How worried do I need to be about stillbirth?

[preggersandworried]

I'm just into my third trimester and worrying again. How worried do I need to be about stillbirth and is there anything I can do to mitigate the risk? I don't feel movements very strongly due to anterior placenta and definitely haven't noticed a particular pattern or anything like that. Sometimes I go ages without feeling anything. Really not sure how to monitor movements given this? Also haven't actually been told to do this by the hospital! But have an appointment this week (29 weeks).

I think the odds of a stillbirth (with no other risk factors) is about 1 in 200. Pretty low really!

I’ve had an anterior placenta before (posterior this time). I’m not sure my DD’s movements were regular but if I was concerned I just lay down and concentrated on her. I always felt enough to reassure me. If I hadn’t then I would have gone to get checked. If you are ever concerned, just go get checked!

It's not really a specific pattern. For me it was more stuff like positions I could usually feel movements in, or times. I had anterior placenta too. Working at my desk with my feet up usually meant I could feel her twiddling away at the bottom near my pelvis. Lots of movements at the top at about 9pm. More movements after a drink or food. That sort of thing. But there isn't a pattern in the sense of "three knocks and a kick at 2pm" which is the sort of thing I thought they meant! What I would say, as someone who has had a late stillbirth (due to very unusual known medical issues with the baby's development), is that if movements really change you will know. You just will. Your body already knows the pattern even if you can't articulate it. Whenever you're anxious, go in. But you would be very unlucky to have a stillbirth.

When I had an anterior placenta there was never a pattern to baby's movements, I just accepted that no pattern was the pattern, the movements did get bigger as I got further along but never anything that constituted a routine.

Do you suffer from health anxiety? The solution for HA is never to keep thinking about the obsession.

Stillbirth is quite rare. That's how most people deal with it.

It's not health anxiety. You're told to keep track of movements and go in immediately if they reduce as that's proven to be the best indicator of potential problems with the baby. When you have anterior placenta you can't feel the movements in the first place. Of course you worry about not knowing if something is wrong if you keep being told you have to keep track of a pattern you can't perceive due to placenta position .

If it helps, my placenta is posterior and I still don't know what the pattern of movement is at 38 weeks! I second guess myself all the time. In terms of prevention, the only thing I know of is sleeping on your left hand side.

Everybody on MN seems to have HA.

Thanks for your replies.

As @User12879923378 said I really don't think it's health anxiety! It's because they tell you to keep track but I can't! I'm still working so it's really not that easy for me to just go in and get checked all the time and I don't want to waste everyone's time. Such a worrying time!