At 23 weeks pregnant, I noticed I was having headaches frequently, and sometimes, when standing up, my vision would get blurry. It was my first pregnancy, and everything was new; I brought it up with my doctor and was told headaches are part of pregnancy. At my 24-week checkup, I complained about the headaches, the swelling in my feet, and the overall miserable way I was feeling. Only to be told all were normal during pregnancy. My blood pressure was high, but my doctor did not seem worried. I was given some headache medication and told that I should come back the following week for additional lab work. That night, my symptoms worsened, and there was a sharp pain in my side. I called out of work the next morning as the pain intensified. By early afternoon, I had to call my husband to come home from work because it was clear that I needed to go to the hospital.
I was admitted to the ER, and when they took my blood pressure, the numbers were 190/110; they immediately hooked me up to a magnesium IV drip to prevent me from having an eclamptic seizure. It was explained that I had pregnancy-induced hypertension causing preeclampsia, the high blood pressure was causing the headaches and the floaters that made my vision blurry, the swelling was from my kidneys shutting down, and the sharp pain in my side was my liver, a condition called HELLP that can sometimes arise in cases of severe preeclampsia was causing my liver enzymes to rupture. My body was not responding well to pregnancy, and I was sent via ambulance to a hospital with a better NICU to prepare for the arrival of my son.
My son was born via emergency C-section, he weighed 1 pound 1 ounce and was taken immediately to the NICU. To claim I was naïve was an understatement. I was in complete shock. I did not realize babies could be born so early and survive, and I could not comprehend how things had turned so bad so fast. I was inexperienced and unprepared, and I was trying to understand everything the doctors were telling me about my baby while also trying to heal. I joined preemie parent groups online and a NICU family support program in the hospital, where I learned from other people who had gone through the same thing. I was mad that I did not have a better understanding of what my symptoms meant while at my prenatal appointment. I felt guilty that I didn’t know how to advocate for myself when my doctor dismissed my concerns. I blamed myself and my body for how early my son was born. He spent 4 months in the hospital, and during that time, I learned everything I could about pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia.
I was working in higher education at the time my son was born, but I knew I wanted to shift my career to something related to high-risk pregnancy and maternal health. Years passed, and I remained in higher education, volunteering for nonprofits with which I aligned. I delivered my second son, who was also born early, for the same reasons as my first, but this time, I was prepared to advocate for myself, and I had a doctor experienced with high-risk pregnancy who took my concerns seriously from our first appointment. My desire to find work in that sector grew. My master’s degree was in Management of Information Technology, so I wasn’t sure I would ever find a career to bridge my skills with my passion for advocating and educating about prenatal and maternal health. When I saw a job posting from the March of Dimes looking for a CRM Analyst in the IT Department, it felt like a perfect match. In my cover letter, I shared how committed I was to the mission and how much I wanted to be part of an organization like the March of Dimes.
The years I have worked for the March of Dimes have been the most professionally fulfilling years of my life. I love what I do. People with similar mission ties and similar experiences surround me. From IT to Revenue to Marketing, we are all working towards the goal of improving the health outcomes of moms and babies. I love working in ROI’s Revolution CRM, helping our markets find passionate constituents for our cause. I get to see firsthand our organization’s impact: the research initiatives, the advocacy at the state and federal level, the local NICU support, and the continuing education provided to medical staff. Each year, I get a chance to fundraise for March for Babies, and every day, I am able to feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that I am part of a team that is making a difference in the world of maternal health. I am grateful my career aligns closely with my mission, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.
