I was diagnosed with preeclampsia at 30 weeks and admitted to St George Hospital.

My blood pressure was extremely high, and my liver and kidneys were slowly not functioning. This required me to be on a total of 6 hypertensive agents and constant monitoring. I ultimately spent my third trimester and a total of 30 days in hospital to manage my hypertension and baby’s growth. The team at St George were phenomenal and baby was able to stay inside until 35 weeks. Unfortunately, the severity of my preeclampsia resulted in an emergency caesarean and a subsequent ICU stay for myself.

Baby was in the special care nursery for a further 3 weeks. The separation caused issues with breastfeeding and of course general upset and anxiety from not being able to enjoy those first few “golden hours”. Nothing could have prepared me for my pregnancy experience, especially it being my first. But despite the incredible hardship my husband and I faced, I am so humbled to learn that it was important for me to trust in the hospital process and people, to know that the nursery was the best possible place for baby to be in order to help him grow, and most importantly to embrace the care and support offered by hospital staff, friends, family and organisations such as Miracle Babies. These networks carried us through our hard but rewarding journey.