quick clicks

pregnancy today articles

pregnancy today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

My Amazing Son Ethan

By Lisa

I was 18 and had only been with my boyfriend for three months when I found out I was pregnant. When I told my boyfriend he was very happy and said he would stand by me.

Everything was going great and when we found out we were having a boy it was great, as we had wanted a boy.

When I was 29 weeks pregnant I woke up with a nose bleed. I didn't think much of it and headed off to work. I had a blood test booked for that day, so I asked if I could have an hour off. My mum picked me up and I told her I had had a nose bleed that morning. She told me I should tell the nurse.

So when I was having my blood test I just mentioned it to the nurse. She took my blood pressure and said it was very high and called in the doctor. They had my blood pressure taken again and he said it was high and that he would like me to come back in the afternoon to see my midwife, and in the meantime to take it easy. So I had to call work and tell them I couldn't go back.

I went to see the midwife and she told me about a condition called preeclampsia. As it was my first child I had never heard of this before but was told I had to go into hospital as my condition could get worse and I could die.

I was in the hospital for a week when they told me I had to have an emergency Cesarean section as protein in my water was getting to a seriously dangerous level and I could start fitting.

So on October 22 I went in to have my son with my boyfriend with me. My son Ethan arrived at 3:10 in the afternoon weighing just 2 pounds, 9 ounces. He was taken straight to special care but I wasn't allowed to see him until I could move.

Five hours later I was wheeled down to see my son. He looked so tiny with lots of wires and tubes all around him, and they had put him on oxygen. Three weeks later they took him out of his incubator and put him in a cot. Then two weeks after that he was allowed home. He weighed 4 pounds when he finally came home and to me he looked massive.

You would never think Ethan was premature now. He's very forward in everything he does and is going to be 2 next month.