This is such an AMAZING series, huge hugs to Joy for putting so much vulnerability out into this piece (and the atty in me is fuming that the medical providers charged you so much for your records after a traumatic birth!!). These words are incredibly important and will undoubtedly help any reader feel seen in some way. Glad you're feeling better, and another fab job putting this together, Katrina ❤️
Why were you under the care of a midwife when you were clearly NOT a low-risk pregnant person. And who was supervising your midwife? These are important issues with respect to delay in diagnosis.
I was low risk before symptoms. Once symptoms started I should have been moved to the ob/gyn….but I was told my liver/belly pain was “round ligament pain” (uterine ligament), swelling was “normal,” and my blood pressure was brushed aside. I had no idea I was actually preeclamptic. Urine was always normal, which I think threw them off. It was a clinic of four midwives and you never knew which one you would see week to week. They also conveniently lost the four final weeks of my prenatal chart, and hastily rewrote in numbers later on - I’m convinced it was a CYA move. I also had no belly growth after week 37 but had no idea that was a thing to be worried about. Ah, hindsight. (I did reach out to a malpractice lawyer but the bar is so high, I didn’t have a good case.) Three days postpartum my case was finally transferred to the hospital’s high risk OB, who never actually saw me, he’d just issue instructions to my midwife/the hospital via the phone. Presumably while golfing in Westchester or something. (This was St Luke’s Roosevelt, now Mount Sinai West.)
The sleep deprivation is not discussed enough! I struggled with PPD and had never been depressed before, and my therapist told me that sleep deprivation plays a huge role in developing PPD and said that your chances of experiencing it skyrocket if you sleep fewer than five consecutive hours a night (which I did not for almost a month after giving birth). She also said some people are not sensitive to sleep deprivation and others are extremely sensitive to it and that it can even cause psychotic breaks! This is serious, scary stuff and it really makes me mad that people tell Moms they just have to suck it up. Some women are simply not able to!
This is such an AMAZING series, huge hugs to Joy for putting so much vulnerability out into this piece (and the atty in me is fuming that the medical providers charged you so much for your records after a traumatic birth!!). These words are incredibly important and will undoubtedly help any reader feel seen in some way. Glad you're feeling better, and another fab job putting this together, Katrina ❤️
Thank you! I checked and the hospital still charge .75 a page! (And there are so many redundant pages, which is fun.)
Thank you, Violet, for your unwavering support! It means so much to me. ❤️
Why were you under the care of a midwife when you were clearly NOT a low-risk pregnant person. And who was supervising your midwife? These are important issues with respect to delay in diagnosis.
I was low risk before symptoms. Once symptoms started I should have been moved to the ob/gyn….but I was told my liver/belly pain was “round ligament pain” (uterine ligament), swelling was “normal,” and my blood pressure was brushed aside. I had no idea I was actually preeclamptic. Urine was always normal, which I think threw them off. It was a clinic of four midwives and you never knew which one you would see week to week. They also conveniently lost the four final weeks of my prenatal chart, and hastily rewrote in numbers later on - I’m convinced it was a CYA move. I also had no belly growth after week 37 but had no idea that was a thing to be worried about. Ah, hindsight. (I did reach out to a malpractice lawyer but the bar is so high, I didn’t have a good case.) Three days postpartum my case was finally transferred to the hospital’s high risk OB, who never actually saw me, he’d just issue instructions to my midwife/the hospital via the phone. Presumably while golfing in Westchester or something. (This was St Luke’s Roosevelt, now Mount Sinai West.)
Ugh--what an awful series of events, Joy! I'm so sorry you went through that.
The sleep deprivation is not discussed enough! I struggled with PPD and had never been depressed before, and my therapist told me that sleep deprivation plays a huge role in developing PPD and said that your chances of experiencing it skyrocket if you sleep fewer than five consecutive hours a night (which I did not for almost a month after giving birth). She also said some people are not sensitive to sleep deprivation and others are extremely sensitive to it and that it can even cause psychotic breaks! This is serious, scary stuff and it really makes me mad that people tell Moms they just have to suck it up. Some women are simply not able to!
The "suck it up" phrase makes my blood boil. We're doing the best we can, given the insane circumstances!
Yep! Have you heard about the birthing hotel-spas for new moms in S. Korea? They sound AMAZING and exactly how the world should pamper new moms.