There was a time when I was ignorant of just how many babies die every year. I believed pregnancy complications, and certainly infant death, were a thing of the past and of third world countries. I never imagined how many lives are torn apart each year through pregnancy and infant loss. Then it happened to me. And then my eyes were opened. Very widely.
I first discovered this cold truth in the blogging world. Every single day in the first few weeks of my loss I would stumble on a new blog written by a mother in honor of the child, and in some cases childREN, that for one reason or another could not live in this world. I discovered babies who had died from chromosomal abnormalities, genetic issues, premature birth, and more. Once I became pregnant, I learned that there is a chance of some of these things occurring, but statistically we should have had nothing to worry about. Yet someone must be the statistic for said statistic to exist. We were a statistic, and I have found so many others who were as well.
Though my eyes have been opened, I still experience shock and heartbreak every time I learn of a new loss or possibility of one. I don’t think I will ever adjust to the fact that these things happen, and more often that we want to believe.
In the past few weeks, I have learned of three difficult situations. I posted the first on my blog here. I never updated, but baby Madyson was born last week and left this world shortly afterwards. I saw her picture, and she is absolutely beautiful.
Then, yesterday I found out about a friend from college whose two year old son is in intensive care and has recently been diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, which can be fatal if left untreated. The last I heard was that he was not responding well to treatment. This little boy’s twin sister died during pregnancy, so this family has already been through much more than any parent should ever have to endure.
The third situation involves a very dear pregnant friend of mine who recently discovered her baby girl has some type of skeletal dysplasia. There is a 25% chance of stillbirth and a 30% chance she won’t live longer than 6 months. The remaining percentage represents the chance that the baby will live, but with some type of physical deformity. They will learn more details as the pregnancy progresses.
I ask that everyone who reads this please keep these three situations in your thoughts and prayers. My heart hurts for each of these families as they learn to cope with the paths that have been set before them.
