Bridgewater Mom Is Alive Thanks To Blood Donations Of Others, Hosts Blood Drive

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater mother Casey Cattell is alive today thanks to the blood donations of others.

In 2015, after having her son Nathan by C-section, she came home, and about a week later, she just wasn't feeling right.

"I knew something was up. I called my healthcare provider three times in 24 hours. It was a weekend, and I was told, 'This is just a normal part of having a baby. You had a C-section. These are normal postpartum complaints. Just hunker down, and you'll be fine'," said Cattell.

What she didn't know was that she was bleeding internally for more than 24 hours. She went to the hospital and immediately went in for emergency surgery, where she received 22 units of blood.

"Thankfully, I survived. But there are a lot of women like me who don't," said Cattell.

Since then, she has become an advocate for maternal health and has hosted a blood drive yearly in the hopes of saving someone else.

• Previous Reporting: Blood Donation Saved Bridgewater Mom's Life After Birth, Now She Is Helping To Save Others

"We are asking the community to support us with National Blood Donor Month and Maternal Health Awareness, again, because the need for blood is just endless and enormous, and it keeps families like mine together," said Cattell. "This is a cause that's very near and dear to my heart for that reason, because I would not be here for all of the things with Nathan had I not had 22 blood donors back then."

Postpartum Hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. While the majority of postpartum hemorrhages occur in low- and middle-income countries, it is still the leading cause of maternal mortality on delivery day in the United States and is largely preventable with basic, prompt medical care and access to safe blood products.

Obstetric transfusions in the United States increased by about 400percent between 1993 and 2014, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Joining her cause are two other friends of Cattell, Brianna Zarenkiewicz, who is an OBGyn Physician's Assistant, and Mina Patel, who is a long-time regular blood donor.

The Blood & Platelet Drive for Maternal Health Awareness Day will be held on Thursday, Jan. 29, from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Bradley Gardens Volunteer Fire Company, 24 Old York Road, Bridgewater.

Walk-ins are welcome. Appointments are encouraged to avoid wait times. To register, visit www.rwjuhdonorclub.org or call 732-235-8100, ext. 221.

Last year, Cattell was able to collect 82 units of blood. This year, she is hoping to bring more than 100 potential donors through the doors.

Offering Education Resources

In an effort to help educate other mothers, Cattell is offers a number of resources to families.

"My passion is really to be a hand of help to the survivors that are coming after me, and to kind of just point them to resources that were not available or I didn't know about when I went through my own emergency," said Cattell.

Cattell recommends the book Nobody Told Me About That- Surviving and Thriving Through The Early Weeks Of Parenting, which she pennded a chapter sharing her near-miss survivorship. The book also provides a wealth of information on self-advocacy, whether women experience complications or not.

Cattell also offered the following support resources for mothers who’ve had a postpartum hemorrhage:

• Postpartum Support International: postpartum.net
• Peer-led Support Group: Postpartum Hemorrhage Survivors Support Group fr-fr.facebook.com/groups/pphsurvivors
• Support and education for PPH Survivors and their families on Instagram: @PPHSurvivors (https://www.instagram.com/pphsurvivors)

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