Swelling in pregnancy can be a sign of Preeclampsia (Archives)

A letter to the midwife who told me we were “fine”—

June 17, 2021

I was only 35 and I was sucked in by wanting everything to be natural, and you made me feel like I could trust you. You failed me, though. You allowed my child to die.

Close up image of a stethoscope and a blood pressure machine (Rallef, Getty Images)

It’s so much more than high blood pressure; What I wish I’d known about Preeclampsia before it killed my child

May 13, 2021

Risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and potential impacts of one of the most common ailments in pregnancy is critical information. It’s information that could have prevented the death of my child. It’s information that prepares a preeclampsia survivor like me for potential impacts yet to come. It’s necessary information we all have a right to know.

Sunset over the Bay of Islands, New Zealand (Miranda Hernandez)

Tone

December 17, 2019

There is a subconscious, and in some places, even overt “war” going on between midwives and physicians, and it really needs to stop. I truly believe if either set of my providers had swallowed their pride and explained that sometimes, neither nature nor medicine are completely perfect, then my son would be alive today.

Amy Anne sitting on Miranda's bed, next to Adrian's ultrasound photos, Miranda's pregnant belly in the background (Modern Lux Photography)

The Story of Amy Anne

January 26, 2019

I still wonder, now, if Amy knew what was coming. She was already pretty attached to me. It was hard to say for sure. She and Saki liked to cuddle around my big belly on the couch at night. Some nights I would sleep there. Life seemed pretty good.

Swelling in pregnancy can be a sign of preeclampsia (Archives)