Link Found: Stillbirth + Maternal Mortality

The United States is the only developed country with a consistently rising maternal mortality rate, according to the World Health Organization. CDC data shows that every year in the U.S. approximately 700 women will die from childbirth complications, and 23,500 babies will be stillborn. 

Stillbirth is defined as the loss of a pregnancy between 20 and 42 weeks gestation. It affects 1 in every 169 pregnancies nationally, and is 10 times more common than SIDS. For women who experience a stillbirth, maternal morbidity is almost five times more common than in women who have live births. 

The risk is even greater for Black women. According to the CDC, Black women are twice as likely to lose a baby to stillbirth than their White neighbor, colleague or friend. Black women are also three more likely to die of pregnancy complications. The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating what was already broken. Recent research has identified significant increases in stillbirth and maternal death since the pandemic began.

“It is more important than ever for expectant parents and providers to have regular conversations about fetal movement throughout the third trimester. The Count the Kicks app acts as an early warning system for expectant parents so they can let their providers know when something feels off,” said Emily Price, Executive Director for Healthy Birth Day, Inc.  

Make kick counting a common practice

We need to make sure kick counting is a common practice for all expectant parents in the third trimester of pregnancy. You can help us prevent preventable stillbirths and save families from experiencing the pain of loss by educating others about the Count the Kicks campaign. 

Expectant parents can get to know their baby’s normal movement pattern by having a daily kick counting session using the FREE Count the Kicks app starting at 28 weeks (or 26 weeks for a high-risk pregnancy). The app is available in 12 languages in the iOS and Google Play app stores. It is also available on Apple Watch. Expectant parents can also count using a paper chart.  

Research shows a change in a baby’s movement can be the earliest and sometimes only indication there might be an issue with a pregnancy. When the amount of time it takes to get to 10 movements changes, it can be a red flag to potential problems with mom or baby and is an indication for the expectant parent to call their provider right away. 

Kick counting data within the app can even be emailed or texted directly to providers. This is a helpful way to determine the next best steps for mom and baby when going in may increase the risk of exposure to COVID-19. 

Impact of Count the Kicks

Time and time again, this system works. So far this year we have heard from nine families who reached out to share how Count the Kicks helped their baby (or babies) have a healthy birth day. Since our campaign launched, we have received more than 80 baby save stories from families in 24 states and three countries.

Lottie O’Sullivan reached out late last year to tell us about the safe arrival of her daughter Clementine. Lottie was using the Count the Kicks app to track her daughter’s movement, and reached out to her provider right away when she noticed her daughter wasn’t moving like normal. 

“One thing the doctors and nurses kept telling us in the immediate aftermath was how fortunate we were to have gone in for monitoring when we did. The OB who performed my C-section said he didn’t think she would’ve made it another hour. It is not lost on me how close we came to a very different outcome. I am so thankful that we knew the importance of counting kicks and that Clementine is with us today,” Lottie said.

The Count the Kicks app is a powerful tool to help expectant parents be more in tune with their bodies and their babies. This October, we invite you to join us in raising awareness about this important issue by sharing Count the Kicks with every expectant parent and maternal healthcare provider you know. Together we can make sure more babies have a healthy birth day. 

Learn more about our vision to save 7,500 babies every year and improve birth outcomes everywhere.

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Thanks to the partnership with Health Plan of Nevada, maternal health providers, birthing hospitals, social services agencies, childbirth educators and other providers in Nevada can order FREE Count the Kicks educational materials (including brochures, posters, and app reminder cards in English and Spanish) to help them have the kick counting conversation with expectant parents. With the addition of Nevada, we now have partnerships in 14 states!

Count the Kicks teaches the method for, and importance of, tracking fetal movement during the third trimester of pregnancy. Research shows the benefits of expectant moms tracking their baby’s movements daily and learning how long it normally takes their baby to get to 10 movements.

After a few days, moms will begin to see a pattern, a normal amount of time it takes their baby to get to 10 movements. If their baby’s “normal” changes during the third trimester, this could be a sign of potential problems and is an indication that the expectant mom should call her healthcare provider. 

Mariana Falvey is a Las Vegas mom who was using the Count the Kicks app when she noticed a change in her baby’s movement. “I agreed to go and get a fetal heart monitor check after really looking at the app and seeing the time increase for tracking his movements. It was a constant 10-15 minute time to almost an hour to track movements as the week progressed,” Mariana said.

