14.5 Ounce Baby Girl With Less Than 20% Chance Of Survival Survives
14.5 Ounce Baby Girl With Less Than 20% Chance Of Survival Survives
Pregnancy is not only physically difficult for many mothers — it is emotionally and psychologically daunting. A woman who is not expecting to become pregnant due to her or her partner’s physical limitations will likely feel all the more stressed when she does suddenly become pregnant.
But the feeling of hope, joy and love is often the same.
Mother Ashley Zachmeyer can certainly vouch to this. After being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), she never expected or could imagine she would one day become pregnant. But one day, she discovered she was.
The journey she would then embark upon would challenge everything she ever believed or had experienced before.
Read her amazing story below about her tiny fighter with the bravest heart, Adalee.
“My little girl had no chance of survival. How could a 14.5 ounce baby survive? Doctors had given her no chance, no hope.
When I became pregnant, it was a shock to everyone. I had been diagnosed with something called PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which led to infertility. My husband had also been told there was a slim to none chance of him having kids as well. Whenever they discovered her existence, she was already 7 weeks gestational age. They did a sonogram to find a cyst, because there was no way I could be pregnant. I had already had several negative pregnancy tests! To our surprise, there was a little heartbeat. That moment changed everything.
At the 12 week checkup, they found a blood clot in the uterus, a Subchrionic Hemmorage as they called it. I was put on bed rest and was monitored very closely. By 18 weeks, the blood clot was gone! The sonographer grew worried as she continued the anatomy scan. I knew she couldn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Her face said it all. My baby girl was 3 weeks behind on growth already and had very little amniotic fluid. From there, the OB referred us to a high-risk specialist.
The first high risk specialist I saw said there was less than 20% chance of survival. He also continued to tell me I was young and healthy, and that I needed to try again. My heart fell to the floor. I wanted to scream and cry. I asked God, ‘Why would you bless us with this baby girl just to take her away?’ I grew angry. That anger soon turned to determination, I wasn’t giving up. I got a second opinion, unfortunately by this time there was less than 1 cm of amniotic fluid. Her growth continued to grow further behind. This second specialist told me the signs of miscarriage, and sent me on my way. He told me to come back in a few weeks, to check for a heartbeat. I was beside myself.
At this point, I had almost given up. I cried, I screamed, I broke down, but when I was at my worst I ended up finding a little bit of faith. With every week that passed, I had a little more hope. Things kept getting worse, but I couldn’t give up. God chose me to be her mother for a reason. Adalee continued to grow further
Pregnancy is not only physically difficult for many mothers — it is emotionally and psychologically daunting. A woman who is not expecting to become pregnant due to her or her partner’s physical limitations will likely feel all the more stressed when she does suddenly become pregnant.
But the feeling of hope, joy and love is often the same.
Mother Ashley Zachmeyer can certainly vouch to this. After being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), she never expected or could imagine she would one day become pregnant. But one day, she discovered she was.
The journey she would then embark upon would challenge everything she ever believed or had experienced before.
Read her amazing story below about her tiny fighter with the bravest heart, Adalee.
“My little girl had no chance of survival. How could a 14.5 ounce baby survive? Doctors had given her no chance, no hope.
When I became pregnant, it was a shock to everyone. I had been diagnosed with something called PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which led to infertility. My husband had also been told there was a slim to none chance of him having kids as well. Whenever they discovered her existence, she was already 7 weeks gestational age. They did a sonogram to find a cyst, because there was no way I could be pregnant. I had already had several negative pregnancy tests! To our surprise, there was a little heartbeat. That moment changed everything.
At the 12 week checkup, they found a blood clot in the uterus, a Subchrionic Hemmorage as they called it. I was put on bed rest and was monitored very closely. By 18 weeks, the blood clot was gone! The sonographer grew worried as she continued the anatomy scan. I knew she couldn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Her face said it all. My baby girl was 3 weeks behind on growth already and had very little amniotic fluid. From there, the OB referred us to a high-risk specialist.
The first high risk specialist I saw said there was less than 20% chance of survival. He also continued to tell me I was young and healthy, and that I needed to try again. My heart fell to the floor. I wanted to scream and cry. I asked God, ‘Why would you bless us with this baby girl just to take her away?’ I grew angry. That anger soon turned to determination, I wasn’t giving up. I got a second opinion, unfortunately by this time there was less than 1 cm of amniotic fluid. Her growth continued to grow further behind. This second specialist told me the signs of miscarriage, and sent me on my way. He told me to come back in a few weeks, to check for a heartbeat. I was beside myself.
At this point, I had almost given up. I cried, I screamed, I broke down, but when I was at my worst I ended up finding a little bit of faith. With every week that passed, I had a little more hope. Things kept getting worse, but I couldn’t give up. God chose me to be her mother for a reason. Adalee continued to grow further