Hope and a High Risk Pregnancy
A young mother with a high-risk pregnancy combines hope with positive action to successfully deliver her pre-term son.
Baby Jack arrived, safe and sound. While his mother shivered uncontrollably from the effects of the anesthesia, Daddy and doctor hustled the newborn to the awaiting cubicle where he passed his first test with flying colors. But within minutes, the sigh of relief felt throughout the delivery room was interrupted as Jack’s prematurity manifested itself. Without explanation to mother, father, or grandmother, Jack was whisked away. With father in tow and Nani close behind, Baby Jack sped to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Preterm birth, the latest research shows, is the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States. According to CDC researchers, birth before 37 weeks of gestation accounted for at least one-third of all babies’ deaths in 2002. Most of these, two-thirds, occurred within the first twenty-four hours. The technology and expertise of the special personnel in the NICU would give Baby Jack, born at 35 weeks, every opportunity to survive and beat the odds. If, along with nutrients, Baby Jack had acquired the indomitable spirit of his mother, his chances of survival looked good.
After two uneventful, textbook pregnancies, Kelly’s third pregnancy with her first son ran into problems at fourteen weeks. Continual bleeding, at times heavy, was diagnosed as placenta abruption. The large blood clot behind the placenta was reabsorbed partially over time, but ultrasounds also showed placenta previa, a low lying placenta that covered part of the cervix. These two major complications posed a threat to both the baby and Kelly.
Hope, though, burned brightly throughout Kelly’s ordeal. It enabled her to meticulously follow her doctor’s orders. She ate nutritiously and didn’t smoke or use alcohol. She visited her obstetrician regularly. Between hospitalizations that meant twice weekly visits to the office or the hospital. Non-stress tests and ultrasounds for the baby became routine.
Most difficult of all for Kelly was the imposed bed rest. Caring for two active daughters, ages three and five, meant enlisting additional help from the already overburdened dad-to-be as well as friends, neighbors, and family. Meals were pre-cooked, babysitters volunteered their time, and Nani resurrected her chauffeuring talents. Kelly’s faith bolstered her. She prayed, she remained inactive, and she waited. All with the goal of prolonging gestation and increasing the baby’s weight. The amazement in the doctor’s eyes when Kelly continued to appear week after week for her appointments was subtle, but nonetheless evident to both Kelly and her mother.
During Kelly’s last hospital stay, with her high risk Pregnancy Doctor on vacation, Kelly faced her greatest challenge. The inexact science of medicine reared its ugly head. Two days after being dismissed from high risk care, Kelly once again suffered an emergency. The four doctors in her chosen medical practice couldn’t agree on what to do. Two wanted to wait and see, to give the baby more time in its natural environment. The other two wanted to go ahead with a planned delivery and thus avoid an emergency C-section. The hospitalist stepped in with another opinion. Each day the plan, or lack of one, changed.
Frustrated by the conflicting opinions and her worsening condition, Kelly and her husband decided to move from the community hospital to a major medical center in Boston. The evening the decision was made, nurses helped Kelly and her husband think through their options. Their expertise and caring gave Kelly the strength to listen to her inner voice. She urgently felt the need to bring Baby Jack into the world.
Kelly’s faith carried her through. The following day, in a planned C-section, the beautiful baby shed his yellow and cracking placenta and the grey umbilical cord that crumbled in the nurse’s hand. He wailed his first cry. Statistics show that only 7% of the deaths attributable to preterm birth occur after the first four weeks. Baby Jack made it through the first two weeks in the hospital, learning how to continue breathing on his own through the night and through his feedings and learning how to regulate his temperature. Now nine weeks old, Baby Jack has an emerging smile, and Kelly and her family maintain hope that the smile means all systems are go for Baby Jack.
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Sally A. Connolly
All rights reserved 2006
About the Author
Sally A. Connolly, a retired school counselor, is editor of the monthly newsletter for the Massachusetts School Counselors Association. Her recently published
A BOY FROM LAWRENCE: The Collected Writings of Eugene F. Connolly
(2006) is a verbal scrapbook of a good man’s spiritual journey. Midwest Book Review says the book is “filled with such treasures. It is recommended for those in need of comfort, illumination, redirection, grace, or prayer.” For more information, go to http://www.freewebs.com/aboyfromlawrence.
