My husband and I found out about our pregnancy in April of 2005.  This was our first child together.  We were beyond excited.  In my eight week I had light bleeding and went to see my doctor.  He said it was probably implantation bleeding.  I had a vaginal ultrasound and the doctor said everything looked fine.  Six weeks later we went on vacation to visit my parents, I started to bleed.  I was 14 weeks pregnant.  We immediately went to the ER.  I had an ultrasound where I was told that my placenta was laying low (which is common for early pregnancy) and that my placenta had torn a little bit from the uterus.  The ER doctor told me that I should stay in bed until I could see my regular doctor.  Two nights later, (after complete bed rest) I had bleeding comparable to heavy menstruation.  We again visited the ER.  There, after another ultrasound, a different doctor said that the pregnancy was probably not viable and that I would probably miscarry.  He also went on to say that my placenta had not torn from my uterus and he could not identify where the blood was coming from.

     The day after we got back home, my bleeding became so heavy I thought I was miscarrying.  We went to the hospital again.  After a fourth ultrasound, they told me that I was not miscarrying and that I should go home.

     We saw my regular doctor a few days later.  He said he didn't feel comfortable with all the blood I had lost and ordered me to go to the hospital and be monitored.  My doctor's office is in the hospital.  I was admitted to the hospital.  Within an hour of being admitted, a high risk doctor (said to be THE best) came to see me.  He ordered yet another ultrasound.  He watched as the ultrasound was performed.  He even asked for the ultrasound to be in color so he could check blood flow.  He told me that in his opinion, I had some blood clots that would soon pass and that my bleeding would stop soon.  He released me from the hospital.  He even told me that I could resume the exercise regime I had given up when I had first started bleeding.  He told me to resume all activity and that everything was normal. 

     Indeed, my bleeding stopped a few weeks later.  I did not have any more bleeding for five weeks.  My husband and I prepared for our son, whom we had already named Max.  I went for another ultrasound in my 21st week.  Everything looked great. 

     On Saturday, September 3, 2005, I started to have contractions.  I ignored them because I thought I was just being paranoid.  The contractions were getting worse and worse.  I confided to my husband that I had been having major contractions.  We were visiting another town two hours away from home.  He immediately pulled in to the next town that had a hospital.  We went into the hospital where I was admitted.  After another ultrasound they told me I was in labor and my bag of waters was in my vagina.  I was already dilated to a three.  I was only 25 weeks pregnant.

     The doctor called for a special unit to drive down from another town to take care of a premature baby.  We waited for them to arrive.  The baby was in distress.  As soon as the unit arrived, the doctor broke my water to start heavy labor.  The baby's heart rate dropped immediately.  I was taken for an emergency c-section.  I was completely knocked out by the drugs.  When I woke up, my husband came into the room and told me that our son was not going to live.  Maxwell was born early in the morning on September 4th, 2005.  I got to hold my son for a few minutes before he passed away.  He only lived for three hours.

     A few days later my regular doctor got the report back on the placenta.  I had vasa previa.  No one saw it.  After seven ultrasounds, it was never found.  We buried our son a few days later.  He had weighed almost two pounds and he had been thirteen inches long.  There are no words to add here, there is just pain that will always be with a mother who only got to hold her baby for a few minutes before he died.  By the way, did you know that this condition is so unknown that as I write this, my Microsoft Word keeps telling me that vasa previa is not a known word in the English language?  Well, it is.