Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Expectations: When you are pregnant, sometimes it’s better to not have any.
Seriously people, if my first go round of child birthing taught me anything, it’s that the unexpected can and will happen.
When I was pregnant with my oldest, everything was going by the book. We did everything when we should. We had our monthly, then bi-weekly appointments, all of our pre-natal testing when we were supposed to, were given wonderful showers (yes, plural), and read all the books.
But then life stepped in and threw us a curve ball.
I got sick with a little thing called HELLP at 35 weeks pregnant. Ok, it’s not a little thing and let’s not down play the severity. It’s a nasty disorder that affects 48,000 women. Many have never even heard of it. Including us. Until that day.
All that prepping and planning went out the window. Nothing prepares you for an emergency c-section where both mom and baby are in danger.
One minute we were sitting in the doctor’s office for a check-up and the next, we were rushing to the hospital for monitoring. Monitoring turned into being admitted to the hospital for testing which ultimately led to “Don’t go anywhere, Dad. We’re having a baby.”
All of our expectations changed in a matter of 24 hours.
At that point, our only expectations were a healthy baby and a healthy momma. By the grace of God, we got both!
Never in a million years did I think I would be a statistic. In the U.S., 1 in 10 pregnancies end in premature birth; this is one of the highest rates in the developed world. Sadly, it is something that pregnant women should prepare themselves.
The best predictor of preterm birth is a previous spontaneous preterm birth. However, 40% of women who have a premature birth are first time moms. So how can a first time mom prepare herself? There’s a breakthrough test that can help with that.
The PreTRM® test is helping to reduce the global problem of premature birth. It is the first and only prenatal blood test that is clinically validated to be an excellent predictor of premature birth in all women who are pregnant with one baby, early in her pregnancy.
The PreTRM test is a prenatal blood test that is ordered by a woman’s healthcare provider and drawn during the 19th or 20th week of pregnancy. Results are delivered back to the healthcare provider where he/she will have a consultation with the patient and determine the next steps in her pregnancy management, based on the individualized risk assessment.
I may have gone into my second pregnancy without a lot of expectations, a test like the PreTRM may have helped alleviate any anxieties or worries I had. Predicting early provides doctors the information they need to proactively monitor the pregnancy more closely if the result is high-risk. This information also gives the patient the opportunity to prepare for an early delivery and plan accordingly. Alternatively, receiving a low risk result can provide women with the reassurance and peace of mind that they are not at a higher risk of delivering early.
Each of my pregnancies was vastly different from the other. Doug was clockwork even coming on his due date, no weird cravings, no sickness, but the delivery was 8 hours and left me with 32 stitches . Jesse was trying to come early then he decided to stay late and was 2 weeks overdue by the time he made his appearance 2 hours of labor. Devin kicked my ass. I lost 35 lbs carrying him, he came at 35 weeks and still weighed 8lb 10 oz and I was in the hospital all of 45 minutes before holding him. Wouldn't have been that long if the doc had been there already..
I had four very different pregnancies. It's great to be prepared, but one should always assume something you didn't plan on might show up. It's great that you are prepared mentally for anything.