Ree Drummond’s Daughter Had a Scary Post-Birth Health Emergency

Ree Drummond‘s daughter Alex welcomed her first child in December, and both the new mom and the Pioneer Woman star have since shared many of the highlights of life so far with baby girl Sofia.

But Alex’s postpartum experience hasn’t been easy.

Over the weekend, she revealed that just one day after bringing Sofia home, she had to go back to the hospital to deal with a scary medical ordeal of her own.

Alex was diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia, a rare and serious condition that typically develops within 48 hours after childbirth.

• According to the Mayo Clinic, the hallmarks of the condition are “high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine.”
• It can cause symptoms like severe headaches, abdominal pain and nausea.
• Untreated postpartum preeclampsia can cause serious complications like seizures and organ damage, and can even be fatal.

In an Instagram Stories slide, Alex relates that she was dealing with elevated blood pressure throughout her pregnancy, and at her 37-week appointment, she even made a trip to labor and delivery to check her blood pressure issues. She didn’t wind up having to deliver right then, but the following week, her doctor scheduled an induction as Alex’s blood pressure continued to remain moderately heightened.

Read More: Alex Drummond Shares a Peek Into Her Birth Story

Her induction process and birth went according to plan, and the happy family of three were discharged from the hospital. But just one night later, Alex was experiencing some troubling symptoms.

“I noticed some pretty severe swelling in my legs which didn’t happen my entire pregnancy so that caused me to take my [blood pressure] at home and it was 160/110,” Alex recounts. “I called my doctor’s on-call line and they told me to go back to the hospital.”

Between the scary health news and the thought of leaving her brand new baby, she admits she was an “emotional wreck.” Fortunately, Ree Drummond was there to help Alex’s husband Mauricio care for the baby.

“So thankful for our village!” Alex notes.

After she got her diagnosis, Alex began a course of medication that had “horrible” physical side effects, culminating in a time that she says was “one of the worst experiences ever.” Of course, one of the hardest parts was being away from her baby, and she says hospital nurses helped her navigate the process of pumping breast milk to send home to Sofia.

She and Mauricio FaceTimed often, and finally, Sofia was able to come to the hospital and be with her mom. Alex says she stayed in the hospital for two more nights of monitoring, but Sofia and Mauricio were able to be there with her, which was “wayyyy better for my mental state.”

The family came home on December 24 — “a Christmas miracle,” Alex says — and she says she’s doing much better after her scary bout with postpartum preeclampsia, though she’s still battling “a mean case of mastitis.”

Read More: Ree Drummond Thanks God After Welcoming First Grandchild

“My body is regulating back to normal and we are just adjusting to life with a newborn,” she sums up. “… I’m hoping that I’m getting all these hard things out of the way early and will be in the clear moving forward LOL.”

But ultimately, she reiterated all the joy and gratitude she feels for the experience of welcoming a healthy, happy baby.

Read More: Country Stars Who Are Welcoming Babies in 2025

“Birth is such a miracle!” Alex says. “Thank you for all the love over the past couple of weeks, every sweet comment has brought so much joy to us!”

Sofia is the first grandchild born to The Pioneer Woman star and her husband, Ladd Drummond. Alex is the eldest of the Drummonds’ five children.