Stillbirth - Delayed Villous Maturation

[dani130286elle]

Hi, just seeing if anyone experienced Delayed Villous Maturation of placenta when pregnant that resulted in stillbirth? It’s rare situation so not holding my breath but thought I will try here. We lost our son at 39 weeks pregnant and he was born still 3 days later. We just got results from post mortem and the most probable cause was Delayed Villous Maturation of placenta. Basically it’s a syndrome that cause placenta to not develop properly at last trimester, usually from around 34 weeks. We didn’t have any signs that something was wrong unfortunately. I was wondering if you got pregnant again what was the care like? We will discuss this at our official review but having someone who went through similar would be helpful. Thanks.

Want to send a big hug no advice but can't imagine the concern you must have

Hi, I am so sorry for the loss of your son. It is absolutely devastating. If you’re still awaiting the review then I assume it’s relatively early days for you. Sending you strength as you navigate these early months.
My baby was stillborn at 37 weeks. I did not experience the same condition but there were unexplained issues with the placenta including that it was small.
I have had subsequent pregnancies where I received very personalised care with frequent monitoring (very regular scans) and was on blood thinners (aspirin in the 1st pregnancy after loss, aspirin and heparin injections in the subsequent). Clearly I wish our story was different but I couldn’t have asked for more in terms of the care and this was discussed at the review. I really hope that your experience is similar.
Take care.

@river29 Hi, thank you so much for reaching out, firstly I am so very sorry you went through very similar situation and lost your precious baby. It is just cruel. It has only been 3 months since we lost our little Bear. I am 40 years old and Bear was the last piece to complete our family, having 5 year old daughter already, BUT it wasn't our happy ending. Due to my age we can't wait too long to try again and obviously the risks are higher as well, so it does give me a little bit of peace knowing the care should be very different if we get lucky to get pregnant again. Thank you again x

@Candy24 thank you, that is very kind x

I don’t know if it’s the same issue but someone I know lost their baby at 38 weeks due to the placenta not functioning properly, when she got pregnant again they monitored carefully with blood flows etc and delivered at 35 weeks by c section.

@dani130286elle Bear is a beautiful name for your precious boy. I am so sorry he could not stay. It’s the type of pain you could never imagine until you are living it. The limbo of waiting for the review etc is hard too and it must be complex for your daughter to understand. Truly devastating.
I really hope you have good support. I have found Sands very helpful and also the charity Teddy’s Wish were wonderful. Teddy’s Wish fund 12 sessions of counselling for parents who have lost a baby to stillbirth, neonatal death or SIDS. I started their counselling just weeks after our loss and it was life changing but of course I fully understand that different things are helpful for different people.
I wish you all the very best. Please feel free to message me if you ever want to talk, I know how helpful it can be to chat with someone who understands.

@hahabahbag Hi, thank you for the reply. It sounds like it might be similar as with DVM baby might start to struggle getting nutrition and oxygen and stop growing properly, when that is picked up it would come out as an emergency. Our one unfortunately showed no signs but my bereavement midwife suggested there will be regular placenta checks hopefully in next pregnncy if we are to conceive again. Thank you again

Sending you big hugs 🫂 My thoughts are with you all xx

Hello lovely. I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️ Our stories sound very similar, I recently lost my son at 38 weeks. I went to sleep with him kicking like normal then when I woke up there was no movement and his heart had stopped. I deliveried him 3 days later. I’ve just had my review back and I had DVM, what is strange for me is I don’t fit any of the criteria for it (diabetes, obesity etc), they can’t understand why I had it. The only thing I can think is its because we conceive through IVF. We are trying to conceive again so we have the same worries, terrified it will happen again.

Hi
I am so very sorry for your loss. I didn’t experience anything close to what you have but after a birth that was life threatening for me I was concerned the same would happen again if I became pregnant again. I reached out to a local private clinic and they had a doctor of foetal medicine who worked there who was able to do a further consultation with me. Just an idea incase you wanted a second opinion. Sending you all the love, take care xxx

@Kingobaby oh hun, I am so so sorry, it’s just so unfair and cruel. It’s mad how similar we are, as I also do not fit into any groups that would suggest I could have DVM, I was even tested for diabetes when I was around 36 weeks and all was good. Also they said usually there could be sign like baby stops growing or movements slow down, but not in our case, he was chunky baby and kicking away. I am worried sick as it was so sudden I doubt they would prevent it if same scenario happens again. But I try just to keep hope and my mind is I rather try and fail than never know if I could have another baby. I wish you all the luck in the world 🤞❤️

@FTMaz thank you for the response ❤️, we definitely look into all the options

Hi lovely. Wow we really are similar! We had no reduced movements or issues with growth either, they said my placenta ballooned which caused his heart to stop instantly, it wasn’t a gradual thing. They told us we can deliver our next baby early and mentioned 36 weeks but as DVM can start from 34 weeks i would want to deliver before then. Someone mentioned to me you can be admitted for daily checks in your third trimester so maybe ask for that and tell them it will help your mental health. You will also get so many more scans and checks! I’m going to be insufferable in my next pregnacy, it will be worth it when we have our healthy babies. If you want to talk anymore about it myTikTok is harleyamber1 xxxx

Just followed you lovely and sent a message 🙂.