My Body Is Cooking a Baby: Part 2

After the ultrasound, we walked back to the small examination room. We looked at the freshly printed pictures of the baby while waiting for my midwife to come back. When she came in the room, she had her own set of photos. Kim said the Placenta Previa was no longer an issue and asked to see our 4D pictures. I proudly showed off my baby portraits. After looking at them, she leaned back against the counter.


"Everything looks great, your baby is growing like she is supposed to..." a pause, "There is just one thing I am concerned about. We found fluid around the baby's heart."

What! Wait a second, I asked the technician about her heart and she did not mention anything about fluid!

"Well, what does that mean?" I asked calmly, my eyes locked on hers.

"It could be nothing, or it could be something more serious."

Oh come on, come on Kim! What kind of answer is that? What does fluid around the heart mean?

"I want you to see a specialist in Iowa City that will do a Level II ultrasound." She continued.

A specialist! If she wants me to go see a specialist this must be serious.

"We will try to get you in Monday or Tuesday."

My mind was spinning. We were flying to Florida for a weeklong conference, I explained this to Kim.

"Is it safe to wait?" I asked, "Do I need to cancel my trip?"

She seemed to consider this only for a few seconds.

"No," she responded, "Whatever this is, it will not make a difference whether we find out next week or the week after."

"What do you think this is?" I asked her.

She entertained the question. I could see in her eyes that she was thinking about what to say, and then she responded, "It could be an infection, something as simple as fighting a virus… or something more serious. I think it is best not to talk about all the different things that it could be until we actually know what this is, it will just make you worried. It is also very possible that the fluid is gone by the time you go to Iowa City, and this will turn out to be nothing."

I ended up spending quite some time in the "referral" office trying to figure out Insurance Coverage and a day that would work for us. I had time to think over my conversation with Kim and wondered why I had not pried for more answers from her. But Kim was someone that I had come to consider a friend, I trusted her. And maybe midwives are trained to look into a mother's heart.


Next:
My Body is Cooking a Baby: Part 3

Don't miss:
Road Marker 321
My Body Is Cooking a Baby: Part 1
My Body Is Cooking a Baby:Part 2