Meet Gus

• Baby Saves

• 04.28.22

“Prior to my third trimester of pregnancy, I came across the Count the Kicks App and loved how easy it was to use. As I started kick counting daily, I noticed when my son was most active. I developed a strong awareness about his patterns and found kick counting reassuring.

One busy Friday morning, when I was 34 weeks, 4 days gestation, I noticed that Gus was not moving, which was a definite change in his normal movement pattern. I tried several things to get him to move – jumping jacks, cold water, sugary foods, laying on my side, poking my belly – but nothing seemed to work. He did get hiccups, but I knew that was involuntary movement and did not count and can actually be a sign of distress in rare cases.

I decided to call my OB, who asked me to come to the office to be evaluated. When I arrived at the office, I was given a Biophysical Profile ultrasound and my son only received a score of 4 out of a possible 8, which meant I was sent on to hospital to be monitored. A Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist was consulted and repeated the BPP testing to find the results worse than before – there was an absence of blood flow in the cord and no movement from the baby. After those results, both my Ob/Gyn and MFM doctor recommended an emergency C-section.

Less than an hour later, at the time of delivery, it was discovered that Gus had a true knot in his umbilical cord and the cord was wrapped around his neck three times. My doctors and the nurses told me they were so grateful that I came in because they believe it saved my son’s life. After a six-day stay in the NICU (shorter than the original 2-3 weeks they expected), Gus came home and continues to thrive.

I am so thankful for the Count the Kicks App for helping me build an awareness of my son’s movements and for being a tool that helped save his life.” -Dixie P., Gus’ mom

(Editor’s Note: Research shows that fetal movement is best monitored without interventions like juice, candy, or drinking ice water. If your baby is not moving, it is important to go directly to the hospital for testing and monitoring.)