infection?

[elephantmomma]

Did anyone else lose their precious baby to an infection?  We are only now getting the results back from pathology/autopsy, and it looks like my precious Sidney died from an infection.  I have not been able to meet with the doctor yet or actually see the report (which is a whole other story) so I hope to get more information, but they don't know what infection he had, but just that they found an infection. There was also a very small clot in the placenta, which they seem to think was secondary.  I am going to try to get more information, but did anyone else have a similar experience? I am feeling very upset and very alone, and not sure how this affects eventually trying again.

thanks.

[wrenofthesea]

((hugs)), results can be really tough and I am sorry you are feeling so upset and alone.

The best guess I have been given as to why my Lillian died at 41 weeks was possible infection (the other thing they tell me is that she was past due). There was a full autopsy, full work up of the placenta and umbilical cord, lots and lots of blood work (from her and me) and genetic testing. All they could find was elevated white blood cells which indicates possible infection. They were able to rule out several different infections and illnesses, but not all since I guess they couldn't test her since they needed "living" blood for those. I was completely in shock and didn't know what to think. How could I not know my daughter was sick or that something was wrong? My ob at the time said that an infection can take them in an instant because they are so tiny and small. I had had a perfect appointment just a day before I went into labor. Lillian was alive and active in the womb, absolutely no concerns. Then I went into labor but when we got to the hospital she was gone.

As far as trying again my ob said that there would be no problem. I had been tested for many different infections, diseases, and conditions so I did not have anything lasting that would harm a future pregnancy/baby. She also told me that this was something that they would not expect to repeat itself. I don't know if that made me feel any better since it almost made it seem like it was just random "bad luck" which makes me so angry and upset. I also almost wanted it to be something that I needed to fix or take medicine for so that for my next pregnancy I could feel like I was actively doing something to help prevent them from dying. I don't know if that makes sense or not.




***rainbow-pregnancy mentioned***

I had these results reviewed by the mfm group I worked with during my pregnancy with Lillian's little sister. They agreed that it was possible infection and they did not think it would negatively impact my current pregnancy. It was good to have another opinion on it. They did do extra monitoring throughout the pregnancy and were very compassionate and understanding when I worried (which was a lot) and would do what they could to help me out.

[iheartbroccoli]

My son did not die of an infection (he had what they believe is a very rare genetic mutation), but I just wanted to offer hugs and support. I remember how hard it was to get his autopsy results.

Big hugs, and I hope you are able to get some answers.

[elephantmomma]

Thank you wrenofthesea and iheartbroccoli, and I am sorry for both of your losses.

wrenofthesea, I am holding tightly to the words from your OB that an infection can be sudden. I keep imagining Sidney slowly getting sick, and me not realizing, not acting, as he suffered. These are horrible thoughts, so I am trying to think about what your OB said. It definitely makes sense about not feeling like you have any way you can prevent it/do something differently. how do you avoid getting an infection that you didn't know you had? There was a big listeria recall on frozen fruits and veggies right when we lost Sidney, so was it something I ate? Did my older son get a small virus and spread it? I will ask MFM, but I doubt they will know. For now, I continue to be overwhelmed and devastated. But I guess infection is 'good' in the sense that it is unlikely to reoccur. I'm not really sure what to do with myself, my thoughts and this new information, which still leaves me with so many unknowns. Thanks again for your support.

[rslh10]

((hugs)) I have no real advice on this subject, but I wanted to offer you giant huge huge huge hugs

[shandorfml2]

So sorry elephantmomma, they do not know what took my Ana, but we had tons of blood work. They questioned blood clots with me as well, I had several small clots in the placenta. However the pathology report said they were to small to have been an issue.

My friend who lost her twin boys, went into premature labor because of an infection, but I do not believe the boys were infected but her uterus was infected and that caused PPROM.

It is hard not having answers, and it is hard having answers...either way. Nothing you could have done, I am sure. I have also heard infection takes babies very quickly. I'd imagine it was not a mundane virus. Probably something rare that is very unlikely to happen again.

[angelsnight]

The doctors were unsure, but it was a possibility. However in my case, the possible infection did not affect her per se, but it caused me to go into pre-term labor, and I was only 22 weeks along and she did not survive the birth.

The tests they did on my placenta did show some chorioamnionitis, or bacterial infection. However many doctors also believe it could have been due to an incompetent cervix, where the weight of the baby basically is too much for the cervix, causing dilation and pre-term labor. My doctor said it's basically the chicken or the egg theory....did the bacteria cause me to dilate and go into labor, or was my cervix incompetent and dilated, which allowed the bacteria to then enter the uterus....not really affecting anything, but being present for the testing.

***rainbow mentioned***

It's something I'll never get a solid answer to, but for my rainbow pregnancy they treated me for IC and everything turned out well. But above all, my doctor assured me that even if it was the chorio, it was in no way anything I did wrong, or due to poor hygiene or anything like that. It sounds simple, but she basically said sometimes these things just happen and we don't know why.

Big hugs to you, it's so hard not to have solid answers, and to feel like it was something you did wrong. I think despite everyone having different stories and different actions leading to their angels deaths, we are all familiar with the horrible guilt and feeling that we were to blame, even when there is absolutely nothing we could have done.

[elephantmomma]

I just tried to write an update to this, but it doesn't seem to have shown up. We met with MFM today. He is not comfortable saying that Sidney died from an infection, and now said the cause is unknown.
-Pathology did find inflammation in my placenta and umbilical cord, which could be a sign of infection. He said that it is most likely bacterial, since Sidney did not show visible infection on his body. This may have contributed to his death, but he is not sure that it caused it, since some women have infections in their placenta and then go on to have healthy babies (he did say umbilical cord infection is less common)
-I had a small blood clot in my placenta but again he said that may have contributed but not entirely uncommon.
-Contractions during labor could have reduced blood flow, over time, stopped his heart (this is the one I don't understand/that is most scary to me).
-Cord accident. Even though I had no visible sign of a cord accident, he said there still could have been one.
These factors may have also combined in a fatal way.

Subsequent pregnancy:
-extra ultrasounds, two non-stress tests a week, starting at 32 weeks, induction at 36 w-39 w, depending on how I was doing, could also take baby aspirin but he doesn't recommend blood thinners since it's not clear they work/I have a clotting problem (he did common tests that came back fine, doesn't think i need to do any more since my placenta only had the one little clot)

Hormonal imbalance/lack of period:
he was not worried that i am not ovulating/menstruating at 11 weeks. he said give it another month or two and then get tested (not sure yet if i want to follow this advice)

So we are back to the unknown. I am not sure at this point if I want to get a second opinion--I need a little more time to process this. But in the meantime, I wanted to update you all. Thanks for your support, wrenofthesea, iheartbroccoli, rslh10, shandorfml2, angelsnight,

[shandorfml2]

Your results sound very similar to ours. They found some small clotting, but not enough to have caused death. No signs of cord accident or anything else. It is really hard not having answers. I received the same care that was recommended for you for my rainbow pregnancy. I had a c-section (I have a small pelvis and my daughter had gotten stuck-though she had already passed before then) at 37 weeks. I was in the OBs office about 2-3 times a week at the end. Weekly NSTs and BPPs.

[iheartbroccoli]

elephantmomma Big hugs.

I'm sorry you don't have more definite answers, that is very frustrating. Give yourself as much time as you want before deciding if you want second opinions. There's nothing wrong with getting a second opinion, just like there is nothing wrong if you decide against that. You can do it at any point, there is no rush.