“Within the hour, I was scheduled and prepped for an emergency Cesarean. If I had waited all weekend until my appointment, I truly don’t know if the outcome would have been the same or worse. I cannot express how incredible this app is and continues to be. ”

According to CDC Wonder, Nevada loses approximately 241 babies to stillbirth each year. In Iowa, where Count the Kicks began, the state’s stillbirth rate dropped by nearly 32 percent in the first 10 years of the campaign (2008-2018). Iowa’s rate went from 33rd worst in the country to one of the lowest, while the country’s rate remained relatively stagnant. Health Plan of Nevada is hoping to bring the same success that Iowa has seen to Nevada.

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Researchers at Des Moines University (DMU) and The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement presented their preliminary results at the American Public Health Association Virtual Annual Meeting and Expo of a scientific research project that analyzed how the Count the Kicks mobile app impacts birth outcomes among more than 1,200 women who used it during pregnancy. The project surveyed Count the Kicks app users from 2015 to 2019 to learn about their experience using the app and differences between pregnancies in which they did not use the app compared to their most recent pregnancy using the app. App users were more likely to contact their health care provider with concerns during the third trimester, and preliminary results show a reduced rate in stillbirth for the pregnancy in which they used the app compared to earlier pregnancies. 

This is the first study that researchers know of to examine the relationship between a mobile app that tracks fetal movement and birth outcomes. It is helping Healthy Birth Day, Inc., analyze its Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention campaign to better serve expecting parents. 

Dr. Pamela A. Duffy, associate professor and vice chair of DMU’s Department of Public Health, emphasized the importance of this public health research: “This project helped us better understand the significance of monitoring fetal movement as part of stillbirth prevention. We hope this study will be an important contribution to the scientific literature on kick counting and in the reduction of health disparities associated with stillbirth.”

Duffy was joined in this research by fellow researcher Dr. Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt of The Harkin Institute at Drake University, with Des Moines University student research assistants Benjamin Williamson and Ashley Armantrout. Kerry Biondi-Morlan, co-founder of Healthy Birth Day, Inc., provided subject matter expertise to the project. The study was funded, in part, by Healthy Birth Day, Inc.

For more information on the study, please contact Dr. Duffy at pa*******@dm*.edu or 515-271-7811. For media inquiries, please contact Emily Price, Healthy Birth Day, Inc., executive director, at 515-505-0319 or pr*********@he*************.org.

Des Moines University is the only private medical school in Iowa, offering graduate-level, professional degree programs in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, health care administration, anatomy, biomedical sciences and public health. Founded in 1898, the institution offers superior academics in a collaborative environment. DMU students’ pass rates on national examinations and board certifications are consistently higher than national averages and the rates at similar institutions.

The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement at Drake University exists to inform citizens, inspire creative cooperation, and catalyze change on issues of social justice, fairness, and opportunity. Founded on the premise that good public policy is best achieved when policymakers have access to high quality information, political processes are open and well-understood, and citizens are informed and active participants, The Harkin Institute offers programming, experiences, research, and connectivity focused on the areas that defined Senator Harkin’s career: labor and employment, people with disabilities, retirement security, and wellness and nutrition.

Healthy Birth Day, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that created the Count the Kicks campaign in Iowa in 2008.  The mobile app is the hallmark tool of the Count the Kicks public health campaign which empowers expectant parents to track their babies’ movements daily in the third trimester of pregnancy. Research shows a change in fetal movement can be the earliest and sometimes only indication that a baby is in distress in utero. More than 24,000 pregnancies end in stillbirth every year in the U.S., according to the CDC.

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We are grateful to Amerigroup for their financial investment in our work, but their commitment to our mission goes beyond financial sponsorship. Through their team of case managers who work directly with expectant parents, they are collaboratively providing the education and resources pregnant patients need to assess and take action if they notice a change in their baby’s movements. 

“Amerigroup is a game changer when it comes to improving the health of moms and babies in Iowa and in our community,” said Emily Price, Healthy Birth Day, Inc. Executive Director. 

Watch this video to learn more about our partnership with Amerigroup and the direct impact of the work they do every day as the Amerigroup team gets a chance to meet two of the babies who were saved using the Count the Kicks campaign.

