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Jenna's Story
"I was sixteen years old when I became pregnant..."
As you can imagine, this was a shock to my family and I, but I embraced my daughter as if it were a planned pregnancy. I loved her the second I knew she existed and I planned to keep her and raise her, no matter how hard it would be.
When I was 23 weeks pregnant, the doctor noticed many abnormal things on the ultrasound. Her intestines were glowing (which meant they were as hard as bone), there was not enough blood flow to her umbilical cord or to her brain, the placenta was too large, and she was 2 weeks behind in her growth. My mom and I decided it would be best to get an amniocentesis to figure out what was wrong with my daughter. The amniocentesis showed that both my daughter and I were infected with CMV.
I did research non-stop to find ways I could save my baby girl but I felt helpless. The doctors gave me no hope that she would survive but I continued to hope and pray. I named her Jenna Hope for this reason. The doctors told me that if I stopped feeling her moving I should go to the hospital immediately to make sure she was still alive. I went to the hospital twice because I didn't feel her move all day. They found a heartbeat both times.
On June 22nd 2009, I went in for an ultrasound to see how Jenna was doing. They couldn't find a heartbeat. The next day, on June 23rd 2009, she was stillborn at 26 weeks gestation. She weighed exactly 1 pound and she was 10 1/2 inches long. Her little feet and hands were only an inch long. That day was the hardest day of my life, holding my lifeless baby girl.
My world changed when she was brought into my life and my world changed again when she was taken out of it. We had a bereavement photographer come in and take pictures of us with her for hours before I had to say my final goodbye. I have many beautiful pictures of her and I have been changed for the better because of this experience. I am now 18 years old and I am helping to raise awareness for CMV. I now aspire to become a NICU nurse to help families with sick babies.
- Shared by her mother, Kylie