I am in tears right now as I just found out one of my friends who has been battling with scleroderma all her life just lost her baby girl at 7 months.
She was being closely monitored every 2 weeks because of the high risk pregnancy and was even told that her chances of down's syndrome rose to 1/16 during her second geneticist appointment. Also, the risk for spina bifida had significantly increased. She was scheduled for an amniocentesis and a 4D sonogram. The tests went smoothly and it was determined that her spine was completely developed and even the amniocentesis results showed that she had no chromosomal abnormalities or genetic disorder. A few weeks later, she went in for a routine appointment accompanied by her parents because her DH could not get the time off from work. The doctor spent a few minutes trying to adjust the machine into different settings to try to find the baby girl's heartbeat. He then said, "I'm so sorry, your baby has passed away, she has no heartbeat." She gave birth to a stillborn baby that night. The doctors believed that it was due to lack of nutrients from the placenta because the placenta she delivered was very small in size and showed calcification. The pathologist confirmed the results. Her scleroderma had antibodies that were affecting the growth of her placenta. Upon autopsy, it was revealed that even if they had delivered her baby earlier, she would not have survived because her lungs and liver were underdeveloped. Her lungs and liver were the size of a 4 month old baby, and she lived to be 7 months. My heart truly breaks for her. No mother should ever have to suffer a loss such as this. She is trying to stay strong and her doctors assure her that it is still possible through medication and extensive monitoring for her to have a healthy baby in the future. I thought infertility and IVF road was bad, but there are other factors out there which are equally as bad. Please pray for my dear friend to have a successful pregnancy in the future and to help her find strength during these difficult times. Thank you.
