She nodded. “There are a few we can prescribe during pregnancy that will be just fine for you to take, so we have options if one isn’t working.”
“Great, thank you.” I blew out a breath, relieved to have a way to help even though I wished I didn’t need it at all. “Is there anything else I can do to help?”
“Yes, try to lower caffeine intake, try to keep your stress levels down, all the usual advice.” Her eyes softened as she handed over a piece of paper that explained what high blood pressure during pregnancy meant and what I could do to help besides taking the medication.
I liked that she gave handouts because I wasn’t sure if I’d remember everything with the way my mind was racing and jumping from question to question.
“But something to be aware of, is that this is very likely being caused by the placenta.”
I frowned at that.
“It’s most often the cause of these issues during pregnancy, when the patient has no prior history of things like hyper tension, high blood sugar, etc. We manage the symptoms for as long as we can.”
“And then?” I asked.
“When the placenta comes out, the symptoms disappear.” She shrugged. “So you won’t have to deal with this forever.”
“That’s good,” I said, looking over at Bolo.
He nodded in agreement.
“I’ve sent your prescription over. Do you need me to refill your prenatals?”
“Oh, sure. That would be great.”
She tapped on her computer for a couple minutes, then turned on her rolling chair and looked between us. “Other questions?”
I shook my head as my mind scrambled to remember anything that I might need to ask. “No. Bolo?”
He shook his head. “Not right now. You pretty much explained it all, Doc.”
“Well, if you think of anything you can message me in the portal, or even call. Dax has my number.” She gave me another reassuring smile. “Try not to worry. Hopefully the meds will help keep everything nice and low, and this won’t turn into anything more than a bit of extra monitoring for you. Since we’re getting you started on those, I’m going to put in that referral for the Maternal Fetal Medicine group next door. They’re great to work with and they’ll take over doing the majority of your ultrasounds, but I’ll see all the results. They have highly specialized equipment, way better than mine, and they’ll be doing ultrasounds on you about once a month and then every few weeks as we get closer to your due date.”
“Okay,” I said, heaving out a breath. “That actually makes me feel a little better.”
She nodded. “A lot of women only end up getting two to three ultrasounds during their pregnancy. You’ll have a lot more. We’ll want to keep an eye out that your baby is growing at an appropriate rate.”
“Because of the blood pressure?”
She nodded. “It’s a symptom of your placenta potentially having issues so that’s why we keep track. The placenta is what keeps your baby nourished and growing. It’s probably a bit overkill but I prefer to be safe.”
“Us too,” Bolo replied.
Dr. Natalie nodded again. “Glad we’re all on the same page.” She walked us out, explaining how she wanted me taking the new blood pressure meds as we went. “Feel free to get a hold of me anytime, Devyn,” she said, reaching out and patting my hand.
“I like her a lot,” I told Bolo as we walked out to his SUV.
“I’m glad.”
“She’s direct, but comforting.”
“I hate when they beat around the bush,” he said, opening my door for me, then holding out a hand to help me into the vehicle.
I didn’t need the help yet, but it was nice to be taken care of so I just thanked him and slid inside. Besides, in another few months I would probably need that kind of help.
Glancing over at him as he got in and started driving over to the pharmacy, I broached one of the subjects that had been weighing on me. “Do you think I could have a girls’ night with Camila and Rue?”
He frowned. “What’d ya mean?”
