Survival Stories

The only issue anyone found was a small placenta. The frustrating part of this diagnosis is it was so easy to miss.

Tobias’s Story by Abby Tharp

I had the most average pregnancy possible, I did everything right. My blood pressure was perfect, my weight gain was average, I exercised, I ate healthy, I had no extra risk factors. I even measured normal until my last appointment.
I was pretty miserable most of the third trimester, but nothing that seemed out of the realm of normal. It was a hot late summer/early fall in Iowa. What few symptoms I might have had were canceled out by something else. If I had headaches in the morning, they went away after I drank water. I dealt with brain fog, but my sleep was horrible, so that made sense. Tobias's movements changed, but no more than made sense for an almost full-grown baby who was running out of room. His heart rate was perfect and consistent at all my appointments.
October 6 was the day of my 37 week appointment. We checked his heart rate, it was perfect. The midwife measured my fundal height, it was 2 centimeters smaller than the week before. She said there could be a few perfectly normal explanations for this, but we were going to make sure. She called into 3 different places to make sure I could get a last minute ultrasound on a Friday. She sent me to the OB emergency department since no one else could get me in.
The midwife at the OB ED told me we needed to do a nonstress test. The monitor showed his heart rate was staying rather high and not coming down at all, and that I was having contractions. (I had no idea.)
It became obvious as soon as we started the ultrasound that something was wrong. He was not moving much, there was very little blood flow going to him, my amniotic fluid was very low, he was breech, and he was very small (the ultrasound measurement was within one ounce of his birth weight.) The nurse told me to call my husband, Brandon, then the midwife told me we needed to get the baby out and that meant a C-section since he was breech.
I was wheeled straight to the maternity ward to be prepped for surgery. Shortly after 2:30 he was out. NICU staff were in the room to evaluate him, ultimately deciding he was stable enough to stay with us. We got to our hospital room, and were working on feeding when he slowly turned blue. His nurse quickly rushed him to the nursery accompanied by Brandon. A glucose check gave a reading of 9. The serum sent to the lab showed 4. They took him to the NICU so fast he couldn't even stop back with me. 
His NICU stay was 23 days. Several of those on oxygen. He had ultrasounds,  X-rays, and even an MRI. He had a very small grade 2 brain bleed, was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency, and had lingering blood sugar issues.
He is thriving at home since discharge. He's a happy, silly boy who loves everyone he meets. He's keeping up gaining weight and slowly getting weaned of his steroids to correct his adrenal insufficiency.
Tobias’s birth weight was less than the first percentile and the only issue anyone found was a small placenta. The frustrating part of this diagnosis is it was so easy to miss. There was nothing wrong until October 6. My midwives did everything right. I was and still am completely satisfied with their care. My baby’s placenta was too small (pathology weight was 245 grams) and not functioning well. I most likely would have gone into eclampsia.
I thank God we did not end up with what easily could have been worst case scenario. 

I am haunted by the thought of what could have happened.

Celeste’s Story by Hanna Seright

On January 2, 2023, at 1:12pm our lives changed forever as we welcomed our daughter, Celeste Joy to the world. She weighed 2510 grams and was 19 in long. She arrived early at 36w2d after my water unexpectedly broke at home. Although I was only 1cm dilated when we arrived at the hospital, I was admitted and induced to get things going.

After several hours I opted for an epidural. I hoped for some rest since it was the early morning hours and I had not yet slept a wink. The nurses ended up needing to help me change positions in the hospital bed rather frequently due to Celeste’s heart rate dropping. Her heart rate would recover once I moved, but it continued to be a challenge until she was born. My nurses were calm and gave me no reason to be worried throughout this process as each time I moved, her heart rate bounced right back. This was my first time experiencing labor, so I had nothing else to compare to and told myself that as long as the nurses were calm, I should try to be calm too. Before I knew it, it was time to push! After pushing for about an hour, the nurse’s demeanor changed and I could hear concern in her voice as she asked someone else where the doctor was. Celeste’s heart rate was not bouncing back this time. The OB came in moments later with several other people and let me know that he planned to use a vacuum to get Celeste out. He gave me one last contraction to push on my own without the vacuum. I pushed with all I had and Celeste was born! The OB immediately alarmed me when he commented on how small Celeste was. She was just barely over the low birth weight threshold by 10 grams. After I passed the placenta, again the doctor sounded alarmed, and commented on it being small and that he was sending it to pathology.

