Please help- give me information on cord accidents!

[moonglowmama]

Hi-
I've been trying to help a friend deal with the loss of her baby (stillborn) at 33 weeks gestation due to cod accident. She's been reading online about the symptoms and realized that she had all the symptoms, but didn't realize it meant anything. She feels guilty, like she could have prevented it, if only she had realized.

The loss part I feel comfortable with, because I too had my baby die at the same age almost 5 years ago. But my situation was different, and I don't know much at all about cord accidents.

She said that if moms realize they have the symptoms, they can be monitored to help prevent death. I don't understand how that is true. Can anyone here please explain that to me? I really want to comfort her. Obviously it's not her fault, but I'd love to give her information to help her guilt.

Thank you Thank you!

[AlpineMama]

Er... sorry, but what symptoms are we talking about again?

[moonglowmama]

lots of movement, then slower movements. Lots of hiccuping. One doctor studied over 1,000 cases and found "pregnancies in which
the placenta is situated to the posterior are more
susceptible to cord accidents than ones in which the
placenta is located elsewhere; and that more than
three episodes of fetal hiccupping per day in late
pregnancy may be indicative of a disruption in cord
flow to the baby."

Perhaps there's more, that's all she's mentioned, and I'm having difficulty finding the same information.

[tankgirlhi]

Wow. I've never heard that info before. My DS had hiccups all day my third trimester and none of the doctors I saw ever seemed to be worried at all.

[mamallama]

Last spring a beloved friend of mine lost her term baby shortly after birth due to some unexplained event either just before or during labor.

The search for answers is maddening.

The thing is, we look at the available information, weigh the risks and choose a course of action based on the safest options. The symptoms you've listed are in no way definitive. If every mom who presented with those symptoms had a pre-emptive cesarean birth at the time of discovery, I'm sure you can guess what the mortality/morbidity rate would look like. Even if your friend had known she was experiencing some amorphous set of risk factors, I'm betting that continuing the pregnancy was still statistically (and since no one can predict the future, that's the best we can do,) her best shot at giving her baby a safe birth.

I'm so sorry for your friend's loss, and for your own.

[TxMominCT]

I'm no expert, just a nursing student with a lot of research done in this area (since it's what I want to do!!) but here's how they can "save the baby" Especially after 32 weeks or so, docs have little qualms about just sectioning the baby. So if the mom's present with these symptoms, they'll go on bedrest, monitor the baby constantly and section ASAP no later than 36 weeks. They will more than likely section sooner anytime after 32 weeks especially if they give the Mom/baby the steroids that help the lungs develop more quickly. The problem with this is MANY Mom's (especially the more paranoid or Mom's more in tune with their bodies) will have these symptoms and they mean absolutely nothing. I'm sure we've all had friends with these symptoms who had fine and healthy babes. So it's a no win situation really. One of my best friends lost her baby due to a cord accident a little younger than this. It is horrific. I wish her the best of luck. She needs to try not to feel guilty though, she didn't do anything wrong!!

[moonglowmama]

thanks Kathryn and mamallama. Your reasoning is sound, the tricky part is how to convey those ideas in love while helping her realize that really there was nothing she could have done. Or, like Kathryn mentioned, nothing she probably would have chosen (though it's hard to think about, right now she probably feels like she would go through any amount of pain and risk for the chance of having a living baby).

[mamallama]

Even if she'd chosen the monitoring & c/s route, the risks of that kind of intervention have to be weighed against the risks of doing nothing. If the intervention decreases mortality but increases morbidity, what's the real difference?

This is crazy making stuff. I've done it.

As far as helping her, let your heart be your guide. Holding the space for grief is the hardest thing I've ever done.