The Stillbirth Summit continued to gain momentum early in the morning with Uma Reddy, MD, MPH, Medical Officer, Pregnancy & Perinatology Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, MD presenting Thrombosis and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes. Dr. Reddy is a wealth of knowledge and at times I am sure the researchers understood a lot more than I certainly did!!!

Venous thromboembolism and adverse pregnancy outcomes are potential complications of pregnancy. Numerous studies have evaluated both the risk factors for and the prevention and management of these outcomes in pregnant patients. Reddy stated the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) just came out with their new recommendations for Preventing Thromboembolism in pregnant women. Please read and digest these article which breaks down the new guidelines. She also informed us aspirin and lovenox (a blood thinner) are indicated to be given for the duration of a pregnancy for women with prior thromboembolic disease ~ and ~ may be given safely.

Women who have had any thromboembolic disease should have a full coagulation profile performed. Prescribing anticoagulants to pregnant women can be difficult and stressful. Maternal and fetal concerns must be considered at all times, with a careful assessment of the risks and benefits of anticoagulant therapy in each patient. Further research should help to clarify who should receive thromboprophylaxis, how to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with various thrombophilias, and how best to treat pregnant women who have a prosthetic heart valve.

The Stillbirth Summit ~ The Momentun & Amazing Information Continue...

The Stillbirth Summit continued to gain momentum early in the morning with Uma Reddy, MD, MPH, Medical Officer, Pregnancy & Perinatology Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, MD presenting Thrombosis and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes. Dr. Reddy is a wealth of knowledge and at times I am sure the researchers understood a lot more than I certainly did!!!


Venous thromboembolism and adverse pregnancy outcomes are potential complications of pregnancy. Numerous studies have evaluated both the risk factors for and the prevention and management of these outcomes in pregnant patients. Reddy stated the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) just came out with their new recommendations for Preventing Thromboembolism in pregnant women. Please read and digest this information which breaks down the new guidelines. She also informed us aspirin and lovenox (a blood thinner) are indicated to be given for the duration of a pregnancy for women with prior thromboembolic disease ~ and ~ may be given safely.

Women who have had any thromboembolic disease should have a full coagulation profile performed. Prescribing anticoagulants to pregnant women can be difficult and stressful. Maternal and fetal concerns must be considered at all times, with a careful assessment of the risks and benefits of anticoagulant therapy in each patient. Further research should help to clarify who should receive thromboprophylaxis, how to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with various thrombophilias, and how best to treat pregnant women who have a prosthetic heart valve.

The Stillbirth Summit Introduces the New Pregnancy Buzz Phrase ~ EPV!!!

Bear with me ~ to write about all the researchers and their findings present at the Stillbirth Summit in one sitting would require lots of time and several glasses of wine!!! So, I have decided to introduce you to one researcher per blog and write about what I took away from their lectures in my notes. If you are confused by my interpretation ~ you can Google it, research it & digest it. Take it or leave it; pass it on or delete it. Just know, these men and women will change the face of stillbirth with their passion and fire. They will pull stillbirth from the shadows and place it brightly in the light of day. They will find answers for us; prevention is their intention.

The Stillbirth Summit opened the eyes of all who attended. Dr. Alexander Heazell, MBChB, PhD, MRCOG, Maternal & Fetal Health Research Centre, University of Manchester, UK, delivered the simple yet poignant statement during the first presentation of a colleague, “We understand stillbirth very badly.” There was no pretentiousness. There were no scholarly noses looking down at us. The cards were on the table for everyone to see. Over the next 3 days the researchers would share their passion, frustrations and greatly needed research with us all.

When you listen to Dr. Harvey Kliman, MD, PhD, Director of Reproductive and Placental Unit, Yale University School of Medicine, you come away with one word embedded deeply in your brain: PLACENTA!!! The man is amazing and quick to state, “It is the simple things, tissue etc. which ends up in the pathology lab to be looked at. The information in it tells us why this loss happened.” Kliman is emphatic ~ the placenta is the key to what’s going on in a “loss” investigation and the placenta "must go to pathology."

While all eyes are on the fetus, Kliman explains a small fetus means a small abnormal placenta and “Doctors should know about abnormal placentas. Not knowing anything about the placenta is like driving a car without any gas!!!”

