A placental abruption and a breech baby were not what Laci had in mind when she and her husband Luke began trying for a baby. At that point, Laci had faced a devastating journey of miscarriages, yet she remained determined to make their dreams come true. Laci visited Cherokee Women’s Health to seek answers on what was causing her miscarriages.
Cherokee Women’s Health Discovers the Cause of Laci’s Miscarriages
Through hormone testing, her doctor discovered she had MTFHR, also known as hyperhomocysteinemia. It’s a condition where homocysteine levels are elevated. High homocysteine levels, coupled with low folic acid levels, can lead to pregnancy complications, including miscarriages. With this discovery, Laci’s prenatal vitamins were adjusted, and she was started on progesterone.
Pregnant with Rainbow Baby Girl
A few months later, Laci was pregnant with her rainbow baby girl!
“Advocating for myself was a big thing after my miscarriages. I couldn’t sit there and let myself go into depression. I wanted to find out more about my body and learn about myself.”
– Laci shares about her infertility journey
Fetal Change Scare at 36 Weeks
Laci had a smooth pregnancy — up until 36 weeks — when she started to notice her baby not moving as much. She was hesitant to share her concerns because she could still feel her baby move, just not as much. Also, Laci found herself having high anxiety with each ultrasound appointment due to her past of hearing bad news.
Laci knew she had to speak up, so she explained her worries to her doctor. Dr. Lisa McLeod performed a stress test. It was during that test that she noticed the baby’s heart rate was sporadic. Dr. McLeod sent Laci to the hospital for further monitoring.
Laci shared, “I started having anxiety during the stress test, so I thought that I was causing the test to go a little bit crazy. But Dr. McLeod said that there may be something going on and she needed to send me to Labor and Delivery at Northside Hospital Cherokee in Canton. I’m very thankful that I spoke up and that Dr. McLeod was there for me.”
Further Evaluation Leads to Delivery at Hospital
Once Laci and Luke arrived at the hospital, Dr. James Haley began to monitor her and run more tests.
“When we were sent to the hospital that day, and I saw Dr. Haley was on call, I just felt at peace. I looked at my husband, and I said, if they want to take the baby today, I’m at peace with that because I had been praying that Dr. Haley would be the one to deliver our baby anyway.”
– Laci recalls being grateful that Dr. Haley would be delivering her baby
All of Laci’s tests came back normal, she had no pain or bleeding, and everything appeared to be fine. Dr. Haley continued monitoring the baby’s movements and started to discuss Laci going home. Although there were no obvious worrisome signs on the fetal monitor, Dr. Haley had a gut feeling that things were not quite right. He decided to keep Laci in the hospital and monitor her longer. When he was unable to feel reassured with the baby, he felt it best to proceed with delivery.
Laci revealed about her discussion with Dr. Haley, “I remember asking Dr. Haley, “Do you have peace about sending me home? Or do you have peace about delivery?” He replied, “I don’t have peace about sending you home, but I’ve got peace about going ahead and getting you delivered.” And so that’s what we did!”
Breech Baby and Placental Abruption
During Dr. Haley’s evaluation, it was determined the baby was in a breech to transverse position, and therefore a C-section would be the safest option for delivery. At the time of the C-section, it was discovered that she had a placental abruption. Placental abruption is when a portion of the placenta shears off from its attachment to the uterine lining resulting in loss of blood and oxygen to the baby. It can readily lead to the death of the baby and serious problems for the mother. Within minutes, Dr. Haley and the team had everything under control and Laci and her baby were out of danger.
After this life-threatening emergency, Laci and Luke were able to welcome her healthy baby girl, Livian Joan, into the world. Baby Livian Joan was named after Laci’s mother-in-law and grandmother, and Joan means, ‘God is gracious’, so her name carries even a bigger meaning after her scary entrance into the world.
Grateful for Dr. Haley and Cherokee Women’s Health
Sharing more about her experience, Laci added,
“Dr. Haley has a light about him, and I could feel he has a good heart. I fully trusted him and that gave me peace to deliver that day. It takes a while to build trust with a doctor over time, but there are some doctors when they walk in the room, you know you can trust them, and Dr. Haley is one of them.”
– Laci’s gratitude toward Dr. Haley
Laci goes on to say, “I believe everyone at Cherokee Women’s could have handled it, but Dr. Haley handled it with such grace. There are so many bad outcomes with placental abruptions. God was there through it all. I’m so thankful for Dr. Haley for making that call to deliver because we were so close to going home, and it may not have turned out the way it did.”
