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I was told at 17 wks along that our baby had a 2vc and it was confirmed at 21 wks along. Throughout the remaining weeks of my pregnancy I was told at each ultrasound/biphysical that everything was great. My ob/gyn and midwives that I seen on a regular basis also told me not to worry that everything was fine and that this happens a lot. Being told this at every visit, my husband and I were expecting that this would be like our previous pregnancies. We were never told of any of the effects this could have on the baby other than later in pregnancy they would be watching his growth because babies with a 2vc tend to stop growing in utero. We were never given any information on this condition, verbally or written (brochures or other written information). At my checkup (I was 35 w 5d), I had a biophysical and then a reg. visist. My Dr decided to put me in the hospital because he felt he hadn't grown enough from the prior week. We were ok with that since he had informed us that it might happen (in utero growth). He tried to induce me, but after 2 days of trying, nothing was happening. On day 3, which I would have put me right at 36 wks, the Dr felt that a c-sec had to be done. We were ok with that since we knew nothing else was happening. We had talked about me having a tubal if I had to have a c-sec, I mean they were already there, and this was our 4th child (all planned). Keep in mind that we were never told ANYTHING regarding what may be wrong with a baby with a 2vc, other than growth. I signed the papers for a tubal, and was taken into surgery. At 10:55 I heard our baby cry, this was before the Dr even had him out, at 10:56, on 4/7/07, Wyatt Isaiah was born, screaming I might add, such a welcoming sound. He was small, weighing in at 4 lbs .6 oz. His APGAR scores were the highest they give, no apparent problems. He was taken to the nursery. I was scheduled to be released 5 days later. We were told the morning before that he would have to stay until he put on a little more weight and was eating enough. At the rate he was going, the Pedi said it would probably be around 5 more days and then we could take him home. On day 5, when I was to be released, the Pedi came in and told me he had taken a turn for the worst and that he thought he had an infection and they had given him antibiotics and were running blood tests. A half hour later, he came in and said the test came back fine, not to worry they see this a lot in premies (sp). My husband arrived to pick me up, with our other children (15, 9, 6). I had him leave them in the waiting room and told him what was going on. They now had a couple of Pedi's working on our son. They were coming in and out of our room every few minutes. They ended up calling a bigger hospital that has a better NICU and that deals with this all the time. They arrived and transported out son around 11 am. Before they left, they brought him into my room so all of us could see him. He looked so different than when I was able to hold him the night before. They took him to Albany Med and after we were able to meet someone to take our other children home (we live about 45 mins from the hospital where I had him and about 1 hr 45 min from Albany Med), we arrived around 12:30. Around 3 pm, a team of Dr's came in to a__ses him again, they had been working on him since he arrived. (We were told at the other hospital they his intestines may have twisted by the team they sent to get him.) They knew there was something wrong in that area, but couldn't determine what unless they did surgery. We agreed and went to the waiting area. About an hour later, they came in and got us and took us to a little room for consult. One nurse told us he didn't do very well during the surgery, the Dr told us the same but told us he was stable. The cause, the main artery to his intestines wasn't developed all the way, caused by a 2vc. As he was eating, some of the "food" was going to the proper place (I know I got to change him a couple of times) and some was going into his abdomine through the small holes that were forming because of his intestines were slowley dying. We were able to go in and see him again and we stayed as long as we could. He was stable and the Dr's told us they would keep us informed. We decided to go home to get some rest, we had a long drive ahead of us. As soon as we got home, we called the hospital and were told he was doing great considering. This was around 10 pm. We headed to bed to try to get some rest. At approx 10:10, the phone rang, it was a ring that I knew had bad news on the other end. It was the Dr we had just spoken to. He told us he wasn't responding to the treatment and that his heart was slowing down. We called my Aunt to come over (he just happens to shares a Birthday with her) and she came right over and we headed out for the 1 hr 45 min drive. We arrived at hospital just before 12:30 Am. We were met at the NICU door, and were brought up to date. They asked if I wanted to hold him, and there would have been nothing to stop me even if they had told me I couldn't. They brought in a rocker for me and a chair for my husband. They placed Wyatt in my arms, and we held him, and kissed him and told him that we loved him, and how blessed we were to have been given such a wonderful gift. At 1:28 am, 4/13/07, we had to say goodbye to the baby boy we thought all along was just fine.
My point in writing this was to let all of you know that yes, that most of the time, things are ok. But after the fact, we found out that there is a 20% chance of loosing a child that had a 2vc within 5 days of birth along with a list of other things that might me wrong. Where was this information during my pregnancy? Please, for all the babies that are lost to this, question your Dr's, even if they tell you everything is fine. Get the nitty gritty details; good and bad. I would have much rather been informed of all the bad things that could have happened, and then everything turn out fine, than been told nothing is going to be wrong and have to bury my baby boy. Since I had a tubal, and at my checkup, my Dr told me to give it six months; to grieve, heal, etc., and I probably won't want another baby. Nice. I guess along with not informing his expectant parents, he also feels that you bury the desire to have anymore children as well. My point is, get ALL the facts regarding a 2vc, if they don't have information available at the moment, tell them to get it before your next visit. We are now seeing another Ob/Gyn that actually listens to us. We don't blame the other Dr for what happened, loosing our Son, but he is somewhat at fault for not informing us of everything. For all of you that have been told they have a 2vc, your are in my prayers. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and you can contact me if you have any questions.
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