This not very-well-known and hard to diagnose syndrome sometimes presents like preeclampsia, and other times just like regular pregnancy symptoms. On top of that, there’s little you can do to prevent it. What can you do instead of worrying? Melissa Krawecki is here to bring awareness, and share her story. Check it out!
Listen directly through our website player, or however you usually listen to podcasts.
What we talked about:
- What the hell is HELLP syndrome?
- How is it different than preeclampsia?
- How common are HELLP and preeclampsia?
- Melissa’s personal story with HELLP
- Symptoms of HELLP
- There’s no shame in “inconveniencing” your care providers
- Coping with different levels of trauma
- The importance of involving traumatized patients in their own care
- Permission to survive, permission to grieve
- Finding purpose from pain
- EMDR Therapy
Related resources*:
- HELLP Syndrome, Preeclampsia Foundation
- Preeclampsia Foundation’s FAQ section
- Making sense of preeclampsia tests, Preeclampsia Foundation
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) website
- Ava’s Tree, Melissa’s blog
- Elgin Community Pregnancy, Infant, and Child Loss Peer Support, Facebook page
About Melissa Krawecki
Melissa is an author, advocate, wife and mother of two children, one living and one deceased. She has used grief to propel her work as a blogger (Ava’s Tree) and author of the published book In the Shade of Ava’s Tree published with Praeclarus Press in 2015. She works alongside the bereaved in honoring grief as well as teaching birth workers about loss and birth trauma. A PTSD survivor, EMDR advocate and experienced in pregnancy after loss she has created the “Navigating Pregnancy after Loss” and “Supporting the Bereaved” workshops, among others, all tailored toward these experiences. Melissa is a course creator and professor of Thanatology at Fanshawe College, Melissa facilitates several grief groups and donates her time in her community as co-creator of the Elgin Community Pregnancy, Infant, and Child Loss Peer Support Group. Melissa lives in St. Thomas Ontario with her husband and daughter, remembering Ava always.
Learn more at Ava’s Tree.
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