Managing High-Risk Pregnancy
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Guided Meditations for Conception and Pregnancy $10.95 Take the time to get to know your unborn child Every life is precious; each soul a world in itself now is the time to experience your child. These meditations will take you to your childs world and teach you what is important to that soul. Draw to you your perfect child. Communicate your hearts desire and listen to the lessons you will be learning together. Observe your child in its natural su… |
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High-Risk Pregnancy: Coping with a Multiple Birth [VHS] $48.00 Follow the story of Carol Addison and her family as they experience the physical and emotional realities of high-risk pregnancy. See firsthand what to expect as Carol works through the difficulties of trying to carry her twins nearer to term. Carol starts to dilate at 30 weeks. Her doctor prescribes complete bed rest so that Carol can remain on her back and get the care she needs. While… |
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Bedrest Fitness $24.95 The first of its kind, Bedrest Fitness is an innovative fitness program for pregnant women on prescribed bed rest. Using a rubber exercise band for resistance, this full body exercise program can be performed entirely while resting in bed and is a simple and effective way for pregnant women to maintain muscle tone and strength. The exercises are gentle and place no stress or pressure on the preg… |
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Core Curriculum for Maternal-Newborn Nursing (Core Curriculum for Maternal-Newborn Nursing (Awhonn)) $73.04 Using an outcomes-based, contemporary approach, AWHONN’s Core Curriculum for Maternal-Newborn Nursing, 4th Edition provides essential knowledge for care through every stage of pregnancy and childbirth. It is also the definitive resource in preparing for the AWHONN certification examination. A concise, outline format covers concepts of reproduction, fetal development, normal pregnancy, the intrapar… |
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AWHONN’s Perinatal Nursing: Co-Published with AWHONN (Simpson, Awhonn’s Perinatal Nursing) $49.55 Co-published with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), this book is a comprehensive clinical resource for practicing perinatal nurses and an excellent staff educator’s guide and textbook. It provides commonly accepted guidelines for practice and evidence-based care and includes algorithms to support decision-making. Numerous photographs complement the text and… |
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Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies: Book with Online Access (Obstetrics Normal and Problem Preqnancies) $144.52 Must-have expertise for today’s challenging fast-changing field! This classic reference is your place to turn for all of the guidelines you need on the diagnosis, therapy, and management of both normal and high-risk patients. Inside you’ll find state-of-the-art guidance on the challenges you face, with new chapters covering placental anatomy and physiology · non-invasive prenatal diagnostic techn… |
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Maternity Nursing Care $107.95 Only have time for the essentials? Maternity Nursing Care provides the core components of safe nursing practice for the obstetric client through application of the nursing process. Chronologically organized, the book covers women’s health, pregnancy care, labor and childbirth, postpartum care, and newborn development. Both normal and high-risk pregnancy situations are addressed, including appropri… |
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Management of High-Risk Pregnancy $116 This book is a must-have for all health professionals involved in the care of women with high risk pregnancies. It is a concise and practical resource for all perinatal care and a reference for the diagnosis and management of high risk pregnancy. The fifth edition of this classic, focuses on factors affecting pregnancy, genetics, practical diagnostic techniques, maternal diseases in pregnancy and pregnancy complications, labor, anesthesia, and neonatal considerations. Dr Queenan is joined in the fifth edition by a new editor, Catherine Spong. The book will take an explicitly evidence-based approach this time around and will expand upon several important areas; genetics, doppler ultrasound, prevention, AIDS, group B streptococcus, preeclampsia, and prematurity. |
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The High-Risk Pregnancy Sourcebook $5.99 The High-Risk Pregnancy Sourcebook begins with a thorough overview of the normal changes of pregnancy so that you can better understand when something out of the ordinary is happening. Also provided are the warning signs, or “red flags,” that may indicate a high-risk condition. Denise M. Chism devotes each chapter to specific medical conditions and the diseases unique to pregnancy, explaining how early awareness, close monitoring, and treatment can prevent worsening conditions. Chism guides you through the sometimes-confusing array of prenatal screening tests, monitoring tests, medications, and procedures that may be required to help your pregnancy progress as smoothly as possible. With the information in this book, expectant mothers can alleviate their fears and empower themselves to learn more about their conditions – the key to having a healthy delivery. |
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High Risk Pregnancy $344.29 This book is in Used condition |
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High Risk Pregnancy : Management Options $208.29 No Synopsis Available |
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Manual of High Risk Pregnancy and Delivery $57.28 No Synopsis Available |
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Manual of High Risk Pregnancy & Delivery $16 No Synopsis Available |
