I got pregnant in May 2011 but didn’t find out until September 9, 2011 and I was 20 weeks exactly. I found out that day at 11:19 am I was going to have a little girl. I was so excited. I knew that I wanted to raise my daughter as an athletic princess. She could play sports and be a ballerina. She would be tough and graceful. She could wear cleats and be comfortable in dresses. She would be like me, and at the same time, not like me. This was my dream for her. At about week 22, I started feeling my daughter’s movements each day. In the weeks following, I developed really bad water retention in my hands and feet. At each doctor’s appointment, I asked my ob/gyn about pre-eclampsia and complained about how bad the water retention was but my doctor said that it was normal. On October 4th, I noticed that she wasn’t really moving/kicking a lot but I just figured she was being lazy that day and she would be moving by the next day. Well, the next day she still was not moving and I noticed I was bleeding so I went straight to my doctor to be checked. When I arrived at the hospital, they took me back, checked me and Jaycee (baby), did an ultrasound, and didn’t detect any movement so they sent me to UAB. When I arrived at the hospital, I was quickly put into a room in the triage area of the Labor and Delivery department. They quickly put a fetal monitor on her head and found a pulse of 136. I was so happy. I had them call down to the registration desk to tell my sister that they found a pulse. I had never been so relived in my life. A few minutes later they hooked me up to the monitor and saw that my pulse was 136 so, therefore, the pulse they detected was mine, not hers. An ultrasound was then ordered and there was no movement. I was asked how I wanted to proceed, whether or not I wanted to go home to let nature take its course or if I wanted to be induced. I said I wanted to be induced. I could not imagine going home and delaying the birth. I was given some privacy while they got a delivery room setup. I just broke down. When I had calmed down enough to talk, I called my sister into the room with me. She just gave me a hug and said that she was sorry. We both burst into tears. I was put in a room that was at the end of the L&D corridor, in hopes that we would be spared hearing live babies being born. Unfortunately, it was a very busy day for babies to be born. Every room was being used, which meant I’d be hearing many babies screaming as they entered the world. This would normally be a joyous occasion, but it would not be easy to hear when you are about to have a stillbirth. Before they induced me, I was given one more ultrasound by a different doctor just to confirm that Jaycee did not have a heartbeat. The result was the same. I was then induced with pitocin. The next several hours are a blur. I just sat there waiting for active labor to start. Around three in the morning, I felt a tremendous amount of pain in my bowel area. I called for a nurse. She checked me and said that the baby had descended. It was time to push. At 6:11am on October 6th, Jaycee Brianne Stephens was born. She weighed 2 pounds, 1 ounce and was 12 inches long. Minutes after the delivery, the doctor checked my placenta and said that it was abnormal. It was the likely cause of her death. The condition is called velamentous cord insertion. My body had failed her. I was able to hold my daughter for as long as I wanted. She was perfect. She may not have been breathing, but she was perfect in every other way. I only took one picture of her and now I wish I had more. I also didn’t spend enough time with her, I wish I would have spent every minute I could have with her until they requested I give her up. I saw many doctors and nurses while at the hospital, but the doctor and the nurse who were there for the delivery were exceptional. I cannot put into words how much it meant to me to have such an amazing doctor and nurse share this tragic experience with me. I was later given a death certificate but not a birth certificate. She may not have been born alive, but she was still born. I delivered her. I delivered her stillborn.