That was that, and I did not think much more of it. Celeste was healthy and that’s where our focus was. At my 6 week checkup with my OB, we briefly discussed the pathology report, but explained that generally pathologists have a hard time getting much useful information from placentas unless they actually specialize in them. There wasn’t anything blatantly wrong with it, other than its smaller size.

Fast forward 10 months and through a coincidence of events, the MTP website was brought to my attention. I referred back to the placenta pathology report that says Celeste’s placenta was in the “less than 10th percentile for gestational age.” This was something I brushed off previously. My OB didn’t seem overly worried by these results, so why should I be? Other than developing gestational diabetes, there was nothing abnormal about my pregnancy or anything that led us to believe my daughter’s well-being may be in jeopardy.

When I used the EPV calculator app to view the specific percentile for the weight of Celeste’s placenta, it returned results that made my jaw drop. It was in the 0.5 percentile. Celeste’s birth weight was in the 35th percentile and her BW:PW was 8.5. Our story could have ended much differently. Although I try not to dwell too much on the what ifs in life, I am haunted by the thought of what could have happened if I had not gone into pre-term labor. Thankfully, we have a happy and healthy girl who has been meeting all her milestones and will soon celebrate her 1st birthday. She is independent, determined, full of joy, and so smiley. She is my world. To think we may have been close to losing her and missing all these precious moments we have shared, is more than this mama heart can comprehend. It has ignited a fire in me to advocate, educate, and do my part to create change in care during pregnancy.

We had no idea how dire our situation was.

Caleb and Micah’s Story by Allison Friedman

We had no idea how dire our situation was, even until years later quite frankly when I came across the Measure the Placenta page and found out about how many babies at the same point did not survive. When I was 34 weeks with my first, a routine appointment resulted in me measuring 3 weeks behind, with no growth in fundal height since 32 weeks. My doctor said that it’d likely just mean a 39-week induction, but that I was being sent for a growth scan. The next week I went for 2 growth scans and 2 non-stress tests. Everything with the baby was perfect, except that he was measuring under 4 pounds and in the 1%ile. I was informed the risk of stillbirth was high if we waited until 37 weeks to induce, but they had me go home through the weekend (which I realize was still likely a risky move), which meant the risk of stillbirth would be really high if I waited beyond 37 weeks and I was officially diagnosed with severe intrauterine growth restriction. We were told it could be an infection, a genetic problem, a placental problem, or just constitutional smallness. At no point was I ever told that measuring the placenta was a possibility. 
Miraculously, Caleb arrived perfectly healthy but skinny as can be at 4 lbs 1.6 oz, 36+1 gestation on 10/16/2018. He went to the NICU as a precaution after an hour with me because he was stable, but after 12 hours of monitoring, they had no reason to keep him there. His placenta was sent for pathology and revealed to be 284 grams - a 1:11 ratio to his weight, which was also horribly underweight. No cause was ever found for why his placenta was so small, I had no underlying conditions in pregnancy. 

I was told it had under a 20% chance of recurring in a second pregnancy, and should I go that route, I'd likely be put on aspirin and have repeated early growth scans. Unfortunately, my whole team was gone by the time I had a second child in July 2022. I was still told there was no way to measure his placenta, and his growth dropped from 25% at 32 weeks to 16% at 35 weeks with no planned interventions. They never sent his placenta to pathology, never put me on aspirin, and I had to fight for my second growth scan even. My son Micah was born at 5 lb 12 oz, no induction, at exactly 38 weeks. It seems to me like his placenta was probably again too small, but not as dire as with Caleb. I feel incredibly grateful to have my two healthy boys, because I know now that we were so close, at least with Caleb, to not having that be the case. 

Asked and Denied, But Survived

Meadow’s Story by Hope Carr

I delivered Meadow in November 2021 at 41 years old after 3 consecutive complicated losses. Meadow is my triple rainbow baby and she is my only living child. Meadow is also a small placenta baby, something I didn’t learn until months after I gave birth, and the potential near miss has been a very frightening thought. She survived because of a perfect sequence of events and she is a true blessing and miracle. My heart breaks for all the babies lost due to an undetected small placenta, where the baby outgrows its placenta late in pregnancy, resulting in stillbirth.

