After some scary complications, I finally gave birth to a baby girl
While my daughter was born at only 27 weeks, she is doing well in the hospital
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On Nov. 25, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl through an emergency cesarean section. However, the story doesn’t start there.
Two weeks earlier, I awoke in the middle of the night to my water breaking at only 25 weeks pregnant. My husband and I rushed to the hospital, where I was admitted for something called premature rupture of the membranes, or PROM. Due to this, I was told I’d have to stay in the hospital until I gave birth, with the goal of making it to 34 weeks.
My Cushing’s disease played a major role in my hospitalization. I had to occasionally see an endocrinology team, my medication was evaluated for how it might affect my Cushing’s disease and cortisol levels, and I was monitored more closely than other people who have PROM. I had to take certain precautions in case of a premature birth, such as having steroid shots to help my baby’s lungs, and closely checking my heart rate.
About a week into my hospital stay, I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication involving sudden high blood pressure. I had some protein in my urine and minor high blood pressure. The endocrinology team and other doctors said that Cushing’s disease might have caused this, but to be safe, they added the diagnosis to my chart.
The worries intensify
You’d think two pregnancy complications would be enough, but I decided to grab a third. At 27 weeks, I was in horrible pain, and when I stood up from my hospital bed, blood poured out of me, along with a blood clot the size of my hand. I looked at my doctors in panic, and they explained that it was a minor placenta abruption, in which the placenta detaches from the uterine wall before birth. This sometimes requires early delivery, but doctors reassured me by saying that it occasionally happens with PROM patients, and I could still make it to 34 weeks.
I was given morphine to help with the pain and put on a magnesium drip as a precaution so that if my daughter were born within 12 hours, she’d have a lower risk of a brain bleed. The magnesium drip was quite an experience. My entire body became warm for 30 minutes, and I was dry heaving. Then it relaxed, and I was able to get some sleep.
I was hoping the contractions would stop, but the next day, I had a further abruption, with more blood, another clot, and more pain. I screamed with each contraction and felt like my entire body was being ripped apart. That led to more magnesium and morphine, but this time, it didn’t ease the pain. I begged for an epidural, and after receiving it, I finally fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, doctors told me the placenta abruption had been too large, and the baby was coming. I was 2 centimeters dilated, and they were planning on inducing the delivery if I didn’t progress fast enough on my own. They told me to get some rest and put me on my third and final magnesium drip. That’s when the situation plummeted.
I couldn’t breathe properly and was barely able to stay awake. I was put on oxygen, and the doctors monitoring my baby told me she was desatting, or dropping in oxygen levels. I was screaming due to the pain, and since neither mother nor baby was doing well, the doctors decided it was time for a C-section.
I was devastated. We were at only 27 weeks and three days, and I was terrified of the surgery that was coming and how my daughter would fare by arriving so prematurely.
I hadn’t prepared for surgery and wasn’t sure what to expect. I was wheeled into the operating room with my husband and sister-in-law in tow, and with more medication and an increase in my epidural, I had a C-section. Afterward, my husband stayed with me while my sister-in-law left with the baby. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to see my little girl before she was carted out of the OR.
My daughter was born weighing less than 3 pounds. She was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit and has been there ever since. I was discharged three days later with no complications and have been staying by my daughter’s side.
It seems that everything that could’ve gone wrong did, but I’m so grateful we’re both healthy. I do believe that PROM needs to be studied more to explore possible links between the condition and Cushing’s disease. I do know many Cushing’s survivors who’ve had perfectly normal pregnancies, though. That isn’t our story, and while I’m still working through how I feel about everything that happened, my daughter and I are both OK, which is all I care about.
You can also follow my journey on TikTok and YouTube.
Note: Cushing’s Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Cushing’s Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Cushing’s.
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