Menu
Menu

Low Blood Pressure Danger: I Passed Out While Driving Over The Harbour Bridge When I Was Pregnant

Low Blood Pressure Danger I Passed Out While Driving Over The Harbour Bridge When I Was Pregnant

By Olivia Mackinnon

I know how dramatic that sounds - but it’s absolutely true.

You see, when it’s your first pregnancy - as it was for me - you just don’t know what’s considered normal and what’s not. I knew there was a huge scope of potential pregnancy symptoms out there, from nausea to bleeding gums and everything in between - but what I didn’t know is that ‘passing out’ would be the one that plagued me throughout both of my pregnancies.

The most interesting thing to note is that in both of my pregnancies, the blanking out would occur in the second trimester, nicknamed the ‘dream trimester’, at around the 16-week mark.

I literally started seeing stars.

In my first pregnancy, I was whizzing out the door each morning, grabbing an Up ‘N’ Go and thinking that was adequate for breakfast. Not a big breakfast person pre-pregnancy, this was a considerate step-up for me! However, as my daughter grew in my belly, her consumption increased. She would take more of whatever I ate, leaving me with far less. I didn’t understand this concept, and it wasn’t until one day as I was driving across the Harbour Bridge and a few stars started to fall over my line of vision, that I knew something was really wrong.

Thankfully I had the quick thinking to pull over into the far lane, put my hazard lights on and place my head between my knees before it went completely black. I pulled a muesli bar out of my handbag and inhaled it along with some water, as cars flew past me and I felt the wind rattle the car as they did. A handful of helpful strangers stopped beside me and asked if I was okay. Turning my head each time to say, ‘It’s okay I’m just pregnant’, almost killed me. I was unbearably nauseous and couldn’t see. I quite literally couldn’t see a way out of this.

Eventually my vision returned, and I very hesitantly started the slow drive into work, all the while promising myself - and my daughter - that I would ensure this never happened again.

But it did.

Another time while on the bus, I saw the same telltale stars forming in front of my eyes, along with a wave of nausea. I got off the bus and to a seat as fast as I could before my vision disappeared again. I was lucky I was able to find my feet.

The third and final time I had this terrifying encounter was during a beach day with my family. It was two years later and I was pregnant with my son this time - and it seems I still hadn’t learned my lesson.

Low Blood Pressure Danger I Passed Out While Driving Over The Harbour Bridge When I Was Pregnant 2

Lining up to collect our coffees and bacon and egg rolls, the twinkling stars began to form in front of my eyes again. I quickly took a seat on a ledge nearby, but I was too late. I woke up to around 40 people standing around me, asking if I was okay and if my family were around. I had grazed my entire face, my whole chin, my cheek and my nose - thank goodness I was wearing sunglasses - or my eyes would have broken my fall. The pain quickly set in. All I could think about was ‘had I hurt the baby?’ I repeated my husband’s mobile number, which they were very glad about - obviously I was still ‘with it’ - and they called an ambulance.

Low Blood Pressure Danger I Passed Out While Driving Over The Harbour Bridge When I Was Pregnant 3

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

I had no idea I suffered from low blood pressure.

My husband rushed over and saw the kiosk owner feeding me an oat bar. He was beside himself. I looked like I’d gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.

It turns out I suffer from low blood pressure when I’m pregnant, so I have to ensure I’m eating early and consistently throughout the day. It’s a fact many people wouldn’t know about themselves until something horrific, like this, happens to them. I know now that my mum suffered from low blood pressure too, though she never had the complete passing out.

All in all, it’s important to remember that when you’re pregnant, your body is working unimaginably hard to nurture the baby growing inside you. That person is fed and cared for first, and you get whatever is left over - so to keep them safe, you have to make sure that’s enough. It’s also a great idea to speak to your mum and get a sense of the kind of symptoms she suffered, to adequately prepare yourself in case they are inherited by you. And as always, discuss any symptoms with your doctor or obstetrician.

Your cart
Cart empty