Hello, everyone! My name is Brooke Parker and I am the founder/president of Motherly Love. I am so excited to use this blog to further explain what our organization is about and why it is so needed. So, let's get to it!
Motherly Love was inspired by the story of my mother and her complications in postpartum care. My mother had high blood pressure issues her entire life. She was diagnosed with hypertension at the age of 12, at which point she was started on medication to help control it. Once pregnant, she was seen as a high-risk pregnancy patient due to the blood pressure problems she had endured since such a young age. Other than gestational diabetes, she had a fairly healthy pregnancy as well as a rather uncomplicated delivery, and discharged home two days following delivery.
Once home, she developed a headache worse than anything she had experienced before. Her vision became blurry and her legs swelled to the point where she could see her pores with the naked eye. She quickly knew something was not right and was rushed back to the hospital. Her condition rapidly worsened so that by the time she arrived back at the hospital, doctors were quickly losing hope that she would not survive. Her veins blew with every attempt for an IV and doctors concluded that if a central line (an IV catheter placed in the central venous system rather than the peripheral) could not be placed, she was not going to live. Thankfully, a central line was able to be obtained and by the grace of God, her life was saved.
Unlike most young girls who dreamed of getting married and having children, my thoughts consisted of: What if I experience the same complications my mom did when I have children? What if I lose my life in the process? These thoughts are something no woman should have to consider or endure in this day and age. We should not have to go into what should be one of the greatest days of our lives as women, and fear for our lives the way we do. It is unacceptable.
Due to this, Motherly Love was founded to bring about awareness of the deficits seen in maternal care, especially in the postpartum period. We aim to bring the focus back to the mother following delivery, because after all, no baby can be cared for properly if the mother is not taken care of herself. Mothers deserve better and we are here to help.
Brook, your daddy talked to me today about Motherly Love and I think its a wonderful organization. Most recently I've been thinking of "mothering" a girl at my church who's mom is in Florida (she's here in East TN), her dad left years ago, and although her husband and son have really great family support, she's a bit lost. She's a young mom, got pregnant in HS and is currently pregnant with baby #2. Any way, I'm excited to learn more about ML and T&M. Good luck to you!
Tracie