Doctors Couldn’t Figure Out Why Her Baby Wasn’t Growing. Then They Saw This.

When it comes to pregnancy, so many little things can go wrong.

Even if a mother does everything she’s instructed to do with her diet and prenatal care, it’s a whole tiny ecosystem in there. Umbilical cords help keep the fetus fed and growing, but did you know there could be knots in them? Most people who experience this phenomenon develop a pseudoknot, or an exaggerated loop of an umbilical artery. But even more rare is a true knot, and it can cause all kinds of problems. One mom who became known for sharing her pregnancy online is sharing her experience with this rare occurrence.

Rebecca Meldrum had a difficult pregnancy and shared her struggles online.

At 36 weeks, doctors induced labor due to fears that her baby wasn’t growing fast enough.

Eventually, she gave birth via C-section to a baby girl who was a little more than five pounds.

Because her baby girl was so small, she was sent to the neo-natal care unit after getting some skin-to-skin bonding time.

View this post on Instagram

I am absolutely unbelievably worn out, these last few days have taken it out of me physically & emotionally, today just tipped the boat, Ive hit a wall & keep getting told how exhausted I look. Baby girl is being cared for by the neonatal team, I've been to see her twice & whilst I know it's absolutely the best place for her to be it's just heartbreaking not having her by my side & not being able to hold her. I managed to slap a smile on and call the girls to tell them their Sister had arrived & they were very excited. We won't be having them to the hospital to visit, I miss them both so much but neonatal isn't the place for them & seeing me at the moment wouldn't be good for them either. Thank you all so so much for all of your lovely messages & comments, thank you to my wonderful mum who has been run ragged by the girlies, thank you to @mrlmeldrum who has been my rock, providing love & laughter in equal measures, thank you to my chums that have always been at the other end of the phone supporting me & finally a huge huge thank you to all of the staff at Aberdeen maternity hospital, especially everyone I've seen today! Such an incredible team, we are unbelievably lucky to have the NHS & I may be shattered & completely run into the ground but I am being so well looked after. Fingers crossed for a good nights sleep & hopefully I'll be able to handle neonatal better tomorrow when I've got a little more life in me. This post feels a little like a dramatic awards ceremony, but I just wanted to get it down whilst it's on my (slightly drugged) mind!

A post shared by Rebecca (@mrsrmeldrum) on

After they were both stabilized, Meldrum shared an image of her daughter’s umbilical cord, which had a true knot that possibly restricted the flow of nutrients to the baby.

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If you're squeamish or eating your breakfast then look away now! This knot was in Poppy's cord, a True Knot which apparently is pretty uncommon 1 in 2,000 babies I think the midwife said. Just another thing to add to her story, it's going to be one heck of a pregnancy, labour & birth book! So so many of you have been through the neonatal thing & I am blown away by just how many people have poorly/early babies. Before I had Poppy I'd known friends who had babies go into NICU & always thought it sounded hard but you know, they're in the best place so it's fine… I can honestly say I have never ever been through emotions like I have been through these last few days & I'm sure will continue to go through until we are all home together. I've cried in a way I've never heard myself cry before, loud, ugly & almost primal need for my baby to be with me, I've stared into space for hours upon end wishing I was pregnant still, I've gone through every hospital appointment, scan & meeting from the last 6 months trying to work out how this could have ended up differently & I have sobbed to countless midwives about not knowing how I'm feeling, the guilt, the fear, the unexplainable emotions. I don't think anything could ever prepare you for not being with your baby after labour & delivery, but today I feel like I've turned a corner. I'm sure it's the tonic of skin to skin with Poppy but I'm feeling more confident, more ready to face NICU & want to get involved in anyway I can with caring for my baby. Thank you again to all of you that have messaged me. There are so so many stories to go through but the things that really help the most are those tips on what to do when I can't be holding her, different ways to interact and have contact with her, the types of touch Preemies like & the types of questions to ask in neonatal. Thank you all so so much!

A post shared by Rebecca (@mrsrmeldrum) on

Meldrum wrote about the emotional experience of dealing with this condition in a caption accompanying her photo.

If you’re squeamish or eating your breakfast then look away now! This knot was in Poppy’s cord, a True Knot which apparently is pretty uncommon 1 in 2,000 babies I think the midwife said. Just another thing to add to her story, it’s going to be one heck of a pregnancy, labour & birth book! So so many of you have been through the neonatal thing & I am blown away by just how many people have poorly/early babies.

Before I had Poppy I’d known friends who had babies go into NICU & always thought it sounded hard but you know, they’re in the best place so it’s fine… I can honestly say I have never ever been through emotions like I have been through these last few days & I’m sure will continue to go through until we are all home together. I’ve cried in a way I’ve never heard myself cry before, loud, ugly & almost primal need for my baby to be with me, I’ve stared into space for hours upon end wishing I was pregnant still, I’ve gone through every hospital appointment, scan & meeting from the last 6 months trying to work out how this could have ended up differently & I have sobbed to countless midwives about not knowing how I’m feeling, the guilt, the fear, the unexplainable emotions.

I don’t think anything could ever prepare you for not being with your baby after labour & delivery, but today I feel like I’ve turned a corner. I’m sure it’s the tonic of skin to skin with Poppy but I’m feeling more confident, more ready to face NICU & want to get involved in anyway I can with caring for my baby. Thank you again to all of you that have messaged me. There are so so many stories to go through but the things that really help the most are those tips on what to do when I can’t be holding her, different ways to interact and have contact with her, the types of touch Preemies like & the types of questions to ask in neonatal. Thank you all so so much!

Though their journey continues to be a difficult one, Meldrum’s updates on Instagram show her daughter continuing to improve.

(via DailyMail)

I’m so glad mom and baby are both recovering. She’ll have quite the story to tell her little girl when she grows up!

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