Baby Who Stopped Moving in Womb Born Looking 'Ghostly White'
The miracle of life growing inside a womb is a beautiful phenomenon, and a mother has a unique bond with the child she carries. Her umbilical cord transports everything her baby needs until he or she is ready to enter the world.
But sometimes, this physical bond can’t supply everything necessary for a healthy gestation. When that occurs, it’s up to the mother to pick up on cues from their growing little one.
For newborn Aubrey Lynn Vronko in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that physical bond ended up being compromised. Thankfully, she was able to communicate to her mother Brenda in such a way that ended up saving her life.
The baby had a condition that would not have been caught in time, had her mother not noticed a strange behavior. Thankfully, her mother sought medical attention before it was too late.
Brenda Vronko, an early childhood supervisor, enjoyed many pleasant wake up calls from her baby throughout her pregnancy. Vronko said, “She was a very active baby. When I would wake up, she would be bouncing around.”
On the night of Aug. 26, Brenda Vronko noticed something was off. At 36 weeks pregnant, her normally highly active child was not bouncing around in the womb.
Vronko reported, “Saturday night I was exhausted, but when I laid down she was still very active. Sunday when I woke up, she wasn’t. She usually is active right away when I wake up. She wasn’t moving around like normal.”
Not wanting to be overly alarmed, the mother tried napping to cause the baby to respond. This did not seem to do the trick, so Jeremy Vronko suggested a tried and true test: a delicious meal of pizza and breadsticks.
Jeremy commented, “They were like fireworks for Brenda and the baby.” But after the family of four, very soon to be five, enjoyed the greasy and delicious takeout, baby fifth Vronko remained still.
Brenda took herself to the hospital, still hoping nothing serious was going on. They monitored the baby’s heart rate and gave Brenda a button to push every time the baby moved.
The mother said, “I was starting to panic. She didn’t move hardly at all.” Her husband arrived in time for Brenda to go in for an emergency C-Section.
Aubrey Lynn Vronko was born on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017 at 10 p.m. and weighed 6 pounds. But there was something seriously wrong. Jeremy said, “She looked ghostly. She looked lethargic. She didn’t cry for several minutes.”
Baby Vronko exhibited a condition called maternal fetal bleeding. She was immediately transferred to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital to treat her anemia and blood loss.
No. 1: Brenda Vronko’s intuition saved her unborn baby girls’ life. #Top17in2017 https://t.co/JGTjA8uBUb pic.twitter.com/Zr2H4saR7n
— devoschildrens (@devoschildrens) December 31, 2017
Grateful to have Aubrey in treatment and in the world with them, the Vronko family hoped the worst was over. Unfortunately, Brenda could not stop bleeding from the C-Section procedure.
Brenda ended up needing a full hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. She says, “I remember getting into the operating room, but I don’t remember recovery. I think because it was such a traumatic experience I blocked it out. What hit me was she wasn’t with me like a normal post-baby delivery.”
Aubrey remained in the neonatal intensive care unit for 17 days, and today is thriving at home with her loving family. Brenda encourages mothers to always trust their mommy instincts: “I knew something wasn’t right. In this case, it saved her life.”
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