Reflecting On Postpartum Stroke: Nine Years Later, One Mother’s Experience Ignites a Passion for Maternal Health
A healthy fit 32-year-old, Emily McLaughlin had an uneventful pregnancy. But on her second afternoon home from the hospital, while feeding her new daughter, she was struck by a “thunderclap headache.” When the pain did not subside and dark spots floated across her vision, she was eventually taken to the ER where doctors performed an emergency brain scan revealing an intracerebral hemorrhage also known as a brain bleed. From the ER, Emily was swiftly transferred to the Neuro ICU at Westchester Medical Center. Emily recalled, “paralyzed on the left side, unable to smile, process time or even read the sign telling nurses I wasn’t allowed to swallow in case the muscles in my mouth were affected and I choked. I couldn’t get the words out to ask if I’d be trapped in my head for good.”
Emily’s husband began to search for referrals for an endovascular specialist and was connected to Columbia Neurosurgery’s Cerebrovascular Division Chief Dr. Sean Lavine. After his review of the case, Dr. Lavine concluded Emily’s brain hemorrhage was caused by reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome(link is external and opens in a new window), a condition involving thunderclap headaches and narrowed cerebral arteries. Though it can resolve within three months, Dr. Lavine, said it is, “one of the most common causes of peripartum stroke. Recovery depends on the region of brain affected, age, and physical condition of the patient, with many left with potentially devastating deficits,” Lavine said.
This condition can lead to long-term effects include speech, cognitive, physical and emotional impairments. About a third of stroke survivors experience depression in the first year.
Emily shares, “Dr. Lavine was so compassionate, he gave me hope that I would completely recover and the motivation I needed to aim to fully function again. As a parent himself, he understood how overwhelming the timing of this was. I trusted him to make difficult decisions about whether I could take medications to help recalibrate my brain because they might come with RCVS risk. So many new mothers are under so much pressure to be utterly blissful after the delivery of their first child. Dr. Lavine understood what a difficult time I was having and his advice allowed me to give myself permission to use medication to get through this time.”
For three months after the hospital, Emily rehabilitated at an outpatient clinical for stroke survivors. After she was released, eventually she learned to drive again and regained her smile’s facial symmetry. Her family moved to Ann Arbor where Emily had accepted a faculty position in the University of Michigan’s English Department. Years later in 2016, not long after her daughter’s birthday, Emily suffered a grand mal seizure. Emily shared, “In the ER, I was told that late-onset seizures affect 6 to 15 percent of patients who’d had intracerebral strokes like mine.”
A New Path, A New Book
While this event presented Emily with significant challenges, her resilience persevered and quite inspiringly ignited a new passion for maternal health. Emily says, “Most people assume that once you’ve made it past childbirth, especially after an uneventful pregnancy like mine, it’s pretty much smooth sailing for the mom health-wise. But research has shown that the so-called fourth trimester — meaning 12 weeks postpartum — and particularly the two weeks following birth, holds a surprisingly high stroke risk.” Emily began partnering with MoMMAs Voices, a program of the Preeclampsia Foundation which focuses on “amplifying voices of those who have experienced pregnancy and childbirth complications or loss - especially those who have been historically marginalized - ensuring they are equipped and activated as partners with providers and researchers to improve maternal health outcomes.”
"Trained Patient Family Partners like Emily take their difficult pregnancy and postpartum experiences and transform those moments into better care for all patients," said MoMMAs Voices Program Director Nicole Purnell. "By sharing her experience, Emily helps healthcare providers continue to provide patient-centric care and minimize adverse outcomes for other new and expectant moms who may experience strokes."
Ever the writer at heart, Emily is completing research on her first book on maternal health, an investigation and reporting on maternal morbidity and mortality stories in an aim to destigmatize the surrounding conversation. Learn more about her work on maternal health here: maternalinterrupted.com
Congratulations Emily on this incredible milestone and all you have done to turn your experience into a trove of important lessons for future mothers and their doctors.
