My husband and I lost our sweet son, Anthony Wayne Pettiford III (AJ) unexpectedly on April 28, 2021.  My pregnancy was going well, and AJ was constantly moving! I did kick counts, but it never took long to feel ten movements.  I went to my 39 week visit on April 27, heard a heartbeat and everything was going well.  The next day I went into labor at work.  AJ had moved that morning, but once labor started, I stopped paying attention to his movement and timing contractions.  We went to the hospital and at triage we learned that AJ’s heart had stopped beating.  It took time to confirm. Two nurses tried the doppler, which I was sure had malfunctioned.  An ultrasound technician, then a physician came to confirm our son had died.  The moment is still surreal in my head.  I knew he was alive that morning, so I didn’t know what could’ve happened.  My labor with AJ is blurry but I know my family came to support my husband and I through the worst few days of our lives. The next morning, on April 29 at 6:45 am I gave birth to AJ who weighed 8 pounds and 0.4 ounces and was 21 inches long.  He was perfect in almost every way, his heart just stopped.  

We know now after an ultrasound that AJ’s death was caused by a cord accident.  The cord became compressed or otherwise compromised, most likely when contractions started.  There were no knots in the cord, but it was in the 90th percentile in length.  More research needs to be done to learn how to prevent future parents' worst day. I am angry that more hasn’t been done yet. My career is in pediatric injury prevention and I know there are ways to prevent unintentional deaths from unsafe sleep to using a car seat. After AJ’s death I learned that 47% of stillbirths are preventable with better preconception health and teaching moms to do kick counts.  I am proud to join Lydie’s family in raising money to help educate moms on the importance of counting kicks.