Unexpected News

Dear Stella Rose,

Mama was expecting to go to your 26 week appointment and you would be measuring right where you should be and that her belly would be measuring right at 26 centimeters. Mama and papa went straight in to do the ultrasound.

It was so neat to see you moving around and just how much bigger you had grown! You measured at 26 weeks and 1 day, only a day off from your due date. You measured right in the 50th percentile, except your legs measured in the 10th percentile! You just might be tall!

So far, so good...

Next was the visit with Dr. Kerlin where mama and papa awaited the belly measurement results. Instead, Dr. Kerlin came in and said that everything with you looked good, except the amniotic fluid was lower than normal. She said she had called the specialist, Dr. Dungy, at Maternal Fetal Medicine to see if they could squeeze in a last minute appointment before 5:00.

Mama was concerned. She asked Dr. Kerlin what it meant regarding your health to have low fluid, but she said she'd rather wait and see if the specialist got the same results and then talk about it. Mama and papa appreciated that she didn't want to scare them before anything was certain. Dr. Kerlin didn't even want to finish the rest of the appointment, so mama and papa left right away to head over.

Maternal Fetal Medicine was right on the same floor as the maternity ward of the hospital, so it was just a short walk over. Except it seemed long because mama started to get nervous.

The ultrasound technician did a biophysical exam ultrasound. You were moving all around, your heart beat was good, and your umbilical cord dopler was good. Once she was finished, she left the room to get the doctor.

In the waiting time, mama just started crying. She had an overwhelming fear that something was wrong with you and became terrified of what the doctor was going to say.

Dr. Dungy soon came in. It seemed as though she noticed mama's anxiety. Surely the uncontrollable tears gave her an idea! She began by saying how great you looked on the biophysical exam, which did help mama's anxiety. When it came to the fluid, she got the same result...7.4 centimeters.

She explained the risk of having low fluid was that as you continue to grow that you wouldn't have as much cushion to move around, and you could possibly restrict the nutrient supply from the placenta through your umbilical cord to you. Scary! She explained the possible causes of low amniotic fluid and two causes are gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. Sometimes the cause is unknown, but usually it is due to one of the two.

Dr. Dungy recommended that mama be admitted into the hospital overnight for 24 hour monitoring. Wow! That was totally unexpected! Dr. Dungy gave mama a hug and told her she would pray for her. Then one of the nurses wheeled mama over to the maternity ward with papa walking right by mama's side.

Love,
Mama & Papa