“Amerigroup Iowa is grateful to partner with Count the Kicks to provide real-time resources and solutions for expectant moms and families through educational and innovative programming,” said Jeffrey Jones, president, Amerigroup Iowa. “This public health campaign will aid at-risk pregnant women and enhance their overall experience enabling them to take control of their health and feel empowered to discuss these vital details with their healthcare provider. Amerigroup Iowa remains committed to our community partners across the state who play a critical role in the care of our members and the communities they serve.”

Amerigroup Iowa, an Anthem Company, helps improve health care access and quality for approximately 400,000 Iowa residents who participate in the state’s Medicaid programs. Amerigroup serves Iowans by developing and delivering innovative care management programs and services. Amerigroup Iowa members are assured care that is not only accessible, but also accountable, comprehensive, integrated and patient-centered. It provides ongoing community relations and outreach to encourage members to become active participants in their health care. 

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The “Stirrup” Campaign will take this highly effective, mom-focused campaign to the next level by providing stirrup covers to maternal healthcare providers in hopes of empowering moms to initiate this conversation and to share data directly from the free Count the Kicks app.  

Every year in the U.S. 24,000 babies are born still, according to the CDC. Data from the Iowa Department of Public Health shows an average of 174 Iowa babies are lost each year to stillbirth. The evidence-based Count the Kicks public health campaign, which began in Iowa, is credited with reducing Iowa’s stillbirth rate by nearly 32 percent in the first 10 years of the campaign (2008-2018). During that same time stillbirth rates in the rest of the U.S. remained relatively stagnant.

Black women are two times more likely to lose their babies to stillbirth than their white counterparts, and in the first five years of the campaign in Iowa, the stillbirth rate among Black families declined by nearly 39 percent.

“Amerigroup Iowa is grateful to partner with Count the Kicks to provide real-time resources and solutions for expectant moms and families through educational and innovative programming,” said Jeffrey Jones, president, Amerigroup Iowa. “This public health campaign will aid at-risk pregnant women and enhance their overall experience enabling them to take control of their health and feel empowered to discuss these vital details with their healthcare provider. Amerigroup Iowa remains committed to our community partners across the state who play a critical role in the care of our members and the communities they serve.”

Research proves the importance of tracking fetal movement, and Count the Kicks encourages moms to get to know the normal movement pattern for their baby by having daily kick counting sessions using the free Count the Kicks app. Kick counting data within the app can be emailed or texted directly to providers — a helpful way to determine the next best steps for mom and baby during this global health crisis.

“Now is an especially important time for women and providers to have ongoing conversations about fetal movement throughout the third trimester of pregnancy. The “Stirrup” the Stillbirth Prevention Conversation campaign is a wonderful opportunity to encourage expectant Iowa women to discuss with their provider why they are using the Count the Kicks app and to empower them to share their chart with their provider regardless of reduced fetal movement,” said Emily Price, Healthy Birth Day, Inc. Executive Director.

By partnering with social service agencies, hospital systems, and local and state public health agencies, Amerigroup and Count the Kicks hopes to educate and empower more than 35,000 expectant Iowa women and save more babies from preventable stillbirth. The initiative will provide Count the Kicks branded stirrup covers to a variety of birthing centers, OBGYNS, midwives and other maternal healthcare providers in an effort to spark a new conversation between provider and expectant parent. Count the Kicks is also excited to partner with Amerigroup to make the Count the Kicks app compatible with wearable technology to improve accessibility and keep up with technology demands.

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Our commitment to healthy birth outcomes is unwavering and we wanted to update you on a few items related to our work. First, we are watching closely to see how this pandemic is affecting pregnant women, and we’re providing factual, evidence-based information on COVID-19 and pregnancy on this webpage and on our social media channels. We are updating frequently as new information comes in.

We invite you to share this information with all the expectant parents you know — and invite them to download the free Count the Kicks app to track their baby’s movements and monitor their health. Because of our educational resources, including the app, expectant parents know when to call their provider and when to stay at home. Kick counting data within the app can even be emailed or texted directly to providers — a helpful way to determine the next best steps for mom and baby. In a time where we are all united and working toward not burdening our health system, Count the Kicks has a solution to help take the pressure off. 

