Wednesdays for Wyatt and setting the record straight

Our son George was moving during my labour. I felt him kick and stretch and patted my belly as I breathed through contractions, up alone and peaceful during the wee hours of the morning May 19th of this year. Sadly, likely due to cord compression, his heart stopped beating and he bled out into me and died. I had to birth a child who never drew breath or cried.

In the week after his death, we received a copy of the documentation of stillbirth required by our province. I read it over and felt a thousand agonies when I realized the labour and delivery nurse, who had done this bit of paperwork for our midwives, had mistakenly checked the box that said our George died before my labour. Not during. I can't express why exactly, but that inaccuracy was devastating for me. I sobbed and wailed. I debated what to do. Was I just being extra sensitive or ridiculous? I paced, thought, prayed, and finally decided to contact my midwives to have it changed. I wanted it on record that my boy had been moving and active while I laboured and then at some point he grew still.

My midwives were very sympathetic to my distress, as was the perinatal care co-ordinator at the hospital where he had been born. They immediately corrected the paperwork and let me know by email that the change was made and the province would have the proper account of George's birth into eternal life.

There's not much real solace for a grieving mother, but getting the details right is a small measure of comfort. And for this reason my heart goes out to Danielle, a babylost mother in Sevierville, TN.

She carried her son Wyatt, knowing that he had a fatal condition. She and her husband hoped for a miracle and that they would get to meet this child. Wyatt was, against all medical odds, born alive and breathing. He drew breath. He looked at his parents. He lived for a few minutes. But for some reason, their doctor deemed his too-short life, "not alive enough."

Having Wyatt's life acknowledged for what it was - a live birth - would give Danielle some comfort. She dreams of receiving his birth certificate and has such faith that she's already purchased a special holder for it. To some people it might just be a piece of paper, but I understand how for Danielle it is much more.

Babies are either born alive and breathing or stillborn. Wyatt was born alive. His birth should be recorded as a live birth accordingly. Visit Danielle's blog for more details and to link to the petition to her state in the US.

Danielle hopes other blogging bereaved mothers will keep her Wyatt in mind for their blogs and Facebook updates on Wednesdays. Wednesdays for Wyatt.