I last felt my little boy move Friday, September 9, 2016. I went to work Saturday, September 10, 2016. He wasn't moving much but because I do hair he never moved much while I was at work.
That night we were hanging out with some friends and I felt my belly tightening. I assumed it was just Braxton Hicks. We went to get something to eat and brought it home. I barely had two bites and I vomited and said I didn't feel good. My boyfriend took my temp and I was at 101.
We called the doctor and he said it sounded like I had a bug and he didn't want me to come in and get the other women and babies sick. So we waited. I started cramping really bad about 12:30 am. I felt like maybe I just had bad gas. Doctor told me to take some Tylenol and drink lots of water. I could not keep any of it down.
About 4:30 am I realized I was in labor. My boyfriend took me to the hospital where they hooked me up to a monitor and could not find a heartbeat. The nurse said this happens but she needed to get an ultrasound. I feel like I knew then that my little boy was gone. They did the ultrasound and the doctor told me he was sorry and that he was going to give me a bit to process what's going on and then they would get me into a room. He said then we will talk about having a baby. I was not able to have any pain management because they knew it was infection due to my fever and they said it would possibly kill me if I had anything.
Lincoln Thomas Hawke Smith came into this world sleeping at 11:15am September 11, 2016. I got to hold my little one for about 10 minutes while we waited for the placenta to deliver. But once the placenta delivered the sickness transferred to me (at this point we did not know it was Group B Strep that took my Lincoln from me). My fever spiked to 105.7. I spent the next 5 days in the ICU due to horribly low blood pressure. I did not find out for three days into my hospital stay that it was Group B Strep. I was finally discharged from the hospital September 17, 2016. Leaving that hospital with my arms empty was the hardest thing in my life I have ever had to do.
— Lindsey Schraeder, USA
Lindsey shares her story as much as possible.
Join Lindsey's "What If I Had Known . . . ?" campaign page HERE in tribute to Lincoln.
That night we were hanging out with some friends and I felt my belly tightening. I assumed it was just Braxton Hicks. We went to get something to eat and brought it home. I barely had two bites and I vomited and said I didn't feel good. My boyfriend took my temp and I was at 101.
We called the doctor and he said it sounded like I had a bug and he didn't want me to come in and get the other women and babies sick. So we waited. I started cramping really bad about 12:30 am. I felt like maybe I just had bad gas. Doctor told me to take some Tylenol and drink lots of water. I could not keep any of it down.
About 4:30 am I realized I was in labor. My boyfriend took me to the hospital where they hooked me up to a monitor and could not find a heartbeat. The nurse said this happens but she needed to get an ultrasound. I feel like I knew then that my little boy was gone. They did the ultrasound and the doctor told me he was sorry and that he was going to give me a bit to process what's going on and then they would get me into a room. He said then we will talk about having a baby. I was not able to have any pain management because they knew it was infection due to my fever and they said it would possibly kill me if I had anything.
Lincoln Thomas Hawke Smith came into this world sleeping at 11:15am September 11, 2016. I got to hold my little one for about 10 minutes while we waited for the placenta to deliver. But once the placenta delivered the sickness transferred to me (at this point we did not know it was Group B Strep that took my Lincoln from me). My fever spiked to 105.7. I spent the next 5 days in the ICU due to horribly low blood pressure. I did not find out for three days into my hospital stay that it was Group B Strep. I was finally discharged from the hospital September 17, 2016. Leaving that hospital with my arms empty was the hardest thing in my life I have ever had to do.
— Lindsey Schraeder, USA
Lindsey shares her story as much as possible.
Join Lindsey's "What If I Had Known . . . ?" campaign page HERE in tribute to Lincoln.
To learn more about Perinatal & GBS Misconceptions, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of Preterm Labor, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of GBS Infection, click HERE.
To learn more about Why Membranes Should NOT Be Stripped, click HERE.
To learn more about How to Help Protect Your Baby from Group B Strep (GBS), click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of Preterm Labor, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of GBS Infection, click HERE.
To learn more about Why Membranes Should NOT Be Stripped, click HERE.
To learn more about How to Help Protect Your Baby from Group B Strep (GBS), click HERE.