Taylor
Taylor developed high blood pressure at 35 weeks of pregnancy and spent a week in hospital before being induced, although she did not require medication. Her labour went well, and her daughter was born healthy. After she returned home, her midwife told her that her blood pressure was settling. However, apart from this, Taylor has had no further follow-up for her blood pressure since giving birth.
Taylor is a 20-year-old, White British woman who lives with her partner and six-month-old daughter. She works in retail and is currently on maternity leave.
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Taylor found out she had high blood pressure at a routine midwife appointment when she was 35 weeks pregnant. Around the same time, her sister noticed that she looked swollen and suggested she check her blood pressure at home using their mother's monitor, which also showed high readings. Taylor was admitted to hospital, where she spent the next week being monitored because of her blood pressure and concerns about her baby's heart rate.
Taylor found the hospital stay lonely and frustrating. She often felt unclear about what was happening, and no one could tell her whether she had pre-eclampsia. When she or her partner asked questions, they were told that a doctor would come and speak to them, but this often did not happen. Taylor did not feel comfortable questioning decisions or challenging healthcare professionals. She also felt judged for being a young mother and believed some staff assumed she was less capable because of her age. Her community midwife was an exception. Taylor said she always listened, took time to answer her questions and, when she felt upset, sometimes gave her a hug.
After a week in hospital Taylor was advised to have an induction and went on to have a straightforward vaginal birth. It was only when reading her postnatal notes afterwards, that she realised she had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia during labour, which nobody had explained to her at the time. After she went home, her midwife checked her blood pressure once and reassured her that it was improving, however nobody discussed it further or mentioned anything about future risks.
Taylor bottle-fed her daughter from birth. Looking back, she wishes she had breastfed but said she never really considered it at the time. She said everyone in her family had bottle-fed, and she had only heard negative stories about breastfeeding. Apart from asking how she intended to feed her baby, her healthcare providers didn’t discuss breastfeeding with her, though she wishes they had.
Taylor said her first week at home was hard. She found it difficult to be around her daughter, especially when she cried, and wanted her partner to take over her care. However, she was afraid to tell anyone how she was feeling because she worried her baby would be taken away. After about a week, her partner told her he planned to speak to the health visitor because he was concerned. Taylor panicked, but said the fear this instilled in her made her realise how much she did love her daughter, and that her fears were unfounded. She now has a very strong bond with her, though she still regrets not having that feeling initially.
Taylor has a very supportive partner and family, and she regularly goes for walks with her sister, who also has a young baby, however, she’s found it much harder to make friends with other mothers. She did attend a baby group, but felt out of place because most of the mothers were older and seemed to already know one another. She has found support through online parenting forums though, which she says have been really helpful.
Taylor developed a walking routine with her sister after they both had babies.
Taylor developed a walking routine with her sister after they both had babies.
Yeah, so normally... I mean, it’s not exercise-exercise, I suppose, but since she was about three months old, me and my sister, who also has the baby, we would do two three-mile walks almost every day and put the girls in their pushchairs and off you go. It’s something we can do during the day and I can take her with me, it gets her outside, it could... it sort of fits all criteria’s for both of us. It’s nothing major, but it... it’s something... something better than nothing.