Faith and Prayers

Last week we went in for my 20 week ultrasound. We already knew we were having a baby girl but we had not had the full "head to toe" check up. My doctors appointment was first and everything went well as expected. The babies heart sounded strong, my belling was growing and I had even gained a few pounds back. After the hour wait, and 15 minute checkup I was send over to get my ultrasound. I told Chris he didn't need to come if he didn't want to. He had been there for the ultrasound we found out the gender and I expected this one to be uneventful. He decided he still wanted to be there and met me at the hospital after my doctor appointment. We were pleasantly surprised and actually got taken back EARLY for our ultrasound and didn't have to wait at all. The ultrasound started and went much like my other 2 had gone. The first thing that looked a little strange was my placenta which is really really low in my uterus it actually appears to be blocking my cervix right now and they explained that if it doesn't move up when my uterus starts to grow and stretch the baby would need to be delivered by C-Section. This is not ideal for me because I have easy vaginal births, but it is do-able and didn't give me great cause to alarm. The ultrasound tech was taking a very long time looking at things and I remember thinking "this is going longer than I remember my other ones going" she spent an especially long time trying to get pictures of the heart and looking at my cord. Before she left she told us that the doctor would be in to talk to us and that I has something called SUA, which means I am missing an artery in my umbilical cord. Then she left the room and we were left to wonder what that meant. The doctor came in 5 minutes later and gave us a rundown of SUA, what it is, what it means, and what we needed to do.

To be honest the next 20 minutes of our appointment are kind of a blur of memories but basically this is SUA in a nutshell,

Normally, when the umbilical cord develops, it forms three vessels: two arteries and one vein. However, in some cases, just one artery develops. Precisely why this occurs is not entirely known. It is suspected, though, that one artery may simply stop growing as it develops or perhaps that the primordial umbilical artery does not divide properly.

This malformation of the umbilical cord has been found to affect between 0.5% to 3% of pregnancies and 1 in 100 live births. Caucasian women are twice as likely to experience this complication compared to Japanese and Black women. Additionally, women having a multiple pregnancy are three to four times as likely to develop SUA. Other factors that may increase your risk:

• Advanced maternal age (over 40)
• Having 3 or more previous children
• Diabetes
• Female fetal sex, this seems to be the only risk factor I have.

In babies with SUA, some studies suggest that about 45 percent have birth defects, including chromosomal and/or other abnormalities. These can include trisomy 13 or trisomy 18. However, the most common pregnancy complications that occur in infants with SUA are heart defects, gastrointestinal tract abnormalities and problems with the central nervous system. The respiratory system, urinary tract, and musculoskeletal system may also be affected. One in five babies affected by SUA will be born with multiple malformations.

Aside from these problems, between 55% and 70% of infants with SUA may suffer from intrauterine growth retardation. Single umbilical artery also has an increased miscarrage rate of 22% associated with it, and still births likely due to the increased abnormalities. Furthermore, there is an association between SUA and low birthweight and early delivery.

So what does this mean for us? Well we will get to have lots and lots of ultra sounds. Every 4 weeks we will go in to the doctor and monitor our little girl to see how well she is growing and how well her organs are developing. Who doesn't like ultrasounds. I am happy to peek at my baby more often than most.

I spent most of Wednesday night in tears and talking to both families. We are blessed to be surround by great families and friends who rallied around us and gave many words of support and encouragement. Since then there has been a quiet peace that has filled my heart.I am so grateful to have the knowledge of the gospel in my life. I do not know that the baby will be okay, but I do know that I will be okay. That this little spirit will be sent to earth exactly as she was meant to be. My testimony of our Heavenly Fathers plan has increased and I know with all my heart that he is mindful of the little details of our lives and our concerns do not go unnoticed. His hand is present in our lives and he is carefully and expertly guiding us with love down the path that will bring us to the places we need to be. Chris gave me a beautiful blessing and blessed me with strength and increased closeness to the Lord. My fears are slowly ebbing away to faith and I feel as if my ground is becoming more solid. The other good news is there are babies that are born completely normal with SUA so our little girl could end up being just fine!

Thanks to everyone who has said a prayer in our behalf it is so humbling to realize how much support you have. We love you all and we are hopeful and thinking happy thoughts!