“I felt my body pushing. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t hold back any longer. He came out as we turned from the main road to the hospital. I looked at my husband and said, ‘Why isn’t he crying?!’ We were both in shock. The umbilical chord was wrapped around his neck. All I wanted was to hear that first deep breath and newborn baby cry.”
‘We’re going to have this baby, like right now!!!’ On the bed of our Ford pickup truck, I felt him crowning.’: Woman names baby ‘Ford’ after accidental birth in the back of her pickup truck, ‘he’ll always have a story to tell’
‘It’s OK to let go, baby. We promise he’ll take care of you.’ I felt her life leave her broken body.’: Couple lose newborn daughter to ‘totally random umbilical cord accident’
“She was suffering. The nurse wanted to try another medication to help ease her pain. Our daughter had an immediate reaction and stopped breathing. My baby was dying in my living room. Matt was racing home from work. ‘Please never let her suffer this way ever again.’ My heart couldn’t handle watching my baby endure this. Her body was tired. She’s now an angel in heaven.”
‘I felt the doctor reach inside me. Blood spilled out. I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes.’: Mom survives ‘near-death birthing experience,’ admits to ‘physical, emotional trauma’ 10 years later
“My son was limp and blue, an umbilical cord choked around his neck. My face was so swollen my eyelids were turned upside down. I heard whimpers, more gushes. I called out to my husband. His voice weakly managed, ‘I love you’ as I was wheeled out of the room. He was left sitting on the hospital room floor, in a pool of my blood. The family my husband and I had always dreamed of was now painfully impossible.”
‘I’m 25 years old. This is my first baby. I couldn’t even look at my husband. But the second I held him, I was madly in love.’: Mom says despite what she was told about Down syndrome diagnosis, ‘this boy was going to be a blessing’
”When Joshua was born, there was no cry. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and the doctor had to pry it off piece by piece. The second I saw him, I knew. At that moment, everything changed.”
‘Does it look too big?’ Our perfect, happy, healthy baby boy had a belly full of tumors. Cancerous tumors.’: Mom’s newborn diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, says ‘every little moment’ with loved ones is a ‘reason to celebrate’
“When our pediatrician comes back in, I see fear on her face. I feel the air leaving my lungs, my chest feels so heavy. She tells me his liver and spleen are enlarged, so enlarged the radiologist who read his X-ray asked, ‘How sick is this baby?!’ He’s not sick at all! He’s smiling and laughing, he’s perfect. I rush toward the elevator, a literal sobbing mess. How did I not know this? I thought I knew shock and devastation. I had no idea.”
‘I love inspecting the vessels in umbilical cords. My awe never ceases over how our bodies are so intricately woven in the womb. I love to share my excitement over what others consider ‘gross.’
“A lot of people think it’s just a ‘tube’ of sorts transporting nutrients to their baby. But…it’s so much more intricately designed than that!”
‘Did I really experience that or was it a dream? The pastor asks, ‘Have you had any problems with your pregnancy?’ I reply ‘NO.’’
“Immediately I call my husband. I asked him to meet me at the hospital (still no tears and I don’t understand). The lady informs me my baby boy died 3 days ago.”
‘Her worried look spoke volumes. ‘How much did you weigh before this pregnancy?’ My doctor laid a hand on my leg.’: Mom’s harrowing journey with umbilical cord not giving son enough nutrients
“’I’m sure it’s nothing. Some babies are just small,’ she said. I was beginning to make connections in my head. I had been 115 pounds before pregnancy, and was now down to 94 pounds. But weren’t pregnant women supposed to gain weight? ‘There is a blood flow issue. The umbilical cord isn’t working properly.’ I heard nothing else.”
‘Babies don’t have strokes! Or so we thought.’ Mom warns of son’s pediatric stroke in the womb, wasn’t aware until he was 6 months old
“It was a massive stroke. Big enough to kill a grown man. It was horrifying. This could not be happening to us.”
‘There is no heartbeat’: Mom turns devastating stillbirth at full term into opportunity to make a difference for ‘other parents who will walk this road’
“Over and over I sobbed into Tony’s neck, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I carried her. I should have kept her safe. What did I do wrong? Did I sleep on my back? Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that lunchmeat. Why didn’t I make my doctor induce that morning?”
