Four years ago today, I was sitting at home, 40w3d pregnant and happily overdue.
“You’re just pregnant,” they said, and I didn’t know any better.
At my 40-week appointment, I let them know my son wasn’t moving as much as usual, and again they weren’t concerned.
“Babies run out of room,” they said, and I believed them.
I was a first time parent, and I was worried about being the problem patient; the worrier; the one who cried wolf.
Looking back, I wish I had been screaming, because my son was dying inside of me and nobody had any idea.
And I think back to the times I had heard the common saying, “Babies come when they’re ready,” and like the other things, I believed it.
I was educated and I felt informed, and somehow this one statement slipped through my radar.
The fact is, though, that babies don’t always come on time. 10% of all babies are born prematurely. And worse than that, 0.6% are born already deceased.
My son was born deceased. And until it happened to me, I had no idea.
My story isn’t the most common one. I think it’s important to recognize that. Most people with a headache and similar symptoms are just pregnant. Most people’s stories don’t end like mine.
My story matters anyway.
My story, and my son’s.
Because four years ago today, I was happily pregnant. And four years ago next Tuesday, my son very silently died.
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Read more about preeclampsia via the Preeclampsia Foundation.
Read more about elective induction at term: “Elective induction of labor at 39 weeks compared with expectant management: a meta-analysis of cohort studies” by William A. Grobman, MD, MBA and Aaron B. Caughey, MD, PhD
Related Posts:
Miranda’s Blog: It’s so much more than high blood pressure; What I wish I’d know about Preeclampsia before it killed my child
Miranda’s Story: Problems in my Pregnancy?
Miranda’s Blog: Warning Signs Prior to Adrian’s Stillbirth
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