The “small” placenta is one major placental issue. The small placenta does not happen “all of the sudden.” The normal ratio of the fetus to placenta is 6:1. Once it goes beyond 7:1 or 8:1 it crashes. The placentas falling in the 10th to 90th percentiles are optimal. It is the ones which are in the < 10% or > 90% which will pose the problem. The baby and placenta tend to grow at the same rate and ratio up to 36 weeks. But what happens when the placenta is small and cannot supply the growing fetus? Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) develops. This concern plays a large part in delivering small and low birth weight babies, decreasing amniotic fluid (the amniotic fluid index) within the uterus, and putting your baby at risk for intrauterine death ~ if not detected. The extremes of a lesser ratio or a greater ratio between the baby and placenta indicate the need for diligent monitoring, care and concern.

One sign of a small and insufficient placenta is the onset of decreased fetal movements:

Can your heath care provider know about this beforehand? Yes.

Can something be done about it? Yes.

This can be detected by using standard ultrasound equipment. The measurement is called Estimated Placental Volume (EPV). Or, now there is even an EPV app, http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/epv-calculator/id406708196?mt=8, for your phone. According to Dr. Kliman, EPV should be incorporated in prenatal care and would take all of 15 seconds to do!!! The app costs a mere $29.99!!! So ~ why is Estimated Placental Volume not being calculated by every doctor, midwife and health care member who sees a pregnant woman for her OB appointment? The overriding reason for using this simple and inexpensive device can mean the difference between life and death for your baby. If a small placenta is detected, mom and baby will be monitored closely and a happy healthy outcome is easily achievable as baby can be delivered early if necessary.

According to Kliman, the placenta is part of the fetus and should be checked at a 10 week ultrasound. It should then be checked by ultrasound around 18 weeks. If the placenta is small at this time, there is nothing to do but keep an eye on it. When the placenta is small or large, the need  for closer monitoring is needed. 

Sounds to me ~ Estimated Placental Volume deserves to be the new pregnancy buzz phrase of 2012. If you are pregnant, why not ask to have your baby’s EPV checked the next time you visit your doctor, midwife or health care team? You may ask, “Why?” Quite simply, your baby’s life might just be depending on it…

C’mon Pregnant MOMMIES ~ Enlighten All Your Health Care Team ~ NOW!!!

So, you’re pregnant ~ or not ~ and you have heard about stillbirths but you have also heard the possibility of you or anyone you know actually delivering a baby born still is one in a million or extremely unlikely - RIGHT??? Well, the correct answer to the above statement is actually - WRONG.

A stillbirth occurs once in every 200 births in the USA. There are 30,000 every year in our country according to Dr. Jason Collins, MD of The Pregnancy Institute in New Roads, LA. This equates to about 85 each and every day in our highly medically and extremely technically advanced hospitals and country. Maybe you have seen articles, posts or blogs on stillbirth and quickly flipped the page, clicked to the next entry or exited the post. Maybe you read the information in front of you thinking, "This will never happen to me" and you let the information leave your mind as fast as you let it enter. Well, the time has come for us all ~ parents to be, family & friends, as well as, the medical community - to embrace the information in front of us and demand the resources to extinguish the flame of stillbirth be available to us all.


According to The Lancet's series, STILLBIRTHS, at least 50% of our world’s almost 3 million stillbirths are completely preventable. The statistics used in The Lancet consider a stillborn baby, "the death of a baby at 28 weeks’ gestation or more." What does that mean to us? It means simple interventions may save the life of a precious baby ~ if you are told what to do and what to look out for. At The Star Legacy Foundation we call it empowering and educating parents to be and their health care team.


Dr. Ruth Fretts, OB-GYN and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, believes the risk of stillbirth increases late in pregnancy and many could be prevented. "We don't do a very good service to women by not informing them of the risks and giving them options to be evaluating the baby's well being". In the 2010 October/ November Issue, of Fit Pregnancy Magazine, the article “the whole 9 months” section, “Baby likes to move it”, Fretts states, “Most women who notice a decrease in movement will still have a healthy outcome…The biggest concern is when it happens repeatedly.”


