You most certainly CAN be mistaken about fetal distress, and the common sense response is to hook up with a fetal monitor immediately. If I had a diagnosis of Down's, was 40-something and several thousand miles from my regular obstetrician, and leaking before my due date, I would not stop to give a speech.
I much prefer to believe the reporters are just repeating a story that never happened quite that way.
I completely understand what you are saying... With my first child I went into pre-term labor, but all I felt was a little “off”, like something was wrong. My doctor brought me in right away and the monitor showed I was having contractions I couldn’t feel (due to how small the baby was at that time).
However, with the risk of TMI coming into play — sometimes that late in pregnancy one can THINK they are leaking amniotic fluid when in reality it’s urine as well. It’s not like she was in some uninhabited isolated place when this was going on either. She was in contact with her doctor throughout the day.
Besides, we are all speculating on this, really. Only Sarah herself knows how she was feeling, and if she and her doctor were in touch and felt all was within acceptable risks it’s OK with me. Hell, we don’t know - she may have had a stethoscope with her and monitored her own child’s heart-rate, ya know??? (Not likely, but it just goes to show that there are so many variables here, that we should probably just drop the speculation at this point).
Another thing that occurred to me about this — aren’t democrats supposedly the ones that are very big on home delivery (not with doctors and hospitals). Aren’t they the ones that always talk about how a “mother knows best” her own body?
Again, to them it’s all JUST WORDS.
I forgot a question as well...
I’ve heard it told both ways — one that she did NOT get tested for Down’s because it wouldn’t have changed her plans anyway (therefore taking away the diagnosed angle). And, another that she did know and still didn’t change her plans...
Does anyone know for sure whether or not she (the baby) was indeed tested?
Shoot... another thing I forgot — there is a difference between fetal distress and ACTIVE LABOR. One you may not be aware of as you can’t FEEL the baby’s heartbeat, the other, ain’t no way to mistake ACTIVE LABOR???