Hi all. I had my son on February 23, 2021 via emergency C-section and I’d like to tell you a little bit about my birth story and why it’s incredibly important to monitor fetal movement in the 3rd trimester.

Some backstory. My baby was breeched at 37 weeks and I opted to get an ECV (external cephalic version). That’s when an OB attempts to physically turn your baby by pressing on your abdomen and rotating the baby. Because I had an anterior placenta, it was like trying to turn a baby that had a giant pillow over it. The doctor was having a difficult time reaching the baby to turn him and so the procedure was a failure.

This procedure was done on Friday, February 19th @37W3D. Saturday & Sunday I was out and about all day running errands, cleaning, going to the flea market, so there was tons of walking involved. When Monday night came, I told my husband that I had noticed decreased movement all day. I had just showered and laid in bed and that was typically the time when I’d feel baby move the most and I only felt the smallest little kick. During the weekend since I was so busy I was exhausted and didn’t notice the decreased movements. Thankfully, my 38weeks appointment would be the following morning on Tuesday at 10:30am. This was when I told my doctor about my concerns regarding my baby’s decreased fetal movement. Since my baby was breached she scheduled my C-section for the next week and then sent me over with a nurse so that they could do a NST test. My baby didn’t do too well on that test and after monitoring for about an hour they sent me over to labor and delivery. I had mild contractions that morning when I was driving to the hospital where I see my OB, well my contractions continue throughout the morning and with every contraction my babies heart rate would drop drastically. Once I was in labor and delivery, they told me that if they didn’t see any improvement that I would be getting a C-section within the hour. Fast forward to 2 PM I had an emergency C-section and when they pulled my baby out he was blue and he had the umbilical cord wrapped three times around his neck. He was hooked up to oxygen for eight minutes and then did well on his own after that. Turns out that him being stuck and tangled in that umbilical cord was what put him in distress and they told me that if they hadn’t taken him out right there and then and I had waited..I would have had a still born.

In conclusion, please always monitor your baby’s movements especially towards the end of your pregnancy.