The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist in the United Kingdom, whose stillbirth rates are one of the most dire for a country which is not considered to be one of the 98% low or middle income countries with abysmally high stillbirth rates, just issued a statement on reduced feta movement, "Clinicians should be aware (and should advise women) that although fetal movements tend to plateau at 32 weeks of gestation, there is no reduction in the frequency of fetal movements in the late third trimester."


Dr. Craig Rubens, MD PhD, Co-Founder & Executive Director GAPP states, "Why focus on the last 1/2% of pregnancy during Labor and Deliver to understand why women have adverse outcomes during pregnancy. We need to focus on and study more the 99.5% of pregnancy that's going on currently."


So, what can we do? Although the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists support kick counting ~ it is rarely mentioned or explained to pregnant women in the office or during prenatal classes. Don’t take it for granted everyone caring for you and delivering your baby is aware of kick counting and the important role it can play in assuring a happy, healthy and hearty delivery day. Make it your passion to educate all young men and women, moms and dads to be, their doctors, midwives and health care team to the importance of baby's movements from 20 weeks onwards and the importance of daily kick counting from 28 weeks onwards. Visit See Me, Feel Me now. Educate and empower yourself not only on the importance of baby's movements but also on the importance of a 20 & 28 week ultrasound with special attention being paid to the umbilical cord and placenta. Then, pass this vital information on to all so they can become baby's "in utero" advocate as well.


Don't wait until the tragedy of stillbirth strikes ~ and you think to yourself, "Oh yeah, I heard about that somewhere.” Don’t take it for granted your doctor, midwife or health care team is educated to the frequency of stillbirth and the ways to ascertain and address a possibly compromised baby. Write down the link or print out The Lancet series, Stillbirths and your My Kicks Count chart and take them to your appointment!!!

Now you have been told. Now you have the tools. Now spread the word and empower moms, dads, friends, family and the medical community across the globe. Remember ~ a sweet little baby's life will be depending on you...

C'mom MOMMIES ~ Enlighten Your OBs' & GYNs' ~ NOW!!!

So, your are pregnant ~ or not ~ and you have heard about stillbirths but you have also heard the possibility of you or anyone you know actually delivering a baby born still is one in a million or extremely unlikely - RIGHT??? Well, the correct answer to the above statement is actually - WRONG. 

A stillbirth occurs once in every 200 births in the USA. There are 30,000 every year in our country according to Dr. Jason Collins, MD of The Pregnancy Institute in New Roads, LA. This equates to about 85 each and very day in our highly medically and technically advanced hospitals and country. Maybe you have seen articles, posts or blogs on stillbirth and quickly flipped the page, clicked to the next entry or exited the post. Maybe you read the information in front of you thinking, "This will never happen to me" and you let the information leave your mind as fast as you let it enter. Well, the time has come for us all ~ parents to be, family & friends,  as well as, the medical community - to embrace the information in front of us and demand the resources to extinguish the flame of stillbirth.

According to The Lancet's series, STILLBIRTHS,  at least 50% of our worlds almost 3 million stillbirths are completely preventable. The statistics used in The Lancet consider a stillborn baby, "the death of a baby at 28 weeks’ gestation or more." What does that mean to us? It means simple interventions may save the life of a precious baby ~ if you are told what to do and what to look out for. At The Star Legacy Foundation we call it empowering and educating parents to be and their health care team. 

Dr. Ruth Fretts, OB-GYN and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, believes the risk of stillbirth increases late in pregnancy and many could be prevented.
"We don't do a very good service to women by not informing them of the risks and giving them options to be evaluating the baby's well being".

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist in the United Kingdom, whose stillbirth rates are one of the most dire for a country which is not considered to be one of the 98% low or middle income countries with abysmally high stillbirth rates, just issued a statement on reduced feta movement, "Clinicians should be aware (and should advise women) that although fetal movements tend to plateau at 32 weeks of gestation, there is no reduction in the frequency of fetal movements in the late third trimester."

DR. Craig Rubens, MD PhD,Co-Founder & Executive Director GAPP states, "Why focus on the last 1/2% of pregnancy during Labor and Deliver to understand why women have adverse outcomes during pregnancy. We need to focus on and study more the 99.5% of pregnancy that's going on currently." Dr. Rubens tells us there are 13 million preterm births and this is the  #1 cause of infant mortality.

