Samantha’s first pregnancy was far from the glowing blissful experience that first time mother’s expect. Weeks after a routine prenatal checkup, Samantha noticed neck pain on the right side of her body. Thinking nothing of it, but being precautious, she made an appointment the next day with her primary care physician, only to discover she had extremely high blood pressure. Upon her doctor’s recommendation, she eventually went to the ER and discovered that she had severe preeclampsia and was told that she may have to deliver that night, at only 26 weeks.
After some days, her conditioned improved and then immediately worsened, causing her to have an emergency C-Section and give birth to her 1lb daughter at 26 weeks, 5 days around 1pm under general anesthesia – due to an unsuccessful epidural attempt that morning. Missing an entire day and not waking up until the wee hours of the morning the following day, as well as two blood transfusions later, with only spots of consciousness in her memory, Samantha survived a day that medical professionals said could have taken her life. Becoming well soon thereafter, Samantha’s 1 pound miracle had a 3-month NICU stay ahead of her. Thankfully, everyone ultimately made it home and her daughter is thriving to this day – even in the 83rd percentile for height!
Her second pregnancy was smooth sailing in comparison. The only exception was that Samantha was ordered to take low dose aspirin after 12 weeks gestation to prevent the onset of preeclampsia from occurring again. Determined to have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-Section), Samantha worked with her doctor to have a few more days on the calendar before her scheduled C-Section. The power of manifestation and speaking what you believe into reality worked! She went into labor 2 days before her scheduled C-Section and her healthy 7lb son was successfully delivered at the hospital and was able to come home with his parents a few days later. He went on to be Samantha’s only natural birth and only full-term baby.
Deciding that her and her husband wanted one last child after discovering she may not be able to have them in the future due to small, yet numerous fibroids, Samantha and her husband went for final baby #3 – except the shock was that she was pregnant with spontaneous triplets! Experiencing a very tough pregnancy, mentally, emotionally and physically, Samantha was in for a long ride to delivery. Samantha was ordered to change care teams to OBGYNs who were high-order specialists, as well as start 2 low-dose aspirins daily instead of one aspirin, like her second pregnancy, so she could again prevent the onset of preeclampsia in her second trimester. All of her pregnancy symptoms were exacerbated and she experienced malnutrition and painful symptoms like a breeched baby in her rib cage for months. She also had debilitating Braxton Hicks contractions, in her second trimester until delivery.
At 31 weeks, and after several hospital stays, Samantha unknowingly went into labor after her nurse noticed her poor breathing patterns on the phone. She delivered three, 3 plus pound, healthy babies a little after midnight. After delivery, Samantha would experience severe postpartum preeclampsia, Bell’s Palsy, many postpartum hospital stays, postpartum depression and experience many battles in patient advocacy. Her triplets would stay in the NICU for a month until they would come home as healthy babies.
People always asked how her and her husband did it – having 5 children 5 and under. And without fail, she’d always say “Jesus and a Village.” She plans to continue her passion for serving and creating environments where women are supported, heard and nurtured through all the many facets of pregnancy and motherhood. Community is everything and Samantha knows she survived so she could walk in a purpose greater than herself – a call she is happy and blessed to share with moms and their families.
Samantha Gunney Hines Bio
Samantha lives in the Washington, DC Metro area with her husband of 11 years and their five children, a 7-year old daughter and 4-year old son, as well as 22 month old triplets! She is passionate about family, creative expression and creating spaces to help pregnant women and mothers thrive in their motherhood journey. You can connect with her at @samanthagunney on Instagram.
Resources
- “Preeclampsia Signs, Symptoms and Survival Speech” – a personal encompassing guide you can download to empower yourself in preeclampsia awareness and patient advocacy (https://linktr.ee/motherhoodunjudged)
- Ovia Health Pregnancy App (super helpful for tracking my pregnancy weekly and checking food restrictions. I used it during all 3 pregnancies).
- Piyolog Baby Feeding Tracker App (Life-saver for tracking my triplets feeding and bathroom schedule. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed and forget during the newborn stage, especially).
- Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts by Karen Kleiman
- Please join a supportive mom’s group or community!
Zenith Health
Today’s episode is sponsored by Zenith Health. Zenith Health helps you navigate pregnancy with access to real evidence, bringing you peace of mind through data. Imagine if your google searches only returned answers based on real evidence from research studies, clinical guidelines, and physician-authored content. Instead of giving you more opinions, Zenith’s Pregnancy Evidence Navigator -or Penny- tool provides exactly that and it’s completely free to use! Next time you have a burning question like a new symptom, a supplement you’re unsure about, or a question as you’re planning for birth. Spare yourself the panic Google and ask Penny your question for a real-time, unbiased review of the evidence at www.zenithhealth.io. Zenith also started the Pregnancy Evidence Project which is the first large scale research project wholly focused on learning from the millions of pregnancy and postpartum experiences already happening in the real world. If you choose to opt in, your pregnancy journey becomes part of the evidence that helps future moms make informed decisions and drives research forward.
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