Scared to have another baby

[FTM21]

Hello, I just wanted to reach out to see if anyone has had any similar experiences to me.
My first born was 5 weeks early, I suffered with preeclampsia during the pregnancy which led to an early birth.
We had numerous issues once she was born which made the early stages very hard. Long story short is I really would love another child but I am very scared to go through any similar experiences. I know every pregnancy is different and it could also take a long time to conceive but I'm not sure what I'm looking for on here really, maybe just some positivity x

Would adopting be an option?

I never really considered that but that’s a really good suggestion x

I had a traumatic time with the birth of my first dc. I found it all so difficult afterwards. It took me 6 years for my next dc. His birth was totally different, I remember thinking afterwards, so this is what people talk about when they say how wonderful giving birth is! I felt well afterwards and totally in control. I think you need to take your time and not rush until you have dealt with any trauma from your first birth.

Being blunt, pre-eclampsia is one of those things that you're likely to have in each pregnancy. The risk also increases as you get older.

But, in some ways it is also easier. I had pre-eclampsia in the late stages with DS1. It started earlier in my pregnancy with DS2. IME, it was flagged as an issue from the start of my pregnancy. Every slight symptom I had got taken seriously rather than being fobbed off like it did with DS1.

I had a difficult birth with my first and the first six months of his life were bad. But I also knew that I got through it and out the other side OK. I looked at what happened with my eldest and what I could do differently with subsequent children, such as being more prepared, asking for more support and no trying to do it all myself etc. I also had an elective csection with my second child. I had a much more positive experience with my second baby (although the pregnancy was actually a lot harder!).