Through our early warning system Count the Kicks, we have a community of moms who are in tune with their bodies and their babies, letting providers know when something feels off. Time and time again this system works — and babies are being saved across the country. Because you supported our work in the past and continue to do so today — you are a part of the solution during this crisis.

Soon we will be expanding our programming into two southern states — an area of the country losing babies at the highest rates. We’re thrilled to be reaching more moms at this critical time and look forward to announcing our partnerships in those states very soon. 

As part of our effort to provide cutting edge stillbirth prevention research and evidence-based tools to providers, we are thrilled to tell you about our NEW CE training. During this 90-minute training, providers will learn how to have the kick counting conversation with expectant parents, understand how to use the features of the Count the Kicks app, learn how to best utilize the free tools and resources available to them, and learn ways to respond if an expectant mother says they are experiencing reduced fetal movement.

To register, visit bit.ly/CTK-CE-Training. 

Finally, we have been busy moving our Every Woman Counts luncheon to the fall. We were really looking forward to seeing everyone on April 28, but we want to do our part to help #FlattenTheCurve and stay at home. We hope to announce a new date in the coming weeks. Until then, we have some fun surprises planned for the week of April 28 (we couldn’t stand to be apart!) and hope you will join us on social media then.

Thank you for all you are doing to save babies with us. We know we will get through this together.

With Gratitude,

Emily

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The holiday season is upon us and excitement is in the air. For me that was how my first pregnancy with our daughter, Mayna, felt. We were going to be parents!

My husband, Jerod, and I had waited five years after getting married to start our family. We were ready, we had everything planned out and couldn’t wait for our baby to arrive. We had made all the preparations and things seemed to be going along smoothly … until that devastating day. At 40 weeks and 3 days, Mayna was born still. 

Fifteen years later, our lives have changed. We are blessed with a beautiful family – two sons and a daughter. We have successful careers. Jerod is on the North Dakota Supreme Court and I’m leading the North Dakota Department of Health. AND we can make a difference in the lives of others through the Count the Kicks Program. 

Count the Kicks educates and inspires expectant mothers to track their baby’s fetal movement during the third trimester. Through a public health awareness campaign, supportive tools and technology, we have the opportunity to save babies and families. The CDC estimates that nearly 24,000 babies are born still every year, a rate of 5.89 per 1,000 live births. Tragically, there are higher rates of stillbirth among some populations: 4.89 per 1,000 live births among non-Hispanic whites, 10.32 per 1,000 among non-Hispanic blacks, 7.22 per 1,000 among American Indians and Alaska Natives, 4.29 per 1,000 among Asians and Pacific Islanders, and 5.01 per 1,000 among Hispanics. These health disparities can be minimized through Count the Kicks.  

According to the North Dakota Division of Vital Records, there were 60 cases of stillbirth in our state in 2018. Of those, 72 percent were to White women, 13 percent were to American Indian women and 15 percent were to women of other minority races. While White women accounted for the majority of stillbirth cases, American Indian women and women of other races were disproportionately affected at rates of 9.2 per 1,000 live births and 6.7 per 1,000 live births respectively, compared to a rate of 5.1 per 1,000 among White women.³  

Please help us spread cheer, hope, and most precious gift of life. Tell your story. Count the Kicks to help prevent stillbirths. Together, we can save babies. 

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Newly married at the age of 25 in 1999, moving to a different state, buying our first home, and starting a new job as a Pediatric Intensive Care nurse at Mayo Clinic, you could say I was going through some changes.  But finding out I was pregnant, in a patient’s room (who was gravely ill BTW) was the biggest change to end that calendar year. Overall, my pregnancy was what most clinicians would say was typical, but really pregnancy is not typical.  Can I get an AMEN!?!?! It is an exhilarating, scary, fantastic roller coaster ride, with puking and screaming, and crying tears of joy, and yelling “I want to get off this *&% ride!!!!!” All worth it in the end when you get to hold your precious baby and take them home, at least for most women.

