“From the point we found out something was wrong till when the process was over was quite harrowing, but the parts that really broke me were going through the pain of labor knowing my baby was already gone’’

“I also had a mini-breakdown when I had to get a death certificate so we could have a burial. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in my life.”- Toolz

above is an excerpt from Toolz interview with Genevieve magazine. She was finally ready to talk about her pain and put to rest all the speculation regarding her child loss.

A very painful experience, it brought tears to my eyes reading her story. Her objective of sharing was to educate and encourage other women to be strong.

 Here’s everything you need to know about a still birth

 A stillbirth is the death of a mature fetus at any time after the twentieth week of pregnancy. ( third trimester) This is really painful because at this stage the baby is almost fully formed and the mother have to go through labor to birth the dead baby.

 It’s possible at this stage she might have started putting her nursery together and buying baby things.It’s different from a miscarriage that happens in early pregnancy.

Medical Causes

According to medical encyclopedia.com,  a number of different disorders can cause stillbirth. They include:

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. These are disorders of late pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure, fluid retention, and protein in the urine

Diabetes in the mother.

Bleeding while pregnant (Hemorrhage)

Abnormalities in the fetus and birth defects caused by infectious diseases

Post maturity – a condition in which the pregnancy has lasted 41 weeks or longer.

According to American pregnancy association; the following situations could increase a woman’s chances of birthing a still born baby ( risk factors) 

Women over 35yrs of age are most likely to have still births.

Malnutrition and Inadequate prenatal care- smoking, Alcohol and drug abuse.

Black women are more likely to have still born babies than Caucasians

Symptoms & diagnosis

In most cases the only symptom of stillbirth is that the mother notices that the baby has stopped moving then the doctor can listen for fetal heartbeat with a stethoscope or Doppler ultrasound. In some cases, the first sign of fetal death is premature labor.

Speaking of her husband, Tunde Demuren, and describing him as an incredible source of support, Toolz said, “I actually went into labor whilst I was making his breakfast.

“I tried to finish because he is such a big foodie, but the pain was too much and I was bundled off in the ambulance. Maybe it was the gas and air or temporary insanity, but I remember asking the medics to stop so we could get some food for him. “They thought I was mad. We can laugh about that now. I think this experience brought us closer, and also made us realise how much we love each other. He made me pray, and he didn’t give up till I had emptied my heart out.”

Prognosis

With the exception of women with diabetes, women who have a stillbirth have as good a chance of carrying a future pregnancy to term as women who are pregnant for the first time.

There is hope for Toolz. we are rooting for her.

Prevention

The risk of stillbirth can be lowered to some extent by good prenatal care and the mother’s avoidance of exposure to infectious diseases, smoking, alcohol abuse, or drug consumption. Tests before delivery (antepartum testing), such as ultrasound, the alpha-feto protein blood test, and the electronic fetal non stress test, can be used to evaluate the health of the fetus before there is a stillbirth.

Another possible prevention is a daily kick count.” Starting at 26-28 weeks of pregnancy, take time each day to record your baby’s movements. If you familiarize yourself with what is normal for your baby, then you are more likely to notice when something does not feel right. If you notice a sudden decrease in movements, contact your health care provider.

Hope your informed : Visit Medical encyclopedia for more details

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