Today was my followup appointment after losing Fenix on July 31st. No exam or anything, just went over the pathology results from the placenta and cord. As I expected, no real answers as to why this happened. Fenix was healthy, everything looked normal. No clotting factor, nothing. The only idea we have of what might have happened was the cord was wrapped loosely around his arm, and where the umbilical cord entered his belly the cord was thin and there was a tear. We don't know why, or if that thinness and tearing happened pre- or post- mortem. But it's all we've got. My Fenix must have yanked the cord or something, tore it, started bleeding, got tired, and went to sleep.
I've been trying to find research on umbilical cord accidents. I haven't found anything quite like our case yet.
But i did find a study that is doing some research in umbilical cord accidents in general. They need more participants. They're looking for participants who:
Moms who are currently 28+ weeks pregnant or have delivered a living baby in the last 3 weeks prior to completing the study.
Moms who have delivered a stillborn baby more than 3 weeks ago
Moms who delivered a stillborn baby in the last 3 weeks
In honor of my Fenix, I'd like to ask all of those who would be willing to participate in the study to go to this link and complete the survey. It took me about 10-15 minutes.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It's so hard when they don't have a reason. My son was born at 28w and they couldn't tell me why my cord failed. It took awhile to accept that I was never going to have an answer for that.
Re: Stillbirth, Follow-up Appointments, and further research needed