COVINGTON, Ga. - When Erin Bennett learned she was pregnant with her first child, she was elated. She never anticipated, however, the severe pregnancy complications that were ahead, leaving her newborn son in Piedmont Newton Hospital’s NICU nearly two months after delivery.
About 20 weeks into her pregnancy, Bennett began experiencing some complications. She was at a check-up with her doctor when she learned she had high blood pressure and was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that causes high blood pressure, kidney damage and other problems.
“With severe preeclampsia, the only real cure is to deliver the baby,” Jessie Bender, DO, OBGYN at Piedmont Newton, said. “In Erin’s case, we wanted to ensure her baby had plenty of time to mature before delivering while avoiding putting herself or her baby at risk of serious complications.”
Dr. Bender prescribed blood pressure medications to keep the problem from escalating, but since she was only halfway through her pregnancy, Bennett’s focus was to carry her baby for as long as she could.
“When I made it past 24 weeks, my family celebrated because that was considered a viable time to deliver, but my goal was to make it to at least 28 weeks,” Bennett said.
She made it to 29 weeks before the preeclampsia became so severe that it began to cause serious damage to her kidneys. After an emergency C-section, Bennett’s newborn son Carson Bennett was delivered.
“I didn’t get to hold him until he was four days old because I couldn’t get out of the hospital bed,” Bennett said. “Every single nurse there will always have a special place in our family’s hearts. They took such special care for Carson for so long, even when I was too sick to care for him myself.”
After spending 48 days in the care of Piedmont Newton’s NICU, Bennett’s son was finally able to go home.
Preeclampsia affects about 3 to 5 percent of pregnant women in the United States and most commonly develops during the last trimester, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The condition doesn’t always have obvious symptoms, especially in early stages of pregnancy, and symptoms can also vary from woman to woman.
For more information about Piedmont Newton Hospital’s NICU, visit piedmont.org.