My due date came and went, my bag was packed, the nursery done, I was anxious!!  And big!!! And ready to be done. All the time thinking about what needed to be finished, or cleaned, or organized, and not thinking about what my baby was doing.  When I realized he hadn’t been moving, I would poke at my abdomen, drink cold water, not thinking that I should go in and get checked. Now, being a healthcare provider, I am not proud of the fact that it took me some time to get myself to go in. Thinking I was just an overly cautious, first-time mother-to-be, some would even say paranoid.  But that sense that something was wrong was growing fast, and as much as I didn’t want to listen to it, it was getting louder and louder…

I go to the hospital and they tell me we will just take a listen … silence. Let’s get an ultrasound, silence …  Let’s get someone in here to double check.  And then reality strikes, it’s too late.  I’m so sorry…

Being told I had to go through labor, not having my epidural work, finding out I’m allergic to penicillin the hard way, was nothing compared to the emotional pain it carried.  Every time my husband called a family member, it was gut-wrenching to hear their reaction for the first time. Every time a healthcare worker came into my room, the look of pure solemn and grief on their faces knowing they drew the short straw today was unbearable.  And finally, every time an hour went by, I was hoping, praying, that they were wrong, that I would hear a heartbeat, or feel a little kick. I made deals with God, if only you give him back to me, I’ll be a better person. I was angry — I did everything right, and I don’t get to take my son home!!!  But alas, the moment came, he was born, and the silence was maddening …. Just silence.

The what ifs are endless and crushing, but as time goes by (Charlie would have been 19 this year) the pain softens.  You never forget, but it doesn’t consume you anymore. After going through my own grief, I really wanted to help others.  I would get connected with other women who had gone through a similar experience, and it was helpful for both. But perhaps, if I can help prevent other women from going through this, that is the key.  That is what heals you and makes this life we all share eventful and worthwhile. So when I heard about Count the Kicks through Healthy Birth Day, Inc. I knew I wanted to help.

Count the Kicks is a public health campaign to prevent stillbirth by tracking babies’ movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. Research shows a change in fetal movement can be the earliest and sometimes only indication that a baby is in distress in utero. More than 24,000 pregnancies end in stillbirth every year in the U.S., according to the CDC. If my story makes others uncomfortable in order to save other women from going through this, then it’s worth it.

What I like about the Count the Kicks app is that it gives parents-to-be the ability to download and send kick counting data directly from the app and is available in 12 languages. It is completely free, available at iTunes and Google Play online app stores, and has been downloaded 125,000 times in all 50 states and 140 countries. What’s most impressive are the stories of babies saved because moms used the app to track their babies’ movements in the third trimester.

Here’s a quote from a success story. “We saved her life by using the app and coming in. We are extremely thankful that the app exists and that Ruby is here with us. I can’t say thank you enough, because she is alive,” said Emily Eekhoff, who used the Count the Kicks app to track her baby’s movements, and ultimately help save her baby in 2017.

The what-ifs came naturally back, what if I had this technology, would he be here?   But instead of thinking about the what-ifs to my impossible question, now it’s what if all pregnant women had this app and used it, would stillbirths be a thing of the past???  What a happy ending to my story it would be!!! I’m hopeful that nineteen years later, being a Count the Kicks volunteer, I can help spread this important education to as many expectant parents as I can to make sure their birth stories end happily   Thank you.

By Amy Romanin, RN, community volunteer, wife to Matthew, and mother to Charlie, Lily & Jack

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It’s that time of year again and your absence is felt in every fiber of my being. The tears have been coming on a daily basis since Halloween. They have a mind of their own and occur in public places like the Target toy aisle while staring and wondering what you would have been into this year. They fall in the grocery store when a sappy song comes on and they fall during yoga when my mind is calm enough to feel the depth of my sorrow. This is our eighth Christmas without you and it isn’t getting easier. The first couple of years were exceptionally brutal and all I wanted to do was hide under the covers until it all passed, but I had your brother to think of, so I dug deep and did everything I could to make the holidays special for him. Honestly, if it weren’t for him, I would travel somewhere far away every Christmas where there wasn’t a twinkle light or Fa La La in sight. Instead, I dive right in and end up spoiling Ian way too much. I am very aware of the abundant blessings I have in your brother and strive to savor every precious moment with him.

