So many things he's discovered in his Research . about umbilical cord accidents ( UCA )
Besides all the medical lingo I am learning with. Dr. Collins talks about hiccups.. They sound harmless and cute right.. If happening often they are actually a sign that your baby is in distress, most commonly by a compressed cord . From what I'm reading, a baby will exhibit hyper activity before their demise; I read into it-- to try & alert the mom; trying to wiggle out of their situation or uncompress their cord.
I haven't dug into why most doctors, don't see hiccups as a warning sign..
More than once David had hiccups in our biweekly NST's -- because I had an anterior placenta, I never felt them. So I have to say, without NST's I wouldn't have know that they probably played into our demise. I will never know how often I had them at home, while not being monitored, because of the "stupid" anterior placenta. The nurses always said hiccups are "cute" I wish I could buy this book for them all. I don't know that it would make them believe that something is wrong..
More to come; as I read the book.
In my opinion Dr. Collins.. is the Dr. Hilgers of the Umbilical Cord world.. main stream doctors, don't necessarily "accept" their research/work easily. Dr. Collins has devoted the last 25 years of his life to the research of umbilical cord accidents. Dr. Collins believes that over 50% of stillbirth cord accidents can be avoided by closer ( daily ) monitoring. Hiccups are just one of the many signs he looks at. Hiccups, heart rate ( by monitoring daily, he gets a better idea of a pattern ) He also has learned that most fetal demise happens between 2am-4am when the mother is sleeping.
My better explanation of Dr. Collins ( Dr. Hilgers comparison ) because I know many of you know Dr. Hilgers.. ... So Dr. Hilgers would not accept the pill or pain meds as an "answer" to endometriosis. Dr. Collins, does not accept that cord accidents can't be treated; he believes closer monitoring in the 3rd trimester is essential for those in risk categories. He promotes daily monitoring vs. the ACOG accepted biweekly monitoring.
P.S. I'm not writing about this stuff to scare anyone.. I am not a doctor.. so please don't interpret this as doctors advice.. but .. the more you are informed, the more you can talk with your doctor. again, this is just my laywoman's interpretations of this book.
This stuff interests me because we've lost 4 sons unexplained by the medical world. A phrase our birth instructor always used: Informed decision making. Most doctors in a birth situation will respect your wishes if you come in with an informed reasoning. Maybe I'm filling my head with too much information at this juncture.. but I'll do it till it explodes.
I love reading your info on dr. Collins, evenore so Bc I am from LA and never heard of him or his work. Since you have shared, I have spread the word and have been hearing story after story of such sad losses of babies. Our prayers continue, I believe you are honoring him by trying to share with others what you are learning.
ReplyDeleteHe leads the research, but his wife & brother are also involved in the research. He was featured in some articles recently because of their 25th anniversary researching it.. His website is down. Interesting stuff.
DeleteWow. I didn't know that. I would very much like to read that book.
ReplyDeleteHe has it in paperback and e-book. I am sending my book to my doctor to read after I'm done with it..
DeleteI got the Kindle book and hope I can start tonight.
DeleteWow, thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMaria, it has opened my eyes to the many areas of stillbirth that are still unknown.. or un-touched. . His research is more into cord accidents...or things that lead up to cord accidents/fetal demise.
DeleteWow. Honestly though... I'm glad I didn't know that before, as Maria had hiccups a lot, and I would have been so worried. Is it more a sign when they have them a lot, or if hey suddenly start/increase? Maybe hers were just "normal"? She also hiccuped a lot after birth.
ReplyDeleteI am still reading.. I will let you know..
DeleteThat is very interesting...I remember pg friends talking about the baby having hiccups...and no one ever thought much about it. Just like your last post...need to count the kicks as well.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my daughters hiccuped frequently in utero. I talked with my OB about because I had read about this being a sign of distress, but I understood that it was also a sign of central nervous system being complete and actually a good thing as they are practicing breathing, etc...or something like that. Where it would get scary is if the hiccuping behavior changed. Of course, how is one to know what would be "different" until it was too late? Great information K - glad you are sharing it. Here is an article I found helpful - much shorter than what you are reading, but I thought it was a good jumping off point. http://www.livestrong.com/article/150862-what-causes-fetal-hiccups/
ReplyDeleteOh and to add, my OB wasn't concerned and said it was a good thing and I didn't need extra monitoring...just wanted to make that clear. But if we get pregnant again, I know it will probably be something I will be discussing with the OB again.
DeleteA facebook friend of mine just posted a link to a video about warning signs of velamentous cord insertion which can cause stillbirths...hiccups were one of the warning signs which surprised (and scares) me because my daughter had tons of hiccups. My doctor never commented on that, even though I told her about them at appointments. My daughter had lots of hiccups after being born, too, so I just assumed it was a normal thing for her. If I am ever pregnant again, I will as about monitoring if the baby has lots of hiccups. Here is the link to the video if anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmmkbkNqggw&feature=youtu.be It is called "Ben's Song"
ReplyDelete