Although most babies born in New York are healthy, others suffer trauma. Some mothers have complications during their pregnancy, labor or delivery that cause birth injuries. These are some of the stories from moms who have lived through these issues.
Pregnancy complications are more common than many think
Although it’s more common for pregnancy problems to occur in older moms, it could happen to anyone of any age. One mom was pregnant at age 20 and experienced complications by the time she reached her third trimester. Because she’d hidden the pregnancy from her family for six months, she failed to get prenatal care. Although her family was supportive, she started having discharge and feeling sick before her 36th week. After seeing her doctor twice, she was dismissed. It was later discovered that she had preeclampsia and needed to be induced. The fetal monitor signaled that the baby was in distress and that birth injuries were present.
Another mom had a similar experience when her water broke at 23 weeks. She ended up giving birth at only 27 weeks, which meant the baby had to spend 10 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. Both parents were fearful that their child wouldn’t make it.
Courage and hope can heal
In both stories, the babies did well and have since thrived. The first mom’s son had jaundice but made a full recovery from his birth injuries. The second mom’s daughter is also doing well and has hit all her milestones. She is also now a big sister as her parents found the courage to try for another baby. Although it took some time, the woman got pregnant again with what she thought would be another high-risk situation. Instead, it was a complication-free pregnancy and birth of a perfectly healthy little boy.
Even after enduring birth trauma, many women can go on to have uneventful pregnancies and the families they’ve always wanted.