Prayers for new babies

My good friend Liz was expecting her third baby in November, her second daughter. The pregnancy was uneventful until last week when her blood pressure was borderline high and there was some protein in her urine. She was on bed rest for a few days, more tests were run, and she was classified as severely pre-eclamptic. As a result, she was induced Sunday night (I think) at 35 weeks, which didn't really work. More induction methods were used on Monday and Liz gave birth to Annika at 4-something Tuesday morning. She's a tiny 4 lbs 12 oz and last I heard was being evaluated in the NICU. She appeared to be doing well, despite being born 5 weeks early. I assume she is doing well, since Liz and James have not posted an update requesting more prayers and they posted pictures holding her. I'm sure they would appreciate prayers even if tiny Annika is declared perfectly healthy.

Another friend, Shannon, is expecting her fourth child, first daughter very soon. I believe her due date is next week and she was expecting to be induced this weekend. She had an appointment yesterday which included an ultrasound. Baby Charlotte wasn't moving as much as the doctors would like to see at this point, so Shannon had to go up to the hospital for a non-stress test (basically the mother and baby are monitored for a few hours) and a second ultrasound. The NST went fine but in the ultrasound, Charlotte still wasn't moving much. Shannon ended up being kept overnight and was scheduled to be induced this morning, which is the last I'd heard. Shannon has been induced each pregnancy, so this isn't anything new, although the other times weren't for medical reasons. Shannon is 39 weeks pregnant, so there shouldn't be issues with prematurity, and hopefully Charlotte is just mellow or has low blood sugar. I'm sure they would also appreciate prayers.

It seems odd to me that two of my friends, due weeks apart, were both induced this week. Becky should be finding out soon if this baby is a boy or girl, and Steve's cousin Brittney should be finding out soon too. A few friends on my weight loss board are waiting to see if they're pregnant. Add in all the acquaintances on Facebook who recently had babies or are pregnant and it feels like I'm surrounded by baby news.

I was recently reminded that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. It's oddly fitting with all the inductions for medical reasons this week, huh? The idea of losing a child, born or not, is heart-breaking to me. The number I've heard is that 1 in 4 women will experience a loss in her lifetime. That doesn't even take into account women who struggle with infertility and the possibility of not experiencing a pregnancy or giving their child a sibling. Please pray for my friends and their babies and their health and safety and also for all the families who have lost a baby at some point. I appreciate it and I'm sure they appreciate it a million times more than I do. Thank you.