During my first year post-partum, I also struggled with the impact of hormonal shifts in my mood, as well as the challenge of dealing with a colicky baby. My own personal experience has made me realize what a profound effect pregnancy and childbirth can have on a woman, both physically and emotionally, and how little this is understood or addressed.

Along my journey, however, I did receive a lot of attention and support from my OB and her medical staff. I believe she did all she could for me within the limits of the existing medical knowledge on my condition. Bed rest itself is a very isolating, challenging experience which caused me to marshal all my resources and become quite creative in my coping methods. I was helped in these endeavors by the Perinatal Family Support Center of Evanston Hospital and High Risk Moms, a support group started by mothers who had survived their own high risk pregnancies. For more information, call them at (630) 515-5453.

One change I would hope to see in the future is greater communication and sharing of knowledge among health care disciplines in order to better understand and treat pregnancies with complications. What is also needed is multidisciplinary research on the physical and emotional changes that are stimulated by pregnancy and its aftermath so that we can better understand how it affects a woman's mind and body. We also need to learn more about how to effectively sustain pregnancies that are at risk.