There Was No Heartbeat

At ten weeks there was no heartbeat.

My doctor ordered an ultrasound. They found no baby. The baby whose heartbeat we had heard a week before was gone.

I was cramping and bleeding. Not enough to be life-threatening, but definitely uncomfortable and definitely something to monitor.

My doctor was slow to order a D&C in these cases, unlike many of his partners and unlike most doctors today.

Instead, he ordered blood work and an additional ultrasound. Internal this time. My hormones indicated pregnancy, but they could find no heartbeat and no baby.

Over the next couple of weeks I had four more ultrasounds. Still no heartbeat and no baby. “Not a viable pregnancy,” my medical records stated.

Then, at fourteen weeks, we heard a heartbeat! The ultrasound showed a perfect baby.

Andrew Raymond Duncan was born six months later.

I am grateful my doctor was pro-life. I’m grateful he was cautious regarding D&C procedures and believed they were often used too soon and possibly ended viable pregnancies. He believed God designed a women’s body to handle pregnancy and miscarriage. He believed we should wait and give my body time. He monitored my health carefully and waited. His caution kept us from killing my son.

I am pro-life.

And I am grateful I got to be Andrew’s mom for twenty plus years.

(There are cases where a D&C is medically necessary and life saving. In my case, it was not.)

Andrew was born on Christmas Eve 1992. He lived for more than twenty years. He brought joy and laughter everywhere he went. He died in The Accident which occurred on August 12, 2013.

abortion, Christian living, D&C, miscarriage, Pro-life


KathleenBDuncan

I write about my life, my journey, my family, and my faith. I am wife to one, mom to seven with one in heaven, and grandmother to many. I am also full-time caregiver to my stepmom E who suffers from dementia due to Alzheimer’s. In my spare time I like to read, travel, crochet, bike, and play with our black pug Molly.

Comment

  • Miss Kathleen,
    What a wonderful telling.
    Pro-life docs are wonderful.

    My last pregnancy was a twin pregnancy. After an undeniable miscarriage, well, two weeks later, the ultrasounds showed one of the twins remained. She was born 8-ish months later.

    Here’s to those that grow within.

    Thanks for sharing Miss Kathleen,

    Kathleen

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