What I did find out is that at least 6% of pregnancies are labeled high-risk in the United States. Some experts go so far as to say that bed rest is unethical. Turns out, information around the pros and cons is gravely lacking, and most research is inconclusive. I did what almost any other woman would do in my situation: I dropped the sheets in a crumple on the bed, went over to my desk, and googled bed rest. What if I just didn't do it? Would I really lose the baby? What was I willing to risk? I wanted to know more about bed rest I had a hard time coming to terms with the idea that we couldn't just fix this. Sometimes it's just you and whatever or whomever you believe in trying to figure out how to get through the next moment. Sometimes there is simply no pill or procedure, or anything else. What would it mean for me to get into this bed right now? "For five months?" I whispered, but the words caught in my throat. I put my knee up on the edge, about to climb in. When I heard his car pull out of the driveway, I wandered over to the bed, laughing quietly at the idea that a grilled-cheese sandwich was my last meal of freedom. He kissed me hard on the head, leaving me on the deck. Chris' hand remained steady on my lap, providing me with quiet reassurance that we were in this together.Īfter lunch, my husband needed to take care of some work-related stuff. The pain was becoming more severe by the hour, like a stack of bricks bearing down on my cervix. I reclined the seat of our Honda as much as I could to take pressure off my lower belly. On the way home from seeing the specialist that beautiful May afternoon, my husband, Chris, and I stopped at a diner to pick up grilled-cheese sandwiches. The doctor told me to go to bed and stay there for the next five months. The next day, an emergency sonogram showed I had three huge fibroids growing in my uterus right alongside the baby, and one of them was pressing on my cervix causing early effacement. I was four months pregnant and walking around Manhattan with my new husband when I felt an unusual pain in my lower belly. The following is an adapted excerpt from Aileen Weintraub's book " Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir" Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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