Meet Bianca

• Baby Saves

• 03.21.24

“I started using Count the Kicks with my first pregnancy in 2019. I had to be seen by Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) because I had gestational diabetes. They instilled in me the importance of counting my baby’s kicks since I was high-risk. I found your app on the Apple App Store. It was free to download, had no ads, and was very easy to use. My daughter Vivienne was born healthy in November 2019, and she is now 4 years old!

For this pregnancy, my ‘regular’ OB-GYN said I didn’t need to count her kicks! That didn’t sound right to me. I was also seeing MFM at the same time due to gestational diabetes (again!) and my MFM doctor said I should absolutely count her kicks! So I knew what to do. Count the Kicks was still on my phone, so I hopped right back on and started using it again.  

Bianca was VERY active. She was more active than Vivienne ever was! When Bianca was awake, she was a very strong kicker. My placenta was anterior, so my doctors said I may not feel her kicks as strongly, but they were wrong! It only took me 10 minutes each time to get 10 STRONG, meaningful kicks. 

On Feb. 6, 2024, I was checking her kicks in the morning. She’s usually very active all day, kicking me like I’m a soccer ball. But today was different. I only counted seven very weak kicks in two hours. My instincts knew something was wrong. 

I called my doctor’s office. One of the OB-GYNs said I could come in three hours later for an ultrasound. I said, ‘absolutely not. I am not waiting. I’m going to the hospital NOW.’ She said OK. 

When I got there they checked her heart. It was in the 170s and not coming down. My OB-GYN came in and said Bianca is being delivered tonight. He took into account some minor bleeding I had about three weeks before. I also had gestational diabetes. He said he would regret it the rest of his life if he didn’t deliver her that day. 

Bianca Marie was born that very night via cesarean section at 6:28 p.m. The doctor discovered after delivery that her umbilical cord had a ‘true knot,’ which is not common. We knew she would need lung support in the NICU since she was only 36 weeks. So, we had prepared for that. What we didn’t prepare for was that they would discover two days later that she had kidney and liver dysfunction. 

Every doctor has told us that it’s a miracle she came in for lung issues because if they sent her home with me, they never would have discovered her kidney and liver issues. Just three weeks later her lungs were perfect and her kidney and liver functions were improving.

I trusted my instincts, the doctor trusted his, and Bianca was safely brought into this world where she continues to grow and heal with each day. 

I want to shout this from the rooftops to TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! Going to the hospital is never an issue! Don’t ever be embarrassed! It’s never an overreaction. Even if the baby is fine, you know you did the right thing as a mom to make sure they were OK!

Always count your kicks to learn your baby on a deeper level. Thank you Count the Kicks for being part of our story!” -Veronica B., Bianca’s mom