Birth Day

We certainly did not intend on having babies on Friday, but that is just what we did!

After being admitted to the hospital for observation, we sat on labor and delivery for five hours waiting to talk to the doctor on call. This apparently also happened to be the busiest day of the year on labor and delivery.

In the meantime, they checked my pressure frequently and ran some labs to check for pre-eclampsia.

While waiting, Brian and I were able to come to terms with our options. 

My regular doctor was out of town for the holiday. The doc on call was certainly not going to do a vaginal delivery with a breech extraction on twins (by reputation). I was 36 weeks 6 days- just one day shy of term and not having to send the babies to the NICU. Hospital policy is that all preterm babies go to NICU for observation. In my case, it would be an automatic 6 hour stay for both babies.

And, as is often the case, we got tid bits of info on my prognosis before seeing the doctor. 

My labs revealed that my liver enzymes were elevated and my platlets were really low. I also had trace amounts of protein my urine. My swelling continued to be extreme in my lower extremitites. Nurses started to say things like HELLP Syndrome and PIH.

I certainly did have PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension). Just as I had always read and had been told by many doctors and nurses- it can come on suddenly. For me, it took two days. My highest pressure clocked in at 167/110.

HELLP Syndrome is more complicated. 

"HELLP syndrome is a life-threatening pregnancy complication usually considered to be a variant of preeclampsia. Both conditions usually occur during the later stages of pregnancy, or sometimes after childbirth.

H (hemolysis, which is the breaking down of red blood cells),
EL (elevated liver enzymes) and
LP (low platelet count)
Early diagnosis is critical because the morbidity and mortality rates associated with the syndrome have been reported to be as high as 25%. 
The physical symptoms of HELLP Syndrome may seem at first like preeclampsia. Symptoms reported by the pregnant woman developing HELLP syndrome may include one or all of the following:

• headache
• nausea/vomiting/indigestion with pain after eating
• epigastric (abdominal) or substernal (chest) tenderness and right upper quadrant pain (from liver distention)
• shoulder pain or pain when breathing deeply
• bleeding
• visual disturbances
• swelling

Signs to look for include:

• high blood pressure
• protein in the urine

The most common reasons for the mother to become critically ill or die are liver rupture or stroke (cerebral edema or cerebral hemorrhage)  or severe seizures. These can usually be prevented when caught in time. Most often, the definitive treatment for women with HELLP Syndrome is delivery of the baby."


Protein in urine- check.  Low platelets- check.  High blood pressure- check.  Spots in vision - check. It was official- I was trying to die.
If I had been in active labor, they MAY have attempted a vaginal delivery, but I wasn't. Not even close. It was too risky to wait. (Didn't you see Downton Abby?)
When the doctor came in he reviewed the information with us, and, within 45 minutes, I was being wheeled into the OR.
Once again, we were supported by excellent nurses, doctors, and one really nice anesthesiologist.
Our boys were born at 5:37pm on Friday, December 27th, 2013. 
William Kellen Cunningham was 6 lbs 6oz and 19.5 inches long.  Jackson Brian Davis was 7 lbs and 19 inches long. Both came out hollering and we shed happy tears.