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08/05/2003
Fluid dynamics
The March of Dimes has this to say about oligohydramnios, the condition of having too little amniotic fluid (and thus too small a gestational sac):
In the first half of pregnancy, too little amniotic fluid is associated with birth defects of the lungs and limbs and increases the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth and stillbirth. [...] The causes of oligohydramnios are not completely understood. The majority of pregnant women who develop the condition have no identifiable risk factors.
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Oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) and Anhydramnios (no amniotic fluid) do not necessarily mean a death sentence for your baby. Over 70 percent of doctors have no treatment regime for these conditions and for the ones that do, it is almost always termination. I’ve been there. My wife and I were told that in the 1 in a million chance the baby did make it to birth he would be in a much pain because he would be born with nonfunctioning lungs and would die within the hour. We were advised by over 20 doctors that the humane thing to do would be to terminate the pregnancy. Today Sebastian is 20 months old and well acting like a 20 month old. Bottom line is there are multiple options available. First thing you need to do is find a doctor who specializes in high risk pregnancies, a perinatologist not an OBGYN who is willing to take a chance and be your champion. Doctors like Jessica Bienstock at Johns Hopkins and Bruce Young at New York University Hospital. There are many other great ones out there all over the world. If you cannot for any reason work with either of these two doctors, at least have your doctor consult with them. They can explain doctor-to-doctor about Sebastian and his case and treatment. Every week I deal with individuals who are going through this. My email address is rvolmer@crosbyvolmer.com. Email me and I am happy to discuss what we did and hopefully offer you a bit of hope. Also you can visit Sebastian’s website http://www.godsmiracleofsebastian.com.
So I know from first hand experience that people don't read what is plainly in sight (worked in a restaurant with a "Please Wait to be Seated" sign) so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised reading Rob's comment. Um hello? Did you see the date that Julie posted this? That's one hell of a long pregnancy there! And yeah I know, I’m jaded too, I’m sure he’s just one of those don’t even think of terminating because you may have a miracle baby just like us types. I’m happy for them, really I am but...
For what it's worth I'm rereading your archives after recommending it to a friend, you saved my sanity during my IVF cycles - thank you!
Oligohydramnios and Anhydramnios are scary words when you here them from your doctor. I know as I have been there. My wife was diagnosed at 13 weeks as having no amniotic fluid. We were told to terminate the pregnancy by numerous doctors. Instead we researched the issue and found a number of groundbreaking procedures being performed by top doctors in the field some with a 75 percent success rate. None of these procedures ended up working for us but my wife still carried the baby to term with no accumulation of fluid. Today because we did not head the advice of the doctors and fought for our child, we have a healthy two-year old boy. Please feel free to email me so I can share our story and potential solutions if you are in a similar scenario. rvolmer@crosbyvolmer.com