On Tuesday, I had time between cases for lunch so I wandered down to the cafeteria to check out what soups were being offered that day. Yummm soup. As I’m walking down the stairs, I thought to myself, you know? In my current pregnant status, I probably shouldn’t be texting and walking down the stairs. The next thing I know, my left foot starts to slide down the final two stairs and as a million thoughts are going through my mind, I’ve landed on both knees with coffee spilled all over my arm and floor.
As I’m kneeling there stunned, I thought (1) Oh my gosh, is Dos okay, (2) Holy S, thank goodness the coffee was NOT hot, (3) did anyone see me, (4) how am I going to clean up this coffee, (5) that could’ve been so much worse, (6) Ow, my knees hurt, (7) I wish someone could help me get up!
I’ve never considered myself a clumsy person but I wouldn’t call myself the most graceful person either. After a surfboard fin to the head December before my wedding, I decided to stick with land exercises that were safest for me. Unfortunately, I would still trip and fall over uneven grounds, hills, slip on slippery greenery while hiking and end
up with scabs and bruises. Okay, so maybe I’m more on the not graceful side of things. My dress was long so it covered all my wounds.
After I somehow managed to get myself back on my feet and wiped the coffee from the floor, I really thought of the potential damage I may have caused to the baby inside. I fell/landed on my knees not at a super high velocity but enough to feel some pains on my kneecaps. Was that enough to jar the baby? At 32 weeks, I thought, well, let’s see what the baby does. Dos was quiet for a little bit so I ate some soup and drank some cranberry juice to give him/her a little sugar. He/she does a little happy dance after I eat. Whew, he/she woke up after I ate some food and did her his/her normal routine.
I texted my sister-in-law and told her what happened. She said the concerns re: the trauma would be abruption, if my bag of water broke and she started asking me about Rh status and if I needed Rhogam. She also said she typically would monitor patients for 4 hours but wouldn’t ultrasound the baby. My bag of water seemed to be intact still and since Dos was moving around still, I didn’t think I needed to call my own OB.
I didn’t know my Rh status or whether I had gotten a Rhogam shot after Jacob was born. She said it’s a pretty painful shot so I would’ve likely remembered receiving such an injection. I asked Jeff if he knew and he didn’t remember anything about my blood type or Rh status. Is it ironic that I’m not on top of my –ish? Not really!
She then mentioned I may need to get a Kleihauer-Betke test to see if I needed a booster because I would need to get a booster with 72 hours of the trauma to prevent complications. Thanks to EPIC and a charting system that lists all my lab work and doctors’ visits notes, I looked up my chart and saw that I was Rh negative. I must’ve gotten a Rhogam shot with Jacob unless Jeff was also Rh negative. I sent my SIL and Jeff a screenshot of my test results and was ready to call my OB.
(Kleihauer–Betke (“KB”) test, Kleihauer–Betke (“KB”) stain, Kleihauer test or Acid elution test, is a blood test used to measure the amount of fetal hemoglobin transferred from a fetus to a mother’s bloodstream. It is usually performed on Rh-negative mothers to determine the required dose of Rho(D) immune globulin (RhIg) to inhibit formation of Rh antibodies in the mother and prevent Rh disease in future Rh-positive children (Thank you, Wikepedia).)
Jeff sees the screenshot and says that I have nothing to worry about since I am Rh positive. And I said,
no way, it says right here that I am Rh positive. He circled the Rh status part. And I stared and stared and then it finally dawned on me. I realized he was right and that there was no blood flow going to my brain for the last few hours or so. Well, I can cough this all up to ‘pregnancy brain’ and hormones. Whoopsies! I assure you I am a doctor, mom and can read!
At my 32-week OB visit on Friday, the OB said I should’ve called and he would’ve done all the things my SIL said to do- blood test, monitor for 4 hours. I was somewhat surprised because I didn’t consider this something for which I needed to call my OB. I also didn’t want to be that patient who calls about any/everything that makes her nervous! We already know what wonderful patients people in the medical field are!
Well, now I know. Mamas to be- if you fall down or have any questions, call your OB! If anything were to happen to you or baby, we’d never forgive ourselves! A lot of moms have told me they have tripped/fallen or bumped into things because their center of gravity is off.
Do you have any stories about falling or brain farts while pregnant?
It’s been crazy hot here the last few days. I hope everyone had a great 4th and has a wonderful and cool weekend, everyone!
Trust Me, I'm a Doctor Mom 