The 2019 Pregnancy Symposium discussed so many things, and one of the issues they addressed was hypertension in pregnant women. I have five kids, and gestational hypertension is real, and I have suffered it in my last two pregnancies. In simple terms, gestational hypertension is a state of being hypertensive, by a pregnant woman who is 20 weeks in her pregnancy and has a blood pressure of above 140/90.
With my first child, I was only nineteen years old. I did not have complications during my pregnancy at that time, thank God. But when my water broke, she just wouldn’t go down. In twelve hours, there was no progress in my labor. It was only 1 cm, and so they had to induce me, and she came out—no BP issues.
On my second-born, the doctor gave me an epidural too late. I felt every bit of pain when my daughter came out. And mind you, she was huge at 8 pounds, normal delivery! The moment she came out, it felt so good. It’s as if the whole world as dancing in front of me, and I dozed off. When I woke up, I was in the room—no BP issues since I was only twenty-three at that time, and healthy.
My third child was a bit complicated. I was subjected to an emergency C-section at that time because she coiled herself inside my belly. At eight months, my daughter had to be extracted from me to save both our lives. She was one tough baby and survived the ordeal. At that time, I had no BP issues, as well.
Now, here comes gestational hypertension and diabetes, as well, on my fourth child and my only baby boy. I was so huge at
that time at 200 pounds. My age was also an issue. I was pregnant at 30 years old. But thank God, I delivered him through the vaginal procedure, but I had to take meds for the next two weeks post-birth.
With my youngest, it was the worst. After she was delivered, emergency C-section due to rent on the uterus, my BP went up to 156 over 100. I felt like someone was choking me, and I had difficulty gasping for air. All I did in the recovery room was pray, and I asked God to save me so I can see my baby girl. I was thirty-five at that time.
You see, BP issues on pregnant women attack those who are thirty years old and above, and those who are obese. So make sure that if you are pregnant, you have to be healthy and eat right. Stay away from carbs and sugary foods. Hypertension is a terrible disease to experience.