Meet Luiza
- Baby Saves
“I learned about Count the Kicks at my 24-week appointment, I was given a brochure and a magnet and was told about the free app. I was able to learn my baby’s normal movement pattern because I was using the Count the Kicks app to count her kicks every evening. My pregnancy was completely normal and my baby was in good health until I noticed a drop in her movements around 36 weeks.
It was a Monday morning when I noticed things felt different. Her kicks weren’t as strong and it was taking her much longer to reach her 10 movements, but I was still feeling hiccups. It wasn’t until later that I learned that hiccups don’t count as a trackable movement. The next day I felt extra stress because I noticed something was off all day while I was at work. I knew in my gut that something was wrong. After work I laid down, drank juice* and waited. There was only a small flutter, but it wasn’t her normal movement.
On Wednesday I brought up her lack of movement at my 36-week appointment. My doctor ran a non-stress test (NST) where she noticed lots of small heart decelerations. I was sent directly to the hospital. I had nothing ready. Her nursery wasn’t organized, my hospital bag wasn’t packed, we didn’t even have a car seat yet.
I was kept overnight for monitoring, and as the night progressed her heart rate continued to drop regardless of the position I was in. About 30 minutes after being checked by a nurse, I was being prepped for an emergency cesarean section. There was a sense of urgency, but the medical team was absolutely amazing at keeping me calm.
Luiza was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck three times and her body twice, which was the reason for her decreased movements. My doctor told me had I waited any longer our ending would have been quite different.
I encourage all expectant mamas to Count the Kicks and always pay attention to your baby’s movements.” -Jenna D., Luiza’s mom
Editor’s Note: Research shows that fetal movement is best monitored without interventions like juice, candy, or drinking ice water.
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