Stillbirth had been the biggest fear of mine as I neared the end of my pregnancy with Meadow. I struggled with this fear, wondering if it was actually intuition. I was being seen regularly by my OB, who had been very accommodating to me, and by a high-risk MFM practice, and all was perfect and reassuring.

I was consuming tons of pregnancy-related and loss content due to my history, and when I came across Measure the Placenta’s content, it resonated, so I asked my MFM at my 31- and 34-week appointments to include this simple measurement as part of my antenatal care to ensure nothing was left to chance.

The MFM doctor I saw during these two appointments was not the doctor I saw most frequently and had built a relationship with, but I deferred to her after presenting my case to have my daughter’s placenta measured. She told me that evidence does not support routine screening of placental volume and this would not be performed, as it can increase maternal anxiety without changing outcomes. She told me my pregnancy was of normal growth and that the placenta looks normal in appearance and is subjectively normal in size. The time was spent reassuring me and suggesting I see someone for my anxiety. She also suggested I could cease the high-risk antenatal portion of my care as my pregnancy was no longer considered high risk.

I noticed my blood pressure creeping up the following week and Meadow had failed a non-stress test, but an ultrasound biophysical profile showed no signs of distress. At my 36-week appointment with my familiar MFM, I expressed how uneasy I was about waiting until my scheduled 39-week induction. My blood pressure was just slightly elevated, but I had seen it much higher at home readings. She gave the green light to my OB to induce me at 37 weeks, pending a diagnosis of gestational hypertension. At my 37-week appointment, I said a little prayer that if Meadow needs to come early, let my blood pressure numbers fall in line with an early induction. I was just over the cusp of being considered hypertensive, and my OB scheduled me for induction right away.

I had an easy induction that progressed quickly and delivered Meadow with no complications. She was a determined little girl and she came fast and furious and practically skipped off the table. She came out much smaller than anticipated (barely 10th percentile vs estimated ~45th percentile), completely blue, and I noticed her placenta looked small, but in the euphoria of meeting her, those thoughts were fleeting. I had initially felt incredibly guilty for pushing for the induction when I saw how small she was, but now I’m just grateful.

I learned the facts 3 months later after reviewing Meadow’s concerning placenta pathology report, which was reported to me as normal, and then seeking more clarification from Measure the Placenta and Dr. Harvey Kliman of Yale, who studied Meadow’s placenta in detail. His report stated that Meadow’s placenta was very small (337 grams), weighing at the 1.4 percentile for gestational age and the fetal percentile to placental percentile ratio was abnormally high being 15.5. This was a dangerous recipe for our baby outgrowing her life source, her placenta. Dr. Kliman told us this very easily could have been a stillbirth had I not been induced for the hypertension, which was caused by the small placenta. My gestational hypertension likely saved my daughter’s life.

Our beautiful 9-month-old daughter is thriving today, but her life was left to chance because the standard of care for pregnancy is not up-to-date. I could only hope Dr. Kliman’s research and screening tool makes its way to providers, as life-saving information was missed even though my pregnancy was followed closely by my doctors. Estimated placental volume screening will empower provider and patient to decide together on best timing to deliver baby. I, myself, work in the medical education industry and am currently brainstorming ideas with the Measure the Placenta team so no one has to suffer a preventable stillbirth due to an unrecognized small placenta that could be saved by an early induction.

I trusted my doctors to give me the information needed to help my baby stay healthy.

Dallin’s Story by Jeanette Bish

My son started measuring small at 28 weeks. He was about 1-2 weeks behind in growth. This was my first pregnancy so naturally I had no idea what to expect or any experience to compare it to. The doctors always reassured me that the baby looked healthy, just small and diagnosed my pregnancy as SGA (small for gestational age). From that time forward, I was monitored by a MFM (maternal fetal medicine doctor) twice weekly with NSTs (Non Stress Test). With each NST, my son always checked out great. I never once was stressed by my doctors about the importance of counting the baby’s kicks. You would think with a SGA diagnoses and being followed by an MFM, I would get all the information needed to keep my baby healthy. Being pregnant for the first time I really had no clue on the experience and I trusted my doctors to give me the information needed to help my baby stay healthy. Of course I would do a little bit of googling on my own but looking back I never fully understood the importance of counting kicks or estimated placental volume (EPV) measurements and that upsets me to this day.

