Remembering our babies…

Bulleted sections of interest:

• Consequently, by 8 weeks gestation, if a fetal heart beat had been identified, the chances of a successful outcome in a subsequent pregnancy were 98%, climbing to 99.4% at 10 weeks gestation.
• Women with a history of two previous miscarriages had similar chances of success in a subsequent pregnancy to those that had a history of three previous miscarriages (76 versus 79% respectively, as calculated from the logistic regression model).
• The concept of gestational milestones has been used to predict pregnancy success at 6, 8 and 10 weeks gestation. For the entire population there was a 22% loss rate at 6 weeks gestation, which dramatically fell to 2% at 8 weeks and subsequently at 10 weeks gestation fell to 0.6% of the remaining population. The conclusion would be that the most perilous time of gestation for women with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage is between 6 and 8 weeks.
• Women with a history of idiopathic recurrent miscarriage, understandably exhibit a marked stress reaction following early diagnosis of a subsequent pregnancy. Ultrasound reassurance and emotional support in a specialized Miscarriage Clinic may address this problem and go some way to alleviating this stress.

The last point emphasises the importance of involving an empathetic physician who is vested professionally in having their patient go onto a successful pregnancy. Too many times, women begin to “accept” their pregnancy’s fate and no longer bother seeking their physician’s advice. If your doctor (and one that is acutely aware of your recurrent miscarriage history) who once he is told that you are newly pregnant has you wait until nine weeks to see you, it’s time to find a new doctor.

Support by not just your physician, but loved ones, is crucial within the early stages of a pregnancy. Do not accept and “wait and see” attitude and complacency from anyone, including yourself.

When I return, sometime after the 30th, I will update any new requests as soon as possible. I will also try to get some additional links as well as some research reports up. I received some interesting data on recurrent miscarriages that I personally found encouraging. I’ll link to that as well.

This vacation coincidently falls on my due date of my third pregnancy that I lost in November. If I had not miscarried earlier this month, I would have been 7 weeks pregnant. So instead of daydreaming on the beach about a new baby, I will be daydreaming on the beach so I can avoid my husband’s niece who announced her pregnancy earlier this week.

My goal is to insure my son has a memorable time and that I enjoy every new freckle that he gets doing so.

****************

Edited to add: Just a housekeeping note, since the dates are added to the Pages and not through Posts, this site will not show as updated in bloglines, reader.google or similar administrations.

That our programs will serve to strengthen families and communities when a child has died, and that through education and research, we will help to reduce the number of child deaths. No family should have to endure the pain of a child family member’s death alone: The MISS Foundation is committed to building interdisciplinary communities that provide long-term support to families after a child’s death. We are committed to the memory of the children who lived, who died, and who continue- even in death- to matter.

“A community of sorrow is the strongest community of all.”

The website has a great deal of information, including Saying Goodbye to Your Child, Resources for Dads, and purchasing either “In Mourning” or “One Who Sours” wristbands. I decided to get the latter.

It looks like there are currently support groups in at least half the states in the US. Unfortunately, there is not one in Nebraska…yet.