Posted on Oct 27, 2022
At 18 weeks pregnant, she faced an immense decision with just days to make it
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/10/27/ [login to see] /abortion-law-exception-fetal-anomaly
In April, Karla Renée got a surprise positive on a pregnancy test. She and her husband Sam had tried unsuccessfully to get pregnant before and had expected they'd need fertility treatments.
"For it to just happen naturally felt like a miracle," she says. "We were ecstatic."
By the time she found a doctor in her insurance network near where she lived outside of Raleigh, N.C., and got in for her first appointment, she was eight weeks pregnant.
"The doctor noted that since I'll be 35 when the baby was due, I should take a screening test for genetic anomalies," she says. "We agreed to do the test and we scheduled our next appointment for a month out."
For those few weeks, they were just "blissfully pregnant," she says.
At the 12-week appointment, the doctor noticed something called increased nuchal translucency in the ultrasound. This happens when extra fluid accumulates behind the neck of a fetus. "We'd never heard [of] that before," says Karla. "She explained that lots of babies have this and they can recover on their own, but it could be an indication of something more serious."
In April, Karla Renée got a surprise positive on a pregnancy test. She and her husband Sam had tried unsuccessfully to get pregnant before and had expected they'd need fertility treatments.
"For it to just happen naturally felt like a miracle," she says. "We were ecstatic."
By the time she found a doctor in her insurance network near where she lived outside of Raleigh, N.C., and got in for her first appointment, she was eight weeks pregnant.
"The doctor noted that since I'll be 35 when the baby was due, I should take a screening test for genetic anomalies," she says. "We agreed to do the test and we scheduled our next appointment for a month out."
For those few weeks, they were just "blissfully pregnant," she says.
At the 12-week appointment, the doctor noticed something called increased nuchal translucency in the ultrasound. This happens when extra fluid accumulates behind the neck of a fetus. "We'd never heard [of] that before," says Karla. "She explained that lots of babies have this and they can recover on their own, but it could be an indication of something more serious."
At 18 weeks pregnant, she faced an immense decision with just days to make it
Posted from npr.org
Abortion
Health
Medical
Posted >1 y ago
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I will say this. My brother has three kids...one a literal rocket science engineer working for NASA, another entering Veterinarian school and his youngest full scholarship for Aeronautical Engineering. He was told on the first tow based on these same two tests that they need to abort the pregnancy. They did not and the test were proven wrong on all accounts. I have another friend with same issue, and they were told it would be best to terminate...they did not and their now 28-year-old sone is a business executive. My point is that these tests are not fully accurate. They told us that my daughter through her tests might have a issue and we told them to not even mention termination as that was not an option for us. She is now an ER nurse applying for Nurse Practitioner school. Doctors only tell you the bad...they never give percentages for the good in pregnancies unless they are specifically asked.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The parents' perspective: When Karla woke up after her abortion procedure, she found her feet had been covered with fuzzy gray socks. She felt moved that someone would show that kind of care, while she went through surgery to end her deeply wanted pregnancy.
She kept the socks. She also kept the ultrasound images, putting them and other mementos into a scrapbook. In the woods behind their house, the couple placed a stone marker near a circle of ferns. They can see the memorial from their backdoor.
Karla has found support in an online group for people who've been through the same thing. She and Sam are grateful for the understanding and kindness of colleagues – including the person who dropped off soup at their door. They don't plan to try to get pregnant again anytime soon.
Meanwhile, on the news, people are debating abortion limits at this many weeks or that many weeks in a detached, abstract way. "It's surreal watching people fight about whether I should have had the right," Karla says.
She thinks these conversations about morality and laws and what states should do are important, and she's started to jump into them a bit, including on Reddit.
People who've gone through what's called a "termination for medical reasons" aren't usually part of the conversation, she says. "I don't think it's because we don't want to be considered or included, it's that this is such a deep and private pain, and it's hard to talk about."
She does want to be part of the conversation, and that's why she's sharing her story about what it's really like to receive a serious fetal diagnosis and make the difficult decision to terminate – in a country where many state laws are making that option harder to secure."
..."The parents' perspective: When Karla woke up after her abortion procedure, she found her feet had been covered with fuzzy gray socks. She felt moved that someone would show that kind of care, while she went through surgery to end her deeply wanted pregnancy.
She kept the socks. She also kept the ultrasound images, putting them and other mementos into a scrapbook. In the woods behind their house, the couple placed a stone marker near a circle of ferns. They can see the memorial from their backdoor.
Karla has found support in an online group for people who've been through the same thing. She and Sam are grateful for the understanding and kindness of colleagues – including the person who dropped off soup at their door. They don't plan to try to get pregnant again anytime soon.
Meanwhile, on the news, people are debating abortion limits at this many weeks or that many weeks in a detached, abstract way. "It's surreal watching people fight about whether I should have had the right," Karla says.
She thinks these conversations about morality and laws and what states should do are important, and she's started to jump into them a bit, including on Reddit.
People who've gone through what's called a "termination for medical reasons" aren't usually part of the conversation, she says. "I don't think it's because we don't want to be considered or included, it's that this is such a deep and private pain, and it's hard to talk about."
She does want to be part of the conversation, and that's why she's sharing her story about what it's really like to receive a serious fetal diagnosis and make the difficult decision to terminate – in a country where many state laws are making that option harder to secure."
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Life always changes things especially when it's inexpected!
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