I just lost my daughter at 24 weeks pregnant on Jan. 29th, she lived for 2 hours. She had anencephaly (where the brain and skull do not develp completly). We found out through the ultrasound and we chose to enduce labor. We found out that if we went full term, she could live 10-30 days. I could not put her through that. The doctor of course told me and my husband to wait 1 year. He has just released me so we are trying again right away. But I need to be put on a high dose of folic acid.
My question is, is has this ever happened to anyone where the same thing happened to the next pregnancy?
Thanks,
B.
Hi B.,
First off, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know your daughter is rejoicing in heaven.
This didn't happen to me but it did happen to someone I know. They got pregnant not too long after the birth of their first child (she chose to carry to term) and had a healthy baby boy the second time around. Best wishes to you and your family.
I am so sorry for your loss. If I am reading this correctly, you have lost 2 children? I can not relate to your losses, but I want to say that you must be a very brave and strong person. I am a pediatric nurse and my understanding is that having another baby w/anencephaly is low. I wish you the best to you and your family.
I am so sorry to hear of your losses.
Hi B.,
I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter. My sister just went through the same loss on Feb. 8th. Her little girl had anencephaly also and she made the brave decision like you to interupt the pregnancy. I don't know what information that your doctors have given you but the odds of this happening again are very low, especially if the baby had no other problems. The odds for the first pregnancy are around 1 in 1000 and the increase slightly for the second but anencephaly is a neural tube defect that is related to folic acid deficency. If you take a folic acid supplement along with your prenatal vitamin for a few months before conceiving again your odds are extremely low for anencephaly a second time. I am an RN and my husband is a MD so we have researched all that we could to help my sister out and she herself has become very well informed on this subject. I hope this information helps and I wish you and your family all the best.
I haven't experienced anything like that, but I wanted to ofer my sympathy all the same. I am so sorry for your loss. You are in my thoughts.
