Getting pregnant and knowing that a life is growing inside your womb is a wonderful feeling for any woman. However, having a miscarriage or giving birth to a stillborn baby can be tragic and cause the mother to experience perinatal grief that is sometimes difficult to overcome and can last a long time. This is the case of this mother who saw her baby die in her womb. After deciding to sell her business with which she wanted to welcome him, she receives a nice surprise, report our colleagues from Dailymail. Contents Stillbirth
Stillbirth or intrauterine death is the subsequent delivery of a dead baby that occurs beyond 20 completed weeks of gestation. The majority of stillbirths occur before delivery, while a small percentage occur during delivery.
Why do stillbirths happen?
Placental problems: Women with placental abruption, or a form of pregnancy-related high blood pressure called preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension, are at twice the risk of rupture or stillbirth than unaffected women. Sometimes insufficient oxygen and nutrients can also contribute to the death of the baby.
Birth defects: Sometimes a baby has structural defects that are not caused by chromosomal abnormalities, but may have genetic, environmental, or unknown causes.
Growth restriction: Babies who fail to grow or grow at an appropriate rate risk death from asphyxiation (lack of oxygen) both before and during birth.
Infections: Bacterial infections between 24 and 27 weeks of gestation can lead to fetal death. These infections usually go unnoticed by the mother and may go undiagnosed until they lead to serious complications.
Unfortunately, despite efforts to find out why, the cause cannot be determined for about a third of stillbirths.
After a stillbirth, the mother may be very affected by this event and suffer from long-lasting grief. Such was the case of this bereaved mother who, after a while, wanted to sell her long-awaited baby’s belongings, but the surprise was very touching.
A bereaved mother
Valerie Watts from Cokato City, Minnesota, USA was pregnant in her ninth month of pregnancy and had everything ready for the birth of her son.
But just days before her due date, she sensed something was wrong. Her baby wasn’t moving like it used to.
It later turned out that her son Noah had died in her womb before being born. Valérie was devastated and sank into deep mourning. Besides, she didn’t have the courage to get rid of her son’s belongings for more than a year, her unborn child’s room had remained intact.
After a year of her son’s death, Valerie finally decided to sell the crib she had hoped to house Noah in at a garage sale, since keeping the crib was a constant reminder of his death.
A man named Gerald Kumpula had come to the flea market, seen the piece of furniture, and immediately asked Valerie how much she wanted for it. They agreed on a price, then Gerald left with the crib.
Discovery of meaning
Gerald had no idea of Valerie’s tragedy, or the meaning of the cradle to her, or that it was the last physical memory she had of her dead son. He had simply assumed that she was selling items she no longer needed.
Gerald’s wife had chatted with Valerie for a bit and was shocked when Valerie told her what had happened. When she got home she told the story to her husband Gerald, it was then that Gerald realized how important the crib was to the grieving mother.
However, Gerald also realized that the crib couldn’t stay with Valerie forever, at least in its current form. And since he is a carpenter, he immediately had an idea. He transformed the cradle into a beautiful chair that Valérie could keep forever as a souvenir of her son.
The nice surprise
A week after buying the crib, Gerald returned to see Valerie with the precious gift. The cradle, once unused and a painful reminder of Noah, was now a beautiful chair that could stay forever in his home, and in his heart.
Valerie was very touched by this beautiful gesture and had tears in her eyes when she saw what Gérald had done. A gesture of great kindness.
Many parents, sadly, know what it’s like to be in Valerie’s shoes, and know that grief lingers in the heart after the loss of a child. Feel free to share this very touching story!