The day you left us I started a journey where I had to learn to balance both the joy of my blessings with the soul crushing grief of losing you. I think I’m getting better at balancing the two but sometimes the grief takes over and tips the scales. For some reason, this year seems a bit harder. Maybe it’s the fact that your brother is getting older and the innocent magic is coming to an end. Maybe it’s that we lost the much prayed and hoped for pregnancy earlier this year. Ultimately, the reality is that you are not here where you belong. This is a reality I will face, year after year and it wears me down. I was so excited and looking forward to your first Christmas and to having baby Zach on our family Christmas card in 2010. It took 5 years before I could send out Christmas cards again. How could I possibly send out a family picture that didn’t include you? It felt like a betrayal.

We never got to see you sit on Santa’s lap and will never see your face light up on Christmas morning. You will never return home from college for the holidays and will never bring your own little ones home for Christmas. The list of what should have been goes on and on. I really don’t think the old saying “time heals all wounds” applies to a parent who has lost a child. The wound is always gaping and raw. There is no denying that we have a different house without you here. While listening to Christmas music and decorating the tree I caught Ian looking at your picture with such sadness in his eyes. I would give anything to take that pain away from him. After a recent visit from your Uncle Steven, Ian asked if he is ever going to have an uncle for his own children. Ian finds Steven hilarious and I know he is thinking about how he wants a silly Uncle Steven for his kids. I don’t know what to say other than we will continue to hope and pray. My heart just screams when I think of his loss and the lifetime of experiences he will never have with you.

What am I to do with all of this pain? The only option is to turn it into fuel to help others because even through all of this pain I can see that you, my beautiful boy, are truly a gift. As your mom, I feel a duty to share the gift of you and help other families learn how important Count the Kicks is to reducing the risk of stillbirth. I know without a doubt that if I had been educated on kick counting, you would be here right now and anxiously awaiting Christmas with your brother. I promise that I will continue to spread the Count the Kicks message in your honor until we have seen a significant reduction in the roughly 24,000 stillbirths that occur in the United States every year. Our big initiative at Count the Kicks is to save 6,000 babies a year. This number equates to a 26% reduction of stillbirths on a national level and reflects the 26% reduction of stillbirth seen in Iowa where Count the Kicks started. I know we can do this. I’ve already done the unimaginable when I held you in my arms and had to say goodbye.

As we move towards Christmas I wanted to share my letter to you with expectant moms all across the United States so they are made aware of our free Count the Kicks app and what it can do for them. We recently experienced the joy of hearing about three baby saves in just 10 weeks due to moms who were tracking their baby’s movements in the third trimester. All three of these moms used the free app which helped empower them to speak up when they noticed a change in their baby’s movements. Mackenzie Johnson of Ankeny, Iowa was using the app to track her baby girl’s movements when she noticed a reduction in Pyper’s movement.

“She only gave us two very subtle movements in 30 minutes at the hospital. By running several tests, doctors knew something was wrong and decided to deliver right away. It turns out the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck three times and was restricting her movement. Doctors believe we would have lost her had we not been paying attention,” said Johnson.

Pyper and many other babies will celebrate first holiday traditions with their families this year due to Count the Kicks. The number of moms downloading the kick counting app has increased significantly in one year and we are very excited for what this could mean in the overall reduction of stillbirth in our country. The message to moms is simple: pick a time each day to see how long it takes their baby to get to 10 movements. If the amount of time it takes to get to 10 movements changes, moms are encouraged to call their provider right away. The Count the Kicks app is available in English and Spanish, counts for single babies and twins, sends a daily text or calendar reminder, and can be used in consultation with OB providers.

Sweet boy, while it is daunting to think that I have to live the rest of my life without you, I want you to know that the one thing that gives me strength and peace is that I believe without a doubt we will be reunited one day. Your death has irrevocably shaped me and given me a clear purpose in life to help others and I thank you for such a tremendous gift. Because of you, I know that we will save more babies, and continue to give families the best gift of all, a baby born safely. I am eternally grateful that you chose me to be your mother. Daddy, your brother and I wish more than anything that you were here with us. You are cherished and greatly missed.

I’ll love you forever,

Mom

The post The Gift of Zach appeared first on Count the Kicks.

For as long as she can remember, Tamela has been passionate about birth. By junior high school she was reading every book that could be found at the library on birth-related topics.  By high school she wanted to be a commercial pilot, a maternity nurse, or a teacher but realized early on that her strength was in education.

