Taj Hakim Allen 10_1_15 NC

From: North Carolina

I found out I was pregnant on March 12, 2015. It was totally unexpected. I was in the process of moving from my hometown so getting prenatal care was a task. My hometown doctor gave me an ultrasound within that week since I had been having heavy bleeding since I found out I was pregnant. They saw a small line and told me my placenta was not fully attached to my uterus. Approximately 6 weeks along, I began to have more bleeding and horrible cramps. At the hospital they found nothing and just told me to take it easy. Weeks continued to go by and things began to slightly improve. I was diagnosed as a gestational diabetic at approximately 16 weeks. I was labeled as high risk from that point on. I had an ultrasound with a specialist in Raleigh around week 20. They determined that my son had clubbed feet, but that everything else was perfectly fine. I had issues with my blood sugar being high.  I saw a doctor every 2 weeks once I made it to week 24. These appointments were very quick, usually lasting less than ten minutes. By week 28 I was seeing a doctor every week, twice a week. They performed a non-stress test every Monday and an ultrasound every Thursday. Between week 28 and 31 I began to have regular contractions. I went to labor and delivery. They found that I was not dehydrated, my blood sugar levels were fine and they could not find any problems. They gave me 3 bags of fluids and sent me home despite me telling them that once they stopped the fluids the contractions started back. Around week 31 I had another ultrasound with the specialist in Raleigh who once again confirmed that his only deformity was his clubbed feet. They also told me they saw another membrane which looked like a twin membrane. This additional membrane lasted the entire pregnancy. Weeks 31-34 were extremely painful. i was told that he was head down and growing perfectly according to the charts. The very end of week 33 I began to have extreme nausea, a severe loss of appetite, fatigue and horrible pain. At my non-stress test I explained to the doctor that the way I was feeling was different from how I had ever felt. I expressed my concern and said “I don’t know which one of us it is but one of us is dying. Something is not right.” He just snickered and told me I was big, and would feel better after delivery. He prescribed me Zantac and said maybe it would help me eat and not be as nauseated. I asked why my son’s heart rate kept speeding up or dropping low with contractions. He simply said it does that sometimes. Tuesday was very painful and I stayed in bed all day. Early Wednesday I questioned if my water had broken. Since this was not my first child I did not rush to the hospital. I waited a few hours to see if I would start having contractions. I went to class at 6pm as usual and shortly after the contractions began. I timed them until they were approximately 3 minutes apart and very hard. I was taken from school to labor and delivery. Moments after being checked in and weighed they began hooking me to monitors. They couldn’t find his heartbeat so they flipped me from side to side, began preparing me for an emergency c-section and doing ultrasounds. After about 5 minutes of this, the doctor came in and told me my son had passed. He said my fluid was low. I opted to continue with labor as if he was alive, feeling the pain of every contraction until I absolutely needed the medicine. Labor progressed and when it was time to push I found out he would be coming out feet first. Pushing was short lived, as I pushed around 4 sets of 3 and he was out. Upon delivery the doctor softly said “aww he’s pretty tangled in his cord.” That was that. I held my 5lb 18in baby boy I had named Taj Hakim Allen and just smiled. Though he was born sleeping, he lit up my life in his own special way. During his first bath I noticed his skin was missing in several places. My mother began asking questions. That is when I heard the nurse say that he had been gone a couple of days. Those words have replayed in my head over and over every day. I decided to share my story in hopes of bringing awareness to stillborn deaths and medical professionals who do not listen to their patients. I hope this helps someone!