Still Birth
WGN9 Chicago, PrimeTimeTonight, Monday, March 3, 2003

Preventing a problem most women don't even know about. Nor do they want to talk about. Education could make the difference for keeping a baby alive.

When women become pregnant their obstetrician will likely never tell them there's a chance they can carry their baby to term -- only to have a still birth. The risk is there. Many women might not want to hear it. But those who have been through it say knowledge is power and women need to know what they can do to possibly prevent it.

Home video shows how big Antoinette Ayers baby was getting. The soon-to-be first-time mom got all ready for her little girl. And looked foward to the next doctor visit when she would again hear her baby's heart beat.

"Her heart sounded strong and the examinations were routine," Antionette says.

Antoinette's pregnancy was progressing perfectly. Then, one day, silence.

"When they tell you the news, it is the most shocking and devastating thing that someone can tell you when you have been bouncing along in a happy pregnancy for nine months. That's crushing," she says.

Antoinette was in labor and her baby was dead. Looking back, the only hint of a problem was that her baby wasn't moving as much in her last days.

Decreased movement was a sign Mary Geitz knew well, but even after four stillbirths her doctor wasn't concerned.

"I told him the baby wasn't moving as much, they sent me home and said that was normal," Mary says.

Doctors say women often perceive a decrease in movements as the baby gets bigger and has less room inside the mother's uterus. But in this case, Mary's baby was calling out for help.

"Two days later my baby was dead," she says.

And with each lost baby, Mary had to go through labor and delivery. Now she wants to work to let others know how to count their baby's kicks.

Mary advises, "Once a day, making sure that you can feel 10 movements within a two hour period."

It's advice Dr. James Keller, Illinois Masonic's Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine, tells all of his patients.

"We do impress upon them the importance of acting upon the perception of decreased fetal movement. It does require a follow-up test which is generally being hooked up to a fetal monitor," Dr. Keller says.

Any change in movement requires a more in-depth test of the baby's health. The cord might be choking the baby or a blood clot could be starving the baby of blood and oxygen, problems early delivery might resolve. But in some cases the baby has a congenital defect. And there is no way to save them.

"I wouldn't want any mother to think, who's gone through this, who's had a still birth, that had she reacted more rapidly that she could have prevented the outcome," says Dr. Keller.

For possible prevention, pathologists look under the microscope for answers to why seemingly healthy babies die. And perhaps advice for doctors and mothers to prevent it in the future.

"You find out after the fact that there's lots of us that had healthy pregnancies and lost our babies at the end with no answers," Antionette says.

RESOURCES

MISS Foundation: www.missfoundation.org A national organization dedicated to supporting families who experience the death of a baby or young child.