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BEAU - AUSTRALIA
Stillborn August 27, 2011 Prenatal-onset Mother's GBS Status: Tested positive Gestational Age: No fetal heartbeat confirmed August 27, 2011 ~ delivered August 30, 2011 Age harmed: 30 weeks gestation |
My husband and I found out we were pregnant with our third child in March. The pregnancy was not planned and came as a huge surprise. At 30 weeks I noticed a change in the shape of my stomach, but didn't think too much of it. My husband and I were away from home at the time and were busy shopping, etc. so it wasn't until the next day that I started to realize that I hadn't felt my baby move. We flew home that afternoon and I immediately rang the hospital to talk with the midwives. They assured me that everything would be alright but to come in and have the heart monitor put on so we could hear his heartbeat. There was no heartbeat and my doctor confirmed that my baby had died. I couldn't bring myself to be induced that night. I just couldn't believe what I had just been told. My husband and I went home for the night and by morning I was felt ready to say goodbye.
We had one last ultrasound to make sure, but, of course, it was no use. I was induced on the Monday morning and did not give birth until the Tuesday night. Beau was so perfect, nothing physically wrong at all. My placenta was not good though. My doctor did a post mortem, although we decided not to have Beau sent away for an autopsy. We felt as though the answer would come from the test results from my placenta. About three weeks later I visited with my doctor and he confirmed that the baby and I had GBS. I was put on antibiotics to clear it. I was told that the infection had somehow gotten through to the baby and that it is extremely rare for this to occur. It was so frustrating to know that if I had been tested at some earlier stage in my pregnancy it may have been detected and antibiotics would have cleared it. Even though I was told that this is a 'rare' event, I would hate to think that anyone else would have to go through the pain of losing a child in this manner, simply because the infection is not detected earlier in their pregnancy.
— Emma, Australia
We had one last ultrasound to make sure, but, of course, it was no use. I was induced on the Monday morning and did not give birth until the Tuesday night. Beau was so perfect, nothing physically wrong at all. My placenta was not good though. My doctor did a post mortem, although we decided not to have Beau sent away for an autopsy. We felt as though the answer would come from the test results from my placenta. About three weeks later I visited with my doctor and he confirmed that the baby and I had GBS. I was put on antibiotics to clear it. I was told that the infection had somehow gotten through to the baby and that it is extremely rare for this to occur. It was so frustrating to know that if I had been tested at some earlier stage in my pregnancy it may have been detected and antibiotics would have cleared it. Even though I was told that this is a 'rare' event, I would hate to think that anyone else would have to go through the pain of losing a child in this manner, simply because the infection is not detected earlier in their pregnancy.
— Emma, Australia
