“I was ten days past my due date with my first child and my doctor continued to tell me not to worry. But I went on the internet and saw some research that said there was a higher risk of stillbirth when you are overdue. That freaked me out. At my next appointment the doctor did a stress test, and said we were both fine, and was about to send me home. But I happened to ask the technician what other tests were important at this stage, and she mentioned one that measured your amniotic fluid level. My husband and I asked if we could have that test. It showed my fluid was dangerously low, which is what can cause stillbirths. They wouldn’t let me go home. I went to Labor & Delivery immediately.

Later at the hospital, my husband and I asked the nurse why the line disappeared on the baby’s heartbeat monitor whenever I had a contraction. She panicked, ran for the doctor, who yelled at her for not noticing it sooner. The baby was in distress because of low fluid. In ten seconds, the delivery room turned into an operating room. It was traumatic. I learned to never turn over the ultimate responsibility of your and your baby’s life to the doctor. What if we never asked those questions? No matter how many degrees they have, or how much you would like to trust them, you really cannot.” -From, “The Mocha Manual To A Fabulous Pregnancy” By: Kimberly Seals-Allers