Christine DiGiammarino

"My name is Christine and I live 30 minutes north of Boston, Massachusetts. A fun fact about me is that I’m an identical twin and mama to identical twin boys, Peter & Christian, who were born in October 2019 (and yes, all natural for those wondering)!

I delivered urgently via c-section at 33+5 after developing severe intrahepatic cholestasis and sudden onset of preeclampsia with severe features and HELLP Syndrome. I had a lengthy 4-hour delivery which started off with spinal anesthesia and ended with general anesthesia and was complicated by mild uterine atony and a massive hemorrhage due to HELLP progressing to DIC. My postpartum recovery started in ICU care and was complicated by hemorrhagic shock and severe IDA, massive blood transfusions, vulvar edema, blood clots and a large rectus sheath hematoma that required emergency surgical intervention, and a wound-vac, as my abdominal incision was left open. I also had magnesium sulfate.

To everyone’s surprise, my boys were born generally healthy despite my challenges and IUGR and spent 25 & 26 days in special care. At 3 months postpartum I was considered fully recovered and I am grateful to be alive!

This group has been pivotal in my healing journey and has allowed me to learn, connect with others, and acknowledge my trauma. My hope is to spread awareness of preeclampsia and support others in their pregnancy journey so that no mother has to experience what I did.

Professionally, I have a master’s degree from UMass Amherst and am a Speech Language Pathologist. I currently work in Early Intervention.