Thanks for tuning into today’s conversation with the amazing Ann, all the way from the USA who shares with us the story of her motherhood journey and in particular the birth and death and her baby Elijah who passed away at term due to a small placenta size. Since then, Ann has created an amazing organisation in the USA called measure the placenta, backed by research showing that the detection of small placentas through measuring the placenta during pregnancy could help prevent a large number of stillbirths.

In this episode we chat all about

✔️wanting to be a mum but also working her first 3 pregnancies around her PhD so that she could try and finish it

✔️having very heavy bleeding during her second pregnancy, being told it was likely an impeding miscarriage, despite seeing a heart beat on the ultrasound, but turned out to be a subchorionic haematoma and baby survived

✔️falling pregnant with her 4th baby (thinking this would be her last), everything going well until 39 weeks of pregnancy

✔️being in denial that Elijah could be dead even though Ann hadn’t felt movements for a very long time and Elijah was an active baby

✔️still being in denial during Elijah’s labour, trying to pretend that he would be born alive

✔️birthing her son Elijah, stillborn, and agreeing to do an autopsy and test on his placenta to find out the cause of his death

✔️meeting with the pathologist after reading the report of Elijah’s placenta analysis to find out why Elijah died and being dismissed or not being helped in finding the cause of her son’s death

✔️connecting with Dr Harvey Kliman so he could determine the cause of Elijah’s death, being that Elijah’s size was too big for his small placenta

✔️creating “Measure the placenta” an association trying to create change and get placenta measured in the prenatal period

✔️how measuring the estimated placental volume (EPV) could prevent full term stillbirth and why you should request it at your next ultrasound!

✔️pregnancy after her son’s Elijah’s stillbirth and how she navigated the “most stressful” time of her life

✔️having 63 prenatal appointments during her 5th pregnancy with her rainbow baby

Measure the placenta - https://www.measuretheplacenta.org/

https://www.instagram.com/measuretheplacenta/

If you are currently pregnant, thinking of trying for a baby or know someone who is, please check out my FREE YouTube series “I’m pregnant! Now what?” Where I take you through how to navigate the system, how to effectively question and say “no”, what is consent, what models of care are available and so much more, it is available on my YouTube channel @Cuppawithadoula

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Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy this episode!

Alicia :)