Sonia

Age at interview: 42

Brief Outline:

Sonia experienced high blood pressure in both of her pregnancies. She believes the abuse she experienced during her relationship contributed to this. During her second pregnancy, she left her husband and says that, since then, her blood pressure has settled. Looking back, she feels this is because she is now happier and feels safe.

Background:

Sonia is a 42-year-old mother of 3 (12-year-old twins and a one-year-old) who was born in Uganda and now has British citizenship.

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Sonia was first diagnosed with raised blood pressure when she was around 18-20 weeks pregnant with her twins and eventually gave birth at 37 weeks by caesarean section. During her second pregnancy, Sonia again developed high blood pressure, although she says it was difficult to focus on her own health because she had so much else happening in her life. When she was five months pregnant Sonia left her abusive husband and she and her children moved into a refuge. She feels the stress of being in abusive relationship contributed to her blood pressure problems. Sonia chose to have a planned caesarean section. It was a difficult, decision but she was worried that the stress of her circumstances, combined with labour, would cause her blood pressure to rise further and put her baby at risk. Sonia was relieved when her baby was born healthy and no longer worried that her high blood pressure might harm him. She and her baby stayed in hospital for a week, while her blood pressure was monitored. When her baby was three months old, Sonia and her children moved out of the refuge into their current accommodation where she feels settled and safe.

Sonia's blood pressure settled after the birth and at a recent health check, she was told that it was within the healthy range. Sonia believes this is because she is now in a much better place and that the stress of being in an abusive relationship played a significant role in her developing high blood pressure in her pregnancies. Sonia can’t remember being told about longer-term cardiovascular risks but said she would have liked information, though not right away. In terms of looking after her health, Sonia finds it difficult to exercise at the moment and said it’s not always easy to eat healthily. She thinks she will be able to lose weight and get more exercise in the future, but wants to do it in her own time and to not feel pressured.

Sonia really wanted to breastfeed her youngest child. She felt that the choice had been taken away from her after the birth of her twins by her former partner, who made her feel like a bad mother. It went well, and she is still breastfeeding more than a year later. Her experience of motherhood overall was very different this time round and she was able to enjoy it in a way that she was previously unable to. Unlike after the birth of her twins, she did not experience postnatal depression.

Sonia was very appreciative of the support she received from her community midwife during her second pregnancy, who she said listened without judgement, helped her access support services and played an important role in helping her to leave the abusive relationship. During her first pregnancy, Sonia was too frightened to disclose what was happening, but she believes she might have done so if she had been asked about abuse directly. She encourages other women experiencing abuse to seek help and said one of her reasons for taking part in the study was to support women in similar situations.