Fast forward to about 35 weeks gestation, I woke up one morning and just felt “off.” At the time I couldn’t really put my finger on it but something was just not right. I remember thinking that my son wasn’t as active as he typically was in the mornings. I remember being reassured by my husband and my mom that everything is fine. I was reassured that I was probably over thinking it, and I even heard the famous myth, “there’s not enough room to kick.” Unable to shake the unsettling feeling, I started to get really concerned about my son’s decreased movement and I called the OB office and was advised to come in to be checked out. Once I was able to get monitored, they noticed that my son was in bad shape and hardly had any life to him. I was rushed into an emergency C-section. My son came out dark purple. He needed resuscitated and was whisked off to the NICU. My son was born at 4 lbs. and 2 oz. He spent 32 days in the NICU where we then received the IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) diagnoses. It was a very traumatic time for myself and my husband.

Once we were home I tried to put the pieces together and figure out how this could happen after being reassured throughout my pregnancy that he was healthy—“just a small baby.” From the placental tissue exam I learned that his placenta was just only 250 grams. The OB who delivered my son even referred to it as a “puny placenta.” The placenta was never a focus throughout my pregnancy. Knowing what I know now, it is extremely unsettling to me that placentas are not routinely monitored in pregnancies, especially when there are high risk pregnancies such as SGA or IUGR. Later we learned that my son also suffered brain damage due to the lack or oxygen/nutrients provided by the placenta. My son suffered a brain injury called Periventricular Leukomalacia and because of the brain damage, he also has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. For whatever reason on June 1st, the day my son was delivered, his placenta struggled to sustain his life. It’s like it just went out and my son was dying inside of me. I began scouring the internet looking for others who could possibly give me some answers. I found Amanda Feltmann’s Instagram page through an IUGR hashtag and then was led to Measure the Placenta’s Instagram account. It was then that I truly began to understand the vital role of the placenta and the importance of EPVs.

Now, I try my best to share the importance of counting kicks and EPV measurements to as many people as I can. A lot of pregnancy talk steer away from the bad things that could happen but a healthy, picture-perfect pregnancy isn’t the story for everyone. Had Dallin’s placenta been monitored, things would have gone differently for the better. Today, my son is almost 3 years old and thriving. He faces a lot of challenges with his disability but he has overcome so much already. We call him determined Dallin! He is our pride and joy!

I wish my doctor had measured the placenta. My baby was put at extreme risk by not doing so.

This is the story of my miracle baby, Dean Brian Hernandez, by Mikayla

I was measuring small from about the 33 week mark, but my provider was never concerned. She said I was small but not “too” small. Around this time, I also started to notice my baby moving less but when I brought this up to the on-call nurse, she told me to drink cold juice and to count the number of kicks in an hour. As my due date approached and I showed no sign of early labor, my doctor did the routine scans, including NSTs twice a week at 39 and 40 weeks. I was still measuring small but the NSTs were “perfect”, according to the medical staff.

At 41 weeks pregnant, my blood pressure was so high that my doctor decided it was necessary to proceed with an induction. I remember feeling so disappointed, because I had envisioned going into labor naturally, and wanted that experience for my baby and me. We proceeded with the induction, which began at around 11 pm on September 17, but came to an abrupt halt not 3 hours after it started. My baby’s heart rate was dropping with just the smallest contractions, and failing to recover, and a c-section was unavoidable.
At 4:08 in the morning, my sweet baby boy was born weighing only 4 pounds 10 ounces, (0.1 percentile). His placenta was also extremely small, weighing less than the 0.02%ile for gestational age. The doctors were shocked. Even though they told me throughout my third trimester that I was measuring small, they NEVER measured the placenta or even gave me any reason to be concerned. In fact they told me over and over that my baby sounded perfect, which was not true. He wasn’t growing, and was losing strength every day. According to Dr. Harvey Kliman, who studied my baby’s placenta, “The only reason this baby survived was that he was also extremely small (being at the 0.1%ile). Thus, his lack of growth allowed him to survive this very adverse environment.” I wish my doctor had measured the placenta. My baby was put at extreme risk by not doing so.

