Baillie’s Story
Severe preeclampsia.
An unexpected antepartum stay.
An emergency C-section.
82 days in the NICU.

Learning to survive one day at a time.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.

Hi, my name is Baillie, and I spent two weeks in the antepartum unit at Strong Hospital. It started with a 48-hour stay back in October, when I was admitted for monitoring due to high blood pressure. I rushed to triage after feeling dizzy, and when I got there, they quickly admitted me and prepared for a potential delivery. Fortunately, after 24 hours, there was no protein in my urine, so they discharged me and diagnosed me with hypertension. From there, I had weekly NSTs, urine checks, and blood pressure checks at home twice a day.

A few weeks went by with me being on medication, and my blood pressure was doing well. On November 16th, I was admitted once again due to high blood pressure, but this time they let me know I was going to have to stay and be monitored until I gave birth. I was only 28 weeks pregnant.

After being admitted and getting a room with a roommate, I quickly learned how real this actually was. My journey into motherhood was beginning much sooner than I anticipated.

As a first-time mom, I was devastated and terrified. My time in the antepartum unit was very lonely and definitely depressing at times, but without the care of the nurses and the support of my wonderful family and friends, I don’t think I would’ve been able to make it through.

I tried to make the days pass by creating a routine and keeping busy. My parents would come at least once a day, and my boyfriend and friends would visit as well. I became very close with many of the nurses, and they significantly helped the time go by. I struggled with the fact that the holidays were approaching, so my parents decorated my side of the room with Christmas decorations, and I hung up pictures of my family and my dog. I FaceTimed everyone as much as I could. I was also super fortunate to work for a wonderful company that allowed me to work remotely, so I was able to work every day up until the day before I gave birth.

I received a four-hour day pass to go to my baby shower, which I was grateful for, but I also struggled with missing out on my maternity photos I had scheduled. I know those things seem small in the grand scheme of things, but they were things I was excited about as a first-time mom.

As Thanksgiving approached, I was starting to feel worse, and my blood pressure continued to rise. At this point, I was 30 weeks and one day pregnant, and they had to switch my care over to the high-risk team, who deemed it necessary to start induction.

I was then quickly moved to the labor and delivery unit, where I started my induction. Unfortunately, after a little over a day of trying to be induced, I had to have an emergency C-section.

My emergency C-section was scary and nothing I was quite ready for. I am grateful for the medical team that took care of me and my daughter, as well as the NICU team, because my daughter was not born breathing and needed resuscitation multiple times.

Although my pregnancy journey had come to an end, a new journey, and honestly the hardest journey, was about to begin. My daughter, Maliya, was in the NICU for 82 long, sad, and lonely days. But since the beginning, she’s been a fighter. She’s gone from 3 pounds at birth to over 10 pounds at 5 months old actual.

I can’t thank the medical team in the antepartum unit enough for the amazing care they gave me, as well as for being emotionally there for me. I am forever grateful for them. I feel the same about the nurses, doctors, and staff in the NICU and GCH. I am eternally grateful that my daughter and I are home, happy, and healthy.