Anne W. Hansen 
In an exclusive interview with Us WeeklyOpens a New Window., The Killing’s Jamie Anne Allman said she had a “horrible” pregnancy which resulted in the premature birth of twin boys. Eighty-one days before her due date, the actress welcomed sons Asher James and Oliver Charles on Thursday, Jan. 31 2013.
Jamie Anne Allman’s Pregnancy
Jamie, who is married True Blood’s Marshall Allman in 2006, did not get to take her boys home until late April.
“Oliver was 2 lbs., 11 oz., and he was discharged at 7 lbs., 7 oz,” she says of her son. “Asher was 3 lbs., but he was discharged from the hospital at 8 lbs., 1 oz.”
The star’s pregnancy was far from utopian.
“I puked seven to 12 times a day, and then I peed my pants every time I puked,” Jamie recalls. “I popped blood vessels all around my eyes from every time I vomited, and if I moved slightly I would puke, so I couldn’t really walk to the bathroom.”
Jamie lost her appetite (“I ate toast and apples,” she says) but endured to eat for her twins’ sake.
“My husband gave me snacks all day long, and I ate horribly because I couldn’t eat anything else,” she admitted. “Pop-Tarts and Toaster Strudel really helped me!”
Since the Kansas native had a shortened cervix, she was put on bed rest for in the majority of her pregnancy. Calling her second trimester “horrible,” Jamie who was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes said she used a wheelchair before being admitted to the hospital in January 2013.
“They wanted me in the hospital for three months because the shortened cervix was slowly disappearing,” she explains. “Then I got a bladder infection and delivered that day.”
Still, she had hoped to give birth vaginally, Jamie obeyed her doctor’s advice and decided to get a C-section.
“They opened me up and Asher came out, then Oliver. I heard them cry and I looked over at Marshall to see what he was thinking. He looked at me and said, ‘It’s amazing.'”
New father Marshall was so dazed that he fainted and fell off his chair. When he awoke, he started vomiting.
“I was so nervous because I wanted to help him and I couldn’t do anything. So I just said, ‘You gotta get out of here!'” Jamie reminded.
“He started crawling out of the operating room on all fours.” Once Marshall sat down and collected himself, his wife says, “He was fine. We’ll never forget that one because he videotaped the babies coming out, and right when they came out boom! The camera stops.”
Jamie was on bed rest in the hospital for five days prior to she was allowed to return home. She saw her twins in NICU daily, though their interactions were limited.
“The first month, I only got to hold them for two hours total,” she says. “They went through a lot. In the second month, thank God, I got to hold them a little bit more.”
At that time, Jamie worked to reinstate her strength. “My muscles had atrophied quite a bit because I hadn’t used them for sixth months,” she told Us.
Nowadays, the actress says she feels “totally” great” and has her “body back.” Even though Asher “is dealing with acid reflux” and Oliver “is allergic to milk and soy,” Jamie said she is the proud mom of “two normal, healthy babies.”
Regardless of her hard pregnancy and delivery, Jamie Anne wished to add to her brood in the years to come. “I kind of want maybe four more,” she told Us.
“I think it’s really amazing to have a big family. I’ve always wanted one.” She isn’t yet sure if she’ll carry any future children or use a surrogate, but she hopes her story gives other women who’ve been through similar experiences a sense of camaraderie.”
“It was not fun,” she described. “I just like to be open and honest and transparent about stuff like that.”
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes happens during pregnancy (gestation). Alike other types of diabetes, gestational diabetes involve how your cells use sugar (glucose). Gestational diabetes leads to high blood sugar which can affect your pregnancy and your baby’s health.
Any pregnancy complication is concerning, but there is good news. Expectant women can aid to manage gestational diabetes by eating healthy foods, exercising and, if required, taking medication. Regulating blood sugar can avoid a difficult birth and keep you and your baby healthy.
In gestational diabetes, blood sugar generally returns to normal soon after delivery. But if you have had gestational diabetes, you are at risk for type 2 diabetes. You will continue working with your health care team to monitor and manage your blood sugar.
What Are The Symptoms Of Gestational Diabetes?
For the majority of women, gestational diabetes does not cause any noticeable signs or symptoms.
Causes Of Gestational Diabetes
Researchers do not know why some women develop gestational diabetes. To understand how gestational diabetes happens, it can help to understand how pregnancy affects your body’s glucose processing.
Your body digests the food you consume to produce sugar (glucose) which enters your bloodstream. As a result, your pancreas which is a large gland behind your stomach produces insulin. Insulin is a hormone which helps glucose move from your bloodstream into your body’s cells, where it is utilized as energy.
At the time of pregnancy, the placenta, which connects your baby to your blood supply, secretes high levels of various other hormones. About all of them tarnish the action of insulin in your cells, Increasing your blood sugar. Modest elevation of blood sugar after meals is normal during pregnancy.
As your baby grows, the placenta secretes more and more insulin-counteracting hormones. In gestational diabetes, the placental hormones prompt a rise in blood sugar to a level which can affect the growth and welfare of your baby. Gestational diabetes generally develops during the last half of pregnancy sometimes as early as the 20th week, but usually not until later.
