Meet Anastasia

• Baby Saves

• 03.24.22

“I heard about the Count the Kicks application at my doctor’s office. I started using the app at 20 weeks. Prior to that time I was having complications in my pregnancy, so the application gave me peace of mind knowing that I was doing everything in my power to make sure my daughter was safe and moving like she should. Throughout the course of my pregnancy she moved at regular intervals and continued to do great during her kick counts at 10 kicks within 5 minutes. 

Around 32 weeks I started to develop pre-hypertension; the doctor saw that my daughter wasn’t gaining much weight and decided to have me induced at 37 weeks. I continued to use the Count the Kicks app to make sure she was moving as she should. I started to notice changes in how she was moving; she was still able to do the 10 kicks, but it was taking her longer to do so as the weeks passed. I notified one of the ob-gyn doctors at 34 weeks and was told it was normal for that to happen.

At 35 weeks 5 days I noticed that during any Braxton Hicks contractions my daughter would stop moving and then start to move a lot in a short period of time. This was unusual for her to do and I was concerned with the spike in her change. At my appointment the next day I mentioned this to my regular ob-gyn and to be on the safe side they did a non-stress test. 

During the test I had multiple contractions, at which point my daughter was showing signs of fetal distress; her heart rate was dropping to a dangerous level. Her movement after was a sign of her going into distress and her fight response was kicking in. My OB sent us to the hospital for further monitoring, that was at 9 a.m. on June 8, 2020. You can imagine the fear that finding out while having just the smallest contraction is causing your unborn child to go into distress. 

At the hospital they continued to monitor my daughter and me. Throughout the day she was continuing to not handle the contractions; at 11:30 p.m. I was told that they could no longer wait to see how she would do and needed to deliver her immediately. My daughter was born via cesarean at 12:18 a.m. on June 9, 2020. She was overall healthy, but due to issues with keeping her glucose level up and eating issues she did spend 7 days in the NICU.

If it wasn’t for Count the Kicks and the tracking system to show my daughter’s decline I would have never realized there was any issue and could have lost her [Anastasia]. I am thankful every day to this application and the resources it has provided my family to make sure we had a safe delivery.” -Sheri S., Anastasia’s mom

(Editor’s Note: Babies do not slow down or run out of room at the end of pregnancy. They should continue moving up to and even during labor. It is important to report any changes in your baby’s normal movement pattern to your healthcare provider or go directly to the hospital to request monitoring.)