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A New Jersey mom expected her third pregnancy to ask more of her, but she wasn’t prepared for the ‘terrible’ experience that followed
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Mom of three Sabrina B., 38, told People magazine that welcoming her third child was the “hardest” experience she’s ever had since dating, noting that she “felt an immediate difference.”
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Sabrina receives ‘shocking and horrifying’ news after giving birth
A New Jersey mom expected her third pregnancy to ask more of her, but nothing prepared her for the “terrifying” experience that followed.
Mom of three Sabrina B., 38, told People magazine that welcoming her third child was the “hardest” experience she’s had since dating, noting that she “felt an immediate difference.” Sabrina said that from the beginning of her pregnancy she felt it was “more demanding on me physically and emotionally” and that it was proving “challenging”.
“The entire delivery lasted 16 and a half hours. [which was] “This is the longest I’ve ever been,” Sabrina said. “In addition to the length of labor, the total weight of the season made it especially challenging. I was pregnant, raising a toddler and an almost-adolescent child at the same time, trying to balance motherhood, treatments, and daily life. My body felt exhausted. I felt stretched both physically and emotionally.”
“Every pregnancy is different, but this one feels heavier,” she added. “I’m older and more aware of my body and more adaptable when something doesn’t feel right.”
Sabrina B.
Image source: astro.vision_design
A week after giving birth to her baby, Alija, a postpartum nurse from a state-funded program paid a home visit to Sabrina. After checking her vital signs, the nurse discovered that her blood pressure was very high and continuing to rise. Additionally, Sabrina said her ankles and feet were noticeably swollen.
“Without hesitation, she took out her phone and called my OB/GYN directly,” she recalled, adding that the nurse’s concerns prompted her to make her next appointment with the doctor.
Before her doctor’s visit, Sabrina told People magazine that her symptoms began to intensify. In addition to swelling in her ankles and feet and high blood pressure, she began passing large blood clots. At one point, she recalls her body suddenly feeling “weird,” like she was about to push out another baby in the bath.
“I passed a large blood clot and started screaming and crying. It triggered a miscarriage I had experienced in the past, and at that moment, I literally thought I was going to die,” Sabrina recalled. “What scares me most is not death itself. It’s the thought of leaving my daughters motherless.”
During her doctor’s appointment, Sabrina told People she received the “shocking and terrifying” news that she had postpartum preeclampsia. Since then, Sabrina has worked closely with her care team to regulate her condition. She explained that she was treated with blood pressure medication and given steroid injections to reduce inflammation.
“The first two weeks postpartum, I could barely hold a pen, let alone my baby,” she said, admitting that all of her doctors’ tests and work helped her “stabilize the situation” over time. “It was a medical journey – one I never expected – but I’m grateful it was caught early.”
Sabrina, who is also mom to Kameryn, 2, and Kaydence, 12, told PEOPLE that she was ultimately grateful for her daughter’s safe birth.
During this experience, Sabrina also suffered from different neurological issues that prevented her from grasping things properly. She said it also caused tingling and numbness in her hands, making her feel “scary” when picking up her baby.
“Many nights when she cried, my partner would pick her up, change her diaper and bring her to me to breastfeed because my body felt so weak and I really couldn’t do it,” she said, adding that her partner, Arnaldo, 38, was very supportive during this challenging time. “It took a lot of teamwork. It still does.”
“I’m so grateful for his support throughout this entire experience,” she added. “We really relied on each other while raising our daughter, and I don’t take that partnership for granted.”
Sabrina has been publicly sharing her life online, especially her postpartum journey, for 11 years. This time, however, she said she’s different and needs to lean on the community she created.
“I’m sharing because I really want to know if other women are going through this,” she explained to People . “I need hope. I need assurance that things will get better and that there are answers [and] you are not alone. “
“I also want to raise awareness about heart disease, especially among Black and Latinx women — communities that I am a part of,” she continued. “Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in our community. We often think of stress as normal, but stress really affects our bodies. If sharing my story encourages even one woman to check her blood pressure, keep her postpartum appointment, get a second opinion or listen to her gut, then it’s been worth it.”
Sabrina B. Family
Image source: astro.vision_design
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Looking back on her birth experience, Sabrina told PEOPLE that she’s extremely grateful for her support system and quality health care.
“I’m so grateful for my support system — my family, my best friends, my village — and having access to doctors who listened and took me seriously,” she said. “Health care can be expensive and unaffordable, and many women neglect their health as a result.”
“I didn’t feel like I had the resources and support to advocate for myself,” Sabrina added. “I want other women to know they deserve it too.”
Read the original article on People