Hello! My name is Meghan Stevenot, and I am the Count the Kicks Ambassador for Central Ohio. I live in Dublin, Ohio with my husband, Chris, our three living children, and two Australian shepherds.
On Sept. 11, 2020, our second baby, Charlie, was stillborn at 32 weeks. I remember watching the sun come up that morning and hardly believing a new day was beginning while our world felt like it was over. Everyone who cared for us told us he was perfect, and that an autopsy would be expensive and would not give us any answers. It was only later that I remembered I had noticed less movement.
At my 30 week appointment it took the nurse longer to find his heartbeat, and when I said something about the change she told me he was running out of room.* So I went looking for answers. I learned how common stillbirth is, and how little research and education there is around it. A late night Google search led me to Count the Kicks, and for the first time I felt seen and heard. I messaged Heather Johnston Welliver and told her I wanted to get involved.
Almost one year after Charlie died, pregnant with our third baby, I walked in Lydie’s Loop, the event she hosts every year, and my eyes were opened to understanding that grief and joy could co-exist. I am passionate about maternal health and babies.
I volunteer for our local pregnancy center and I am a peer supporter for bereaved families. I have gone to Nationwide Children’s Hospital bereaved parent events as a support person for families and I have met with Ohio members of Congress to ask them to support the SHINE for Autumn Act as well as the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act.
I believe every one of us is made in the image of God, that every mother deserves good care and birth outcomes, and that every baby’s life matters. Charlie is why I am here. If sharing our story helps one mom trust what she is feeling and feels empowered to make the call, that is more than enough for me.
*Editor’s note: Babies do not run out of room at the end of pregnancy. The types of movements may change (more jabs, fewer rolls), but babies should move up to and even during labor. If an expectant parent is monitoring their baby’s movements at the same time each day, it should take about the same amount of time to feel 10 movements.
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