Meet Petru

• Baby Saves

• 08.12.25

“I started listening to podcasts on YouTube during my pregnancy and I found the channel Prenatal Yoga Center. It was there where I found out about Count the Kicks. Out of all interviews on that YouTube channel, the one with Shawn Soumilas (Count the Kicks Ambassador in Arizona) was the most valuable. 

I was 37 weeks pregnant and everything was going well. The baby was kicking and moving a lot. Then, one Sunday, something changed — the movements started to be less and less and not as powerful anymore. I started to become worried and waited for the night, when he would usually be more active, but even then the situation did not improve. The next morning, on Monday, I contacted the doctor and she immediately made an appointment with a specialist.

The same evening I went there and I was told that there were problems with the placenta and that the baby was not receiving enough oxygen. I was already 3 centimeters dilated and could have a normal birth if the situation improved, but I was also told to be prepared for a cesarean section. 

I was given a supplement and told to monitor the kicks and see if there were improvements. I took the supplement, but the improvements were minor. I talked to my doctor again and Tuesday she scheduled another appointment to monitor the baby’s heartbeat and it was again not very good. 

Because I have ulcerative colitis they wanted to avoid a C-section as much as they could and told me to eat something sweet and they repeated the test. I ate three bananas and the heartbeats improved, but the doctor decided it was too much of a risk to wait and decided to schedule the operation the next day. 

Although she had many patients, Ms. Pelin was always in touch, she called me again the same evening and told me she wanted to do the C-section at 11 a.m., on Wednesday, and for that she wanted to clear part of her schedule. After a few more questions about the kicks she assured me that the baby was going to be fine until the next day, but I was in such distress because I only felt him weakly that she decided to do the operation that night.

I was asked when I last ate, which was about 2 hours ago (at 6 p.m.) and she said to drop everything and go to the hospital. My doctor waited for me at the hospital and I was quickly prepared for the C-section. I barely had time to process what was going on. 

My son was born at 10 p.m. that Tuesday, just two days after noticing the difference in his kicking pattern. The doctor and hospital staff were amazing. They let the father sit with our baby at the NICU and then brought the baby to me and tried to help him latch, but he was weak. After seeing that they asked for permission to do some tests and found out that he had an infection. 

The reason was not known. They could only guess that I might have caught a cold, a virus or something similar and while it did not affect me, it did affect the baby. The doctor had one mother who had a similar problem. She had recurring UTI’s during pregnancy and had to take antibiotics because of it. She healed, but the baby was affected by the infections, so it is something to be wary about. 

My son had to stay in the hospital for 10 days where he was given antibiotics and my doctor told me that my case is one she does not usually have and that my baby was saved by my monitoring of his kicks, considering how quickly the situation changed and evolved. 

I cannot thank Count the Kicks enough for everything you do and I believe that it was because of this information that I can hold my son in my arms today.” -Ana B., Petru’s mom