A New Jersey mom expected her third pregnancy would require more from her, but she wasn't prepared for the "frightening" experience that would come after

Sabrina B., a 38-year-old mom of three, tells PEOPLE that welcoming her third baby was the "hardest" experience she's had to date, noting she "felt the difference immediately"

After giving birth, Sabrina received "shocking and frightening" news

A New Jersey mom expected her third pregnancy would require more from her, but she wasn't prepared for the "frightening" experience that would come after.

Sabrina B., a 38-year-old mom of three, tells PEOPLE that welcoming her third baby was the "hardest" experience she's had to date, noting she "felt the difference immediately." From the beginning of her pregnancy, Sabrina says she could sense it would "require more from me physically and emotionally," and it proved to be "challenging."

"The labor itself lasted 16 and a half hours, [which was] my longest by far," Sabrina says. "Beyond the length of labor, it was the overall weight of the season that made it especially challenging. I was pregnant while raising a toddler and an almost preteen, trying to balance motherhood, healing, and everyday life. My body felt exhausted. I felt stretched thin physically and emotionally."

"Each pregnancy is different, but this one felt heavier," she adds. "I was older, more aware of my body, and more attuned to when something didn’t feel right."

A week after giving birth to her baby Alijah, Sabrina had a home visit from a postpartum nurse sent through a state-sponsored program. Upon checking her vitals, the nurse noticed that her blood pressure was very high and continuing to rise. In addition, Sabrina says her ankles and feet were visibly swollen.

"Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and called my OB-GYN directly," she recalls, adding that her nurse's concern pushed her to take the next appointment with her doctor.

Before her appointment, Sabrina tells PEOPLE her symptoms started to intensify. In addition to her swollen ankles and feet and high blood pressure, she began passing large blood clots. On one occasion, she recalls her body suddenly feeling "strange," like she was about to push out a baby again, while she took a shower.

"I passed a very large clot and started screaming and crying. It triggered past pregnancy losses I’ve experienced, and in that moment, I truly thought I was dying," Sabrina recalls. "What scared me most wasn’t death itself. It was the thought of leaving my girls without their mother."

At her doctor's appointment, Sabrina tells PEOPLE she received the "shocking and frightening" news that she had postpartum preeclampsia. Since then, Sabrina has worked closely with her care team to regulate her condition. She explains that she was placed on blood pressure medication and has taken steroid injections to reduce inflammation.

"Those first two weeks postpartum, I could barely grip a pen, let alone my baby," she says, acknowledging that all the tests and work from her doctors have helped "stabilize things" for her over time. "It’s been a medical journey — one I never expected — but I’m grateful it was caught early."

Sabrina, who is also a mom to Kameryn, 2, and Kaydence, 12, tells PEOPLE she's ultimately grateful that her daughter was born safely.

During this experience, Sabrina was also navigating different nerve issues that left her unable to grip things properly. She says it also caused a tingling and numbness in her hands, making it "scary" to hold her baby.

"Many nights, my partner would pick her up when she cried, change her, and bring her to me to breastfeed because my body felt weak and I literally couldn’t," she says, adding that her partner, Arnaldo, 38, really supported her in this challenging moment. "It required a lot of teamwork. It still does."

"I’m deeply grateful for his support throughout this entire experience," she adds. "We’ve truly leaned on each other in raising our girls, and I don’t take that partnership for granted."

Sabrina has been sharing her life, especially her postpartum journeys, online publicly for 11 years. However, this time, she says she was different and needed to lean on the community she created.

"I shared because I genuinely wanted to know if other women had gone through this," she explains to PEOPLE. "I needed hope. I needed reassurance that it gets better, that there are answers [and] that you’re not alone."

"I also wanted to bring awareness to heart disease, particularly among Black and Latina women — communities I am part of," she continues. "Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in our communities. We often normalize stress, but stress impacts our bodies in real ways. If sharing my story encourages even one woman to check her blood pressure, keep her postpartum appointment, get a second opinion, or listen to her intuition — then it’s worth it."

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Looking back at her birth experience, Sabrina tells PEOPLE she's most grateful for her support system and access to quality health care.

"I’m most grateful for my support system — my family, my best friend, my village — and for access to doctors who listened and took me seriously," she says. "Healthcare can be expensive and overwhelming, and many women neglect their health because of that."

"I don’t take for granted that I had the resources and support to advocate for myself," Sabrina adds. "And I hope other women know they deserve that too."

Read the original article on People