Do any of you mamas have anxiety about babys health?

[swtmama2be]

I keep trying to tell myself everything will be fine, and that I'll be able to handle what ever the universe gives me...but I can't help having angst....I'm so nervous about birth defects and other problems. Do any of you mamas feel this way? I'm so excited to meet this baby next week, but as the date gets closer I get more fearful. I feel ashamed about this....it doesn't mean I wont love my baby....I'm already so in love.....the unknown is just taking a toll. I've had alot of U/S b/c of Placenta Previa and the baby's face looks kind of distorted every time, the lips, nose & chin seem huge to me. I feel so guilty just writing this. Am I A bad mom already? Aaaaghhhhh... :

[umami_mommy]

well, you know i was doing just fine (mananged to get past the panic i have been feeling about SD and cord compression) and someone on a local AP list thoughtlessly posted that a woman who was due last monday had a stillborn baby yesterday.

when i say thoughtlessly, i mean she just posted it on the list with no spoiler or anything in the subject line and i read it like i would any email and now i can't seem to get it out of my mind.

so, i'm not worried about a sick baby, i'm worried about no baby. this baby doesn't move like my son did and now i feel a bit scared when there isn't any movement for a few hours at a time.

[p1gg1e]

Originally Posted by honeybeedreams

someone on a local AP list thoughtlessly posted that a woman who was due last monday had a stillborn baby yesterday.

I had that happen on my board also..It freaked me out.



Not much longer to go and we will all be fine!

[elmh23]

My daughter has recently been sick a lot. She's come down with everything that's going around. Not horrible, since we're seeing kids more, but still. The reactions she has when she's sick are scarring the crap out of me (extreme eczema!!! and other stuff) and her allergies are also scarring me (soy and peanuts and it seems drugs.)

Anyways, at this point, I'm more scared that this one will have the same issues. I don't know if I'd be able to handle any more problems on top of hers. Plus, just trying to get of soy, I'm failing miserably. Thankfully, her reaction to it isn't severe : or else I don't know what I'd do.

[preggymeaggy]

I totally freak myself out sometimes, and I have to just remember to breath and think of something else...."everything will be fine". Swtmama2be....you are not a bad mommy....I think all first mommies feel what you feel. Maybe all expectant mommies, period. Since the topic came up........my sister-in-law had a still born in October. It was horrible. The baby, a girl, was totally full-term and perfect...and the cord had gotten around her neck. She went in for a normal check up and found out...well you know. So, I have had this scare in my head for over three months now. Not to mention, that everyone seems to have no problem talking to me about it. AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cry a little everytime someone says something to me. It's so embarrassing. My little girl is not a huge mover either, so I get the little worries sometimes, and I have to eat something sugary, lie down, and then I laugh ALL the way through her move-fest.

Let's not start the worrying ladies. Positive thoughts. That's what we need, along with rest and good food. Worrying won't change anything. Just remember that. Hugs to all who have late night worry thoughts!

[timneh_mom]

you're not a bad mommy!!! We all love our babies, and I think it's normal to be a little worried about their health. After all it won't be the first (or the last) time we worry about them! I am sure part of it is just being anxious now that you know you have a date set... it's hard not to worry about stuff!! Hang in there, we don't have much time left, and we'll all be with our babies in our arms instead of our tummies!!

[raeinparis]

yeah, i can have terrible anxiety if i give myself about 20 seconds and some free time. it was bad with ds but went away as soon as he came out and i'm trying to focus on that. for that pregnancy i did more of the standard tests and was more scared (triple test, that sort of thing).

now i'm scared because i heard about a woman i know having a baby with a sick heart. but it's not nearly as sick as was predicted -- it was suggested to her at her 7 month scan that she terminate because they said her son had a problem with his aorta. she said no, they induced her (boo!) and the team was ready to go to work on the little guy but his heart problem isn't so bad! i need to focus on the positive sometimes.

thanks for letting me know that i'm not alone!

