Meet Isla

• Baby Saves

• 12.16.21

“My pregnancy from the get-go was very difficult. The feeling of anxiety making sure I was doing everything right for baby Isla was my number one priority. Being a FTM (first time mom) as well raised more questions on what was normal and what wasn’t, so I constantly found myself in a tunnel of struggle with all the questions I had. 

Until I was 28 weeks I was being seen at a military hospital as I was sent with the National Guard for a mission that lasted nine months. When I came back to Bismarck, N.D., I started my care here, when I met with a lady who was a lactation specialist/nurse. I voiced to her and my OB all of my consistent issues during the pregnancy and the nurse gave me a folder which included a pamphlet on Count the Kicks and she explained what a beneficial app it could be for me, as decreased fetal movement along with my daughter’s heart condition, were a consistent concern. I began using the app at my 30-31 week mark on an everyday basis and my anxiety decreased by so much since I could physically see how often she kicked, which brought me reassurance. 

Around my 34-week mark I started to see a very steady decrease in my baby’s movements. I went to the hospital’s labor and delivery unit for it and was told it was normal and to just hydrate. As a first-time mom I struggled to just ignore my concern, but trusted that I was being led the right way by a team of medical professionals and went about my day. I had a total of around four visits to labor and delivery. 

On Friday, Oct. 22, I was 37 weeks and a few days. I noticed a very significant decrease in Isla’s movements, which brought a great amount of anxiety and concern for me. I called my OB and she had me come in for monitoring and get a NST. I still had not felt any movement and I very clearly voiced my concern and I knew something was very off about her movements due to my consistent tracking with the Count the Kicks app. 

I ended up being induced that day after my NST since she hadn’t kicked and didn’t pass the non stress test. When we started the induction process we noticed some concerns with the baby’s heart rate in line with the intensity of my contractions, every time I contracted her heart rate dipped a significant amount, which worried the OB, nurses and myself. The baby was extremely stressed with my contractions and I wasn’t progressing with my dilation which resulted in an emergency C-Section. 

Had I not been able to monitor my kicks with the app, even my OB said it could have been dangerous for the baby and myself. After I delivered and went home I was told my placenta had an infection, which could have been deadly for Isla and myself, so I endlessly thank the team that helped me deliver, my OB for acknowledging my concerns and doing what was best for my baby and myself. And most importantly the app; it saved Isla’s life, as we don’t know what could have happened had I not seen the significant decrease in her movements and had her delivered that very day.” -Bianca A., Isla’s mom