Despite being tiny, my sweet Dean Brian came out perfectly healthy. He is my miracle baby, and I am so grateful that I get to raise him and hug his warm, wiggly body.

To think my son was starving in my womb breaks my heart.

Maxii’s Story, by Tina West

I had a home birth planned and didn't want any scans but my midwife said to have a 20 week scan. So we did and Maxii was healthy and on his way of being a nice big baby, as my husband was a 10 pounder.

However, at 37 weeks I found Maxii was breached which was fine as we went to a top doctor to get him turned around. The doctor did a scan and remarked that the baby was very small. They tried to turn him but I didn't have enough fluid for the water to fill the spot so he kept getting sucked back into my pelvis. I was then told they wouldn't do my natural breach as my baby’s body was so small but his head would get stuck and I'll have to have a C-section anyway. I was totally distraught.

Not once did they check the placenta size, but they did check the blood going in and out, etc.

So I gave birth to my son via C-section and once the placenta was taken out my midwife told me it was very small and it had started to calcify which was an indication of issues. And I remember thinking, why didn't anyone check the placenta closer when they knew my baby was small at 36/37 weeks???

To think my son was starving in my womb breaks my heart.

Maxii weighed in at 6 pounds and his legs were so thin—it took a good 3-4 months for him to beef up. I understand that babies are born small but knowing he was on track to be a big baby at 20 weeks makes me go, hmmm.

What you’re advocating is amazing. Thank you for your work.

As a vibrational kinesiologist I understand the physical and the spiritual connection of the placenta and it is why I am so passionate about lotus birth and I am motivated to learn about measuring the placenta.

I am grateful that my doctors listened to me and agreed that the most important information about the baby comes from the mother.

Tadhg’s story by Anne-Marie Farrell

Our son, Tadhg, was born on November 9th, 2021, at 36 weeks, weighing 6 lbs.,13 oz. (80th percentile). Tadhg was delivered early as I had noticed that his movements had reduced and were not as strong as they had been previously. After he was born, we had his placenta measured - it weighed only 12.5oz (4th percentile) giving an F:P ratio of 8.76.

While I don’t want to think about what ifs, there is a strong probability that the placenta was too small to continue to support Tadhg and he had slowed down his movements to preserve energy. If a baby is not well, or not receiving enough nutrients and oxygen, they are likely to move less to save energy. Studies have shown that around 55% of women who experienced a stillbirth noticed a reduction in baby movements. There is a small window to intervene and save the baby’s life and I am glad I advocated for him, and my medical team made the decision to deliver him early.

I monitored his kicks using the Kick Counts app and also a kick counter wristband. I counted kicks using the Kick Counts app in the evening while I watched TV and monitored the daily number of kick sessions using the wristband. I was also aware of his movement patterns during the day. On Sunday November 7th, I noticed that his movements in the afternoon were more subtle than usual. I used the Kick Counts app to time how long it took to get to 10 kicks. It took longer than usual and the kicks were not as strong. At that point, I went to the hospital to be checked out. 

While Tadhg looked healthy on the monitors and in tests, it was decided that I should be admitted for monitoring as a change in movements can be an indication that something is wrong. Over the next two days, the doctors explained that he looked fine but I was adamant that there was something wrong. I am grateful for Tommy’s.org and PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy as I reviewed both resources while in hospital to remind myself why a change in movements is a warning sign and to give me strength to advocate for my baby. I am grateful that my doctors listened to me and agreed that the most important information about the baby comes from the mother. My team decided to deliver on November 9th and I am forever grateful that we made this decision and that he is here with us. 

I wish measuring the placenta was part of regular prenatal care as it would save babies’ lives. It would give medical professionals a reason to increase monitoring, as is the case with preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, and help ensure the baby is safe. I know not every baby is as lucky as Tadhg to have a medical team willing to listen to the mother’s concerns and to take the steps to deliver early when the baby is giving us signs (by slowing down) that there is something wrong.