So, what can we do? Although the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists support kick counting ~ it is rarely mentioned or explained to pregnant women. All mothers - to -be need to be aware of the importance of baby's movements from 20 weeks onwards and the importance of daily kick counting from 28 weeks onwards. Make it your personal mantra to tell all women about this whether they are pregnant or not! Visit See Me, Feel Me now and learn how to teach yourself or your friend how to become baby's "in utero" advocate.

Don't wait until the tragedy of stillbirth strikes ~ and you think to yourself, "Oh yeah, I heard something about somewhere but I didn't think it would ever happen to anyone I know."


Now you have been told. Now you have the tools. Now you need to spread the word and empower moms across the globe ~ remember ~ a sweet little baby's life could be depending on you...




    

C'MON MOMMIES ~ ENLIGHTEN YOUR OBs' ~ NOW!!!

To Tell All Moms Or Not ~ That Is The Question???

It's that time of the year for some women ~ a positive pregnancy test!!! WHOO HOO!!!


So, being the great friend you are, do you share the informational website, See Me, Feel Me or not? You certainly don't want to jinx this new pregnancy. Do you mention to your friend that becoming her baby's "in utero" advocate will alert her and her health care team to the possibility of a compromised baby by noting a decrease or increase in fetal movements? Should you also mention to this mom that she schedule an additional ultrasound around 28 weeks because this is the time baby will show a tendency to develop an umbilical cord problem?

What should you do? It's simple. Make a decision now to educate and empower all moms to be!!! Stillbirth is not an uncommon or rare event, and should be watched for in the last trimester of pregnancy especially. This needless tragedy happens 30,000 times a year in the USA alone ~ that is 82 times a day ~ each and every day.

Maybe you don't think you can make a difference in stopping stillbirth. Maybe you have never known anyone who has had a stillbirth or maybe it doesn't run in your family ~ yet!!! I know I was oblivious at one time. My husband and I are part of the medical community and we were uneducated.

But ~ now we know. We are now committed advocates for the stillborn. We will do whatever it takes to enlighten the medical community and parents to be, as well as, to find a cause as to "WHY" when there are or are not any answers. Let's all link arms and begin to fight the fight for those born still. Together is the only way we can begin to stop these tragedies.

The Starfish Story

Original Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed

a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.

The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?

You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,

and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”

I made a difference for that one.”

Hey "U" ~ Is Your BFF ~ PG???

Hey,  is your BFF or someone else's BFF expecting?  If so, do your BFF and everyone else's BFF a favor by sharing this VIP website, See Me. Feel Me.  Empower and educate all pregnant moms with this vital information.  Let's take it upon ourselves to teach all women who are expecting and their doctor, midwife or health care team how to become this baby's "in utero" advocate. 

Read mom's own words describing the safe and three week early arrival of  her precious "Rainbow" baby:

"We would like to thank you for praying for a healthy safe delivery for our precious little miracle baby b/c if it wasn’t for your prayers she would not be here right now.  It was truly a blessing in disguise as baby ended up breech & that we ended up taking her early b/c when the doctor reached her via c-section they found her with the cord wrapped tightly around her neck twice, just like her big sister."

Let's chat about See Me, Feel Me to everyone we know.  Let's begin to make a difference so all babies can celebrate their birthday beginning with a happy, healthy, and hearty delivery day!!!

See Me, Feel Me ~ The New Pregnancy "BUZZ" Phrase For 2011!!!

WOW ~ this year is going to be a brilliant one! A new website full of vital information has been launched for parents to be, as well as, health care providers. Learning the philosophy of See Me, Feel Me is an absolute must for all pregnant women.


All moms will love learning how to become their baby's "in utero" advocate. A change in baby's movements such as speeding up or slowing down could be the sign of a compromised baby. Becoming empowered through the educational and proactive measures of My Kicks Count, the possibility of the need for more advanced fetal heart rate monitoring and the knowledgeable guidance of your doctor and health care team allows you to become your baby’s “in utero” advocate.

A “Mom” with knowledge, who works proactively on her own, with her doctor and with her health care team, quietly evolves into her baby’s "in utero" advocate. Just as mammograms and colonoscopies are prevention for the masses, getting to know your baby's movements can help ensure a happy, healthy and hearty delivery day.

Feel the "BUZZ" ~ and ~ check out See Me, Feel Me ASAP!!!