Birth is like Christmas to her. There is anticipation, excitement, grace and the miracle of new life. Her favorite quote is from Dr. John H. Kennell. It says, “If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.”

We asked Tamela to shine a light on the early days of Count the Kicks, its impact on families, and how she is teaching health care professionals as far away as China about the importance of kick counting.

What do you remember about the early days of Count the Kicks, our public health campaign to save babies?

Some life memories are significant, like where you were during 9/11. People can recall many details as it was noteworthy and life changing. For me, the first Count the Kicks (CTK) meeting was like this. It was held in the hospital public relations office with five people sitting around a long oval table that felt too big for our group.  I remember listening to Kerry Biondi-Morlan, a founder of Count the Kicks, telling her story. She said there were many others like her in the Des Moines, Iowa, area that had buried a baby that may have been saved if they had known about fetal kick counting.  Her words touched my heart and called me to action. She was smart and passionate about guiding change. She shared materials that I could begin reading to follow the evidence and form my own opinions.  Kerry had the grief-channeled energy. I had the direct access to thousands of expectant families that would best benefit from her message. I knew that we had the potential to become great partners in this joint cause.

Over the years, I have watched this organization thrive and grow their message. As a Childbirth Educator, I told expectant parents that they would spend much time over the next several years worrying about and keeping their children safe. In our classes, I would teach them about something they could do as parents to keep their baby safe and healthy even before they are born. Parents were very receptive, asked many questions, took the CTK pamphlet and seem excited and empowered to begin counting kicks.

How has the kick counting message changed over the years?

The message has spread and become more mainstream over the years due to the great job that Count the Kicks does to support medical professionals.  Now, most parents have some knowledge about fetal kick counting before they even enter the Childbirth Education classroom. Today, the most time-consuming part of teaching CTK is finding out who has not downloaded the free Count the Kicks app, followed the message on Facebook or watched the excellent videos that have been produced to educate families.

Parents are busy and can get distracted. I always provide class time for families to download the Count the Kicks app. It is time well spent. I received the most powerful phone call a few years ago, from one of our class members. She had recently learned about, downloaded the Count the Kicks app and began using it. She told me through tears of joy that her son was saved because she heard the message in prenatal class and knew what to do when her son suddenly had a significant reduction in his kick counts. I am not a doctor, I am not a midwife and I am not a nurse but I have still had the opportunity to save one life … hopefully more. We all have the power to save lives through Count the Kicks!

Tell us about the time you’ve recently spent in China educating birth workers and how Count the Kicks is received there.

In January of 2016, I began preparing and educating birth workers to provide Childbirth Education and Birth Doula courses in China. I use the same Count the Kicks resources that I use in the USA. My dream is to get the CTK print materials translated and the videos closed captioned so that families can learn this important message in their first language. The birth workers include doctors, midwives, nurses, childbirth educators and birth doulas. They are very eager to learn about fetal kick counting and the wonderful work that our USA-based CTK organization is doing. I have directly shared the CTK educational campaign with 695 medical professionals in China. Many others have indirectly heard about it through these people. I believe we will find this life-saving campaign successfully replicated around the world. I have not heard of any babies saved in China due to Count the Kicks, but I am optimistic that it is only a matter of time.

Kerry planted the first seed for me, many years ago by being brave enough to tell her heartfelt story. It all started in that little PR room with the table that felt too big. For the last three years, this amazing organization has filled every table in an Iowa Events Center ballroom while sharing this message during their Every Woman Counts spring fundraising luncheon. They successfully helped reduce Iowa’s stillbirth rate by 26 percent and have maintained that success for nearly a decade. It has been gratifying, exciting and fun to watch them grow.

Tamela Hatcher is a retired manager of Childbirth Education & Doula Services for one of the largest delivering hospitals in the state of Iowa.  Specialty areas include a Master’s Degree in Education, Bachelor of Science Degree in Family, Consumer, and Health Education, certified in International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) and Lamaze International (LCCE).  Tamela has taught more than 3610 couples in childbirth education since 1991. Designed and implemented the first, award-winning hospital volunteer doula program in the state of Iowa. Tamela has conducted ICEA workshops in China and the USA to help more than 600 people start their career as Professional Childbirth Educators and/or Birth Doulas. In 2016, she began serving as the Director of Education on the ICEA board.

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