I inhale, then exhale slowly.
The doctor smiles before slipping on her stethoscope. “Come a little closer,” she says, and I scoot forward on the table.
She wraps the cuff around my arm and starts pumping. The stethoscope lands gently on my chest, cool against my skin. But her smile fades when she glances at the monitor. Her mouth presses into a thin line before she exhales and removes the stethoscope.
My heart skips a beat. Wah she see?
Stop worry, Zara!Out the corner of my eye, I can feel Nickoi watching me. Just the weight of his gaze makes my nerves buzz even more.Jesus…
“You’ve been worrying a lot,” she says, tone quiet but firm.
I stay silent. “Your blood pressure is very low..” What!? Lawd have mercy…
Look how mi tell yuh fi stop stress everything.
“Really?” I ask, my voice thin with disbelief.
She nods, eyes still on the monitor. “I can tell you’re an anxious person,” she says gently. “But don’t worry!”
“Okay,” I mumble, trying to keep it together.
Nickoi lets out a long sigh beside me, his eyes still scrolling through his phone. I know him. That’s his way of listening without staring. I tuck both lips into my mouth as the doctor continues.
“When you’re pregnant, low blood pressure isn’t unusual. But I can tell you’ve been worrying a lot, Ms. Williams. Most people assume stress leads to high blood pressure, but stress can also cause low blood pressure, especially if you’re not eating properly or resting.”
She pauses, probably clocking the look on my face. “You just need more nutrients,” she adds, reaching for her clipboard. “I’m going to list a few things for you.”
Mi know what she nuh know though
Yuh never did a eat during the breakup… and yuh nuh stop stress yuhself since.
I sigh. She starts scribbling quickly, then glances back up at me. “Do you feel dizzy sometimes?”
I nod, and her pen moves again across the paper. “That’s normal too… but are you anemic?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No. I fainted once,” I admit. “But I’m not anemic.”
She nods slowly. “Okay… even though low blood pressure is common during pregnancy, you still have to eat right, stress less, and move with care, it can affect the baby, and we definitely nuh wah that,” she says, her voice dipping serious for a moment before she turns her attention to Nickoi.
“Mari,” she says, and I glance up, confused.
Mari?Nickoi looks up from his phone, brows raised slightly. “I’m going to give her a list of things to bring up back her pressure,” the doctor says.
“Like what?” he asks, tone calm but alert now.
“She need more salty foods, red meat, eggs, seafood, yuh know, things rich in iron and sodium,” she explains, then looks back at me. “I’ll write it all down for you.”
I nod.
“Anyways, on to the next. I didn’t plan to stay on your pressure so long,” she chuckles, standing before motioning for me to follow her into a smaller room connected to the office.
Inside, she runs my urine and blood tests then leads me back out where Nickoi is waiting.
He stands the moment we re-enter. “Everything good?”
“Yes,” she answers. “We’ll get to that, but first I want to explain a few things to you both as new parents.”
We sit across from her again, side by side.
