For a smaller number of us, this beautiful experience is followed by one of the scariest in our lives. And for some, who chalk up some unusual symptoms to new motherhood fatigue or normal after effects, their life-changing experience can be life ending.
According to EveryMotherCounts.org, a woman dies every two minutes from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and a whopping 98 percent of these deaths are preventable. Their statistics are staggering, even if they are global: many of the deaths they count include deaths related to problems mothers face with pre-natal care and health infrastructure in the developing world, where 99 percent of maternal deaths take place.
In the United States, about 650 women die each year due to pregnancy or childbirth complications. Most of these lives could be saved if symptoms are caught early enough to get emergency medical intervention.
Late-stage pregnancy is full of physical discomforts: swollen ankles, back pain, more labored breathing, and fatigue, to name a few. New motherhood, likewise, comes with its own set of symptoms: abdominal weakness, exhaustion, and emotional swings as a result of the high levels of hormones in our bodies. However, there are some symptoms that should trigger a red flag, and an immediate trip to the emergency room. Among them: