pregnancy. I gave a urine sample that Thursday and it still was showing protein present. This as my doctor put it, earned me a trip to the hospital once more. They would monitor the baby until my results came back. At this point, Sean and I were preparing for induction mentally, but were still hoping that it would not happen. I ran to McDonald's knowing that if they did induce me, I would not be eating anytime soon. I guess you probably guessed it, the results came back and I had large amounts of protein in my urine. They whisked me from Triage to the labor room...and that is where the fun really began.

To be continued...