From the moment her son was born, one New York mother couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Lauren Musso, 28, from Schenectady, had been watching her newborn baby's movements for weeks. The concerns had started months earlier, when she noticed a sudden change in his movements in the womb.
"Overnight, the strength and frequency of his kicks dropped dramatically and never returned," Musso told Newsweek. "I reported this shift repeatedly, but my concerns were dismissed because he was technically meeting minimum kick counts." Musso's pregnancy had already been marked by severe hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a condition causing extreme nausea and vomiting, which she said left her repeatedly hospitalized and struggling to keep down food and water. Ultimately, the mom-to-be was left searching for answers and pushed for an ultrasound.
Although the test was not routinely offered, Musso said one provider agreed to order it, saying she could "make a case for it." Musso said later scans showed her baby, Avery, remaining motionless for extended periods, but despite the warning signs, a fetal MRI was scheduled weeks later, with one specialist reassuring her that there was a "99 percent" chance he would be fine. "Those words haunt me," Musso said. "I had a constant, eerie feeling that something was catastrophically wrong, that something rare was being missed, and that this constellation of strange events could not just be normal." Weeks later, she would discover that she was right.
Jeffrey Chapa, the national medical director of maternal-fetal medicine at Obtelecare, reduced fetal movement is a relatively common concern during pregnancy. While it is often linked to normal factors such as a baby's sleep cycle or placental position, it can sometimes indicate an issue with fetal wellbeing and should be evaluated. "A maternal-fetal medicine specialist can help investigate what’s behind decreased fetal movement, particularly when it persists during pregnancy," Chapa told Newsweek.
"A detailed assessment of the baby, including an ultrasound examination, can be helpful. In some cases, concerns raised by the ultrasound can be further assessed with other imaging modalities, including MRI." When Avery was born, he spent a week in the neonatal intensive care unit. Although he seemed to be improving, Musso said he struggled to gain weight.
He also developed laryngomalacia which, according to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is a condition that causes the tissues around a baby's voice box to collapse inward slightly during breathing, often resulting in a characteristic squeaky or noisy sound. "He began having persistent apneic and bradycardic events, eye deviation and strange movements that were continually passed off as normal newborn behaviors tied to laryngomalacia that would improve over time," Musso said. Avery was re-admitted to hospital a few times.
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