Stress harming baby?

[Thegirlhasnoname]

Hello

Some back story - on Thursday my DP was in a serious motorbike accident on his way to work and luckily, after a full day at hospital, was able to walk.. or hobble.. away from it with fractured knees and multiple facial fractures. (His motorbike has not been quite as lucky but he’s decided he’s taking the car from now on once his knees are better anyway! And he will be taking even more care when driving so he doesn’t do stupid things like the van driver who injured him, and claimed full liability) Obviously as his next of kin, I was contacted by the police from the scene telling me that my unconcious DP was heading to the local hospital and on rushing to A&E to a sight I can honestly say I never want to see again, but know how lucky he has been, especially given two other motorbike riders that were in the beds either side of him. It was a very stressful day however.

On the advice of the nurses on DP’s observation ward, I contacted my midwife as stress can impact an unborn baby and they were saying that I should probably look into getting an extra scan. Midwife doesn’t seem concerned and said that as long as baby can still be felt moving that things are okay, it’s more prolonged stress that has an impact, etc. Baby is moving but at 22 weeks there isn’t an obvious pattern to her movements yet!

I’m not too worried as baby is moving and I think I’m still getting over my DP’s brush with death, but would you say I should book a private scan anyway? I don’t want to waste people’s time and money that could help prepare for baby coming!

Thanks (and sorry for the length!)

Personally I would not, based on the midwife's advice. As your midwife said, the concerns about stress tend to be linked to longer term stress and are around lower birth weights and premature births. Particularly as you are well launched into the second trimester, it sounds like your baby is fine, even if you are still shaking.

On the other hand, if it is likely to keep preying on your mind, by all means go ahead and book a private scan if it will help you feel at ease. Plenty of people book one just to have an extra look!

Hope your other half is on the mend, and that the van driver cops for the lot!

Thank you for replying 🙂

It’s not weighing on my mind so much as baby is still moving around and the midwife doesn’t feel like it’ll be an issue, I’m just getting relatives saying that I should get it checked out constantly and I didn’t want to come across as a bad mum before baby is even born! I think I’ll leave it though like you said

The van driver will be paying out for a lot I think - especially because the legal team for the motorbike insurance had a definite perked up voice when they found out the van owned by a widely known company!