FROM THE HEART
A Mother’ s Story P by Stephanie Ginn
ostpartum Depression. It is real. It is hard. It is common. Why it is such a hush-hush topic? I don’t (and never will) understand. I feel called to share my story. It is LONG, it is real, but more importantly,
it is okay! Three and a half months ago our world was changed for the better when our newest addition was born. Scarlett is our rainbow baby. We desired to have her, we longed for her, we prayed for her, and we praised God when we heard her precious heart beat for the first time (and every time after that). My first pregnancy with Caroline was a walk in the park. Hardly any sickness, was never really in pain, and breezed through it all. She was a 36 hour labor (she is still a diva to this day), but after she was born our connection was instant and I can honestly say I loved everything about motherhood. The good, the bad, the ugly.
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My pregnancy with Scarlett was a different story. I was diagnosed with a Marginal Cord Insertion which means that Scarlett had to work 4x as hard to get any nutrients from me. With that, I was now a monitored patient and had to get a lot of ultrasounds and extra tests done often. Then, I started having some heart issues so I was being seen by a cardiologist. At 30 and 33 weeks I found myself in Labor and Delivery and just lying in the hospital bed watching my contractions on the monitor. Each time the contractions were brought back under control and I was given some medicine to help control my contractions for the remainder of my pregnancy. The next week, I found out that I was starting to get some extra fluid around Scarlett which was just one more thing for them to watch. I was then put on bed rest at 35 weeks and induced at 38 weeks because my fluid level continued to rise.