[umami_mommy]

Originally Posted by preggymeaggy

Since the topic came up........my sister-in-law had a still born in October. It was horrible. The baby, a girl, was totally full-term and perfect...and the cord had gotten around her neck. She went in for a normal check up and found out...well you know.

actually 25% of all babies are born with a nucal cord.... it doesn't really mean anything. the worst thing about a thrid trimester or full term loss is that the reason for the baby's death is usually not known. it's a mystery.

a cord around a baby's neck is not likely to cause any problems in the womb unless there was some very strange reason for a cord compression before birth.

[MoonWillow]

Originally Posted by honeybeedreams

well, you know i was doing just fine (mananged to get past the panic i have been feeling about SD and cord compression) and someone on a local AP list thoughtlessly posted that a woman who was due last monday had a stillborn baby yesterday.

when i say thoughtlessly, i mean she just posted it on the list with no spoiler or anything in the subject line and i read it like i would any email and now i can't seem to get it out of my mind.

so, i'm not worried about a sick baby, i'm worried about no baby. this baby doesn't move like my son did and now i feel a bit scared when there isn't any movement for a few hours at a time.

I'm right there with you. I saw it too. I'm trying not to think about it, but how do you do that?

[kyndfolk]

I know exactly what you mean... I am expecting my first baby and I have been freaking out since the beginning about birth defects and health problems.... Just remember that most babys are born perfect and healthy....I'm sure that everything will be fine... Good luck!

[preggymeaggy]

Originally Posted by honeybeedreams

actually 25% of all babies are born with a nucal cord.... it doesn't really mean anything. the worst thing about a thrid trimester or full term loss is that the reason for the baby's death is usually not known. it's a mystery.

a cord around a baby's neck is not likely to cause any problems in the womb unless there was some very strange reason for a cord compression before birth.

Yeah....all I really know is that her newborn was born with a nucal cord and all else seemed to be perfectly normal. I asked my OBGYN about it when that was going down. She said that basically nucal cords can happen frequently, but it is VERY rare when they actually cause death (however it is possible). She said that she's seen it before, and when it happens it is a complete tragedy. The thing is I don't really know all the details, and I'm not sure how far they went to find out what had happened.....sometimes, like you said, it's just a mystery.
Well...here's to the end of that conversation! Happy thoughts and heathly babies!!

[mf_colon]

I also worry. I know it sounds silly but I worry that this baby will be too small! I will 40 weeks tomorrow and my belly is not too big and according to my MW I will probably have a six pounder...: For some reason this has caused me worry as if the baby not being bigger means it will not be as healthy, I know very silly but those are the irrational worries I have been plauged with this pregnancy. I guess it is because on both sides of the family there have been nothing but big babies- 8 pounds or more. I actually cannot wait to give birth just to alleviate some of these fears.

I would be more worried if you did NOT worry!!

[ibusymomto5]

Worry overshadowed much of the last half of this pregnancy for me. About midway through the pregnancy at a routine ultrasound the sonographer pointed out 3 soft markers for Down's Syndrome. Even though I had a follow up level 3 ultrasound a few weeks later that showed nothing, we still worried in the back of our minds about the possiblity of it. Abortion was never an option for us, so we skipped the risky amnio and decided to just deal with the possiblity of having a child with DS. I knew I already deeply loved my baby girl no matter what anyway, but the closer the due date got the more I worried. It helped me to read story after story of false alarms and also to read positive outcome healthy birth stories. In the end our baby girl is totally healthy and normal. I've lost a little faith in ultrasounds as a result of what we went through and gained a little more faith in the fact that the vast majority of births are healthy when mom takes care of herself prenataly. One positive thing that came from it all is that I look at children with DS or other defects for that matter in a totally different way than I did before we faced the real possibility for ourselves.

Anyway, best wishes to all of you still waiting. I can so relate to the way you're feeling, but it won't be long at all till you're holding your sweet little ones safely on the outside.