Hopefully by the time you grow up stillbirth and SIDS will be preventable. Until then, Mommy will be posting a mini public service announcement every October...
Hello friends,
It is that time of year again...October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
In that spirit, if you or someone you know is expecting, please encourage them to perform their kick counts after week 28. The easiest way is to choose a convenient time of day and measure how long it takes for your baby to kick (or roll or wiggle or punch) ten times. If the number deviates significantly from your regular numbers, or if it takes longer than 2 hours to count 10 kicks, you need to contact your OB. Do not let them blow you off! With your kick count log you have concrete information to share with your doctor and they should squeeze you in to check things out.
Here is a website with specific kick count instructions: http://www.americanpregnancy.
Stillbirth is not an intractable problem. Greater research would likely significantly reduce its incidence, but good research requires good data. H.R. 5979: Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act is under consideration by Congress. S. 3142: Preventing Stillbirth and SUID Act has been introduced in the Senate. These proposed bills would standardize stillbirth investigation and diagnosis, thus providing more data for the needed research. Better research means fewer children born still. If you feel so inclined, let your representatives know that you support both the bills and increased funding for stillbirth research. There is much speculation that SIDS and SADS (another name for unexplained stillbirths, which make up over half of all stillbirths) are related. One in 115 pregnancies end in stillbirth. One in 2,000 babies born will die of SIDS. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could someday learn enough to prevent both tragedies?
Heather
:-(
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