Remembering Baby Jeremiah
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The Smart Famiy's Story
A parent's worst nightmare is having to bury their child. Our family myself, my husband and our 2 beautiful little girls unfortunately realized this was our reality after our Baby Boy Jeremiah was diagnosed with the terrible disorder Anencephaly.
Imagine praying for a little boy to complete your family, finding out your were pregnant 2 years later then being told mid pregnancy that the baby your little girls had told you they were praying for would never be able to come home with you. My heart is broken and some days getting out of bed even eating is the most difficult task.
When the Doctor said, "I am sorry to tell you that your baby has Anencephaly." My heart dropped-I just knew it was bad. I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. For the following 3 days every emotion imaginable has gone through my mind and body. The days following have not been any better.
Going to the funeral home to make arrangements for a baby that is still in your stomach is gut wrenching. Listening to the Funeral Director describe how your baby that will never know life will be laid to rest is the hardest thing to ask and to hear at the same time.
Because I know there is a God who has a purpose beyond what I may ever know, each day I am holding on to the hope of healing and being able to help someone else in this lifetime and to reunite with our son in the eternal life.
The love I have for my kids and my husband are what is keeping me mentally stable. I share my story not as just something to tell, but as a true testimony that we have to be willing to live beyond today and know that there is a purpose in all the trials that we experience.
What is Anencephaly?
Anencephaly is a serious birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull. It is a type of neural tube defect (NTD). These are birth defects that happen during the first month of pregnancy, usually before a woman knows she is pregnant.
What does this disorder look like?
This disorder affects some 1 in 4,859 babies.
The baby is born without the back portion of their brain and no skull or skin covering. The eyes are also set apart with the appearance of "frog eyes" in some cases.
This diagnosis is also confirmed by a level 2 ultrasound and blood work that will detect neural tube defects.
There is no cure for this disorder, when he umbilical cord is cut the baby will not survive for more than a few minutes, hours or a couple of days. The stress of knowing that your baby may be born without ever taking a breath is heart wrenching just as much as them taking even one breath and passing away.
Prevention of Anencephaly.
In September 1992, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) recommended that all women capable of becoming pregnant should consume 400 µg of folic acid/day on an ongoing basis to reduce their risk for having a pregnancy affected by spina bifida and anencephaly (i.e., neural tube defects [NTDs]) (1).
The recommendation was preceded a year earlier by a CDC recommendation for women at high risk (i.e., those women who have had an earlier pregnancy affected by an NTD). The 1991 CDC recommendation stated that women at high risk should plan subsequent pregnancies and consume 4,000 µg/day of folic acid from the time they begin trying to become pregnant through the first trimester of pregnancy to reduce their risk (2).
The 1992 USPHS recommendation specified that women at high risk should follow the general population recommendation for consumption of 400 µg/day when not trying to become pregnant (1).
Both of these recommendations were based on scientific evidence that increased folic acid consumption reduced the risk for having a pregnancy affected by an NTD. In 1983, a nonrandomized but controlled trial that studied multivitamins containing folic acid determined that folic acid might prevent NTDs (3).
Our Families Reality.
Over the next few weeks we are nearing the end of the hardest decision we will ever make, we are praying and hoping that the healing process can start thereafter.
During this process we have lost income from missed time at work and are trying to cope and continue to take care of our 2 daughters ages 6 and 9. We are trying to raise money to cover burial cost and loss income from work.
Thank You for your Prayers and Gifts
We appreciate your support of any amount.
We are a giving family and being the ones that now need the support and help is very difficult.
Our Family Is Committed to Continued Research and Supporting others who have lost loved ones to Anencephaly.
We wear our green bracelets and green ribbons in support of our sweet precious baby boy Jeremiah W. Smart and all the parents and families that have lost babies to this terrible uncontrollable disorder.
A parent's worst nightmare is having to bury their child. Our family myself, my husband and our 2 beautiful little girls unfortunately realized this was our reality after our Baby Boy Jeremiah was diagnosed with the terrible disorder Anencephaly.
Imagine praying for a little boy to complete your family, finding out your were pregnant 2 years later then being told mid pregnancy that the baby your little girls had told you they were praying for would never be able to come home with you. My heart is broken and some days getting out of bed even eating is the most difficult task.
When the Doctor said, "I am sorry to tell you that your baby has Anencephaly." My heart dropped-I just knew it was bad. I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. For the following 3 days every emotion imaginable has gone through my mind and body. The days following have not been any better.
Going to the funeral home to make arrangements for a baby that is still in your stomach is gut wrenching. Listening to the Funeral Director describe how your baby that will never know life will be laid to rest is the hardest thing to ask and to hear at the same time.
Because I know there is a God who has a purpose beyond what I may ever know, each day I am holding on to the hope of healing and being able to help someone else in this lifetime and to reunite with our son in the eternal life.
The love I have for my kids and my husband are what is keeping me mentally stable. I share my story not as just something to tell, but as a true testimony that we have to be willing to live beyond today and know that there is a purpose in all the trials that we experience.
What is Anencephaly?
Anencephaly is a serious birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull. It is a type of neural tube defect (NTD). These are birth defects that happen during the first month of pregnancy, usually before a woman knows she is pregnant.
What does this disorder look like?
This disorder affects some 1 in 4,859 babies.
The baby is born without the back portion of their brain and no skull or skin covering. The eyes are also set apart with the appearance of "frog eyes" in some cases.
This diagnosis is also confirmed by a level 2 ultrasound and blood work that will detect neural tube defects.
There is no cure for this disorder, when he umbilical cord is cut the baby will not survive for more than a few minutes, hours or a couple of days. The stress of knowing that your baby may be born without ever taking a breath is heart wrenching just as much as them taking even one breath and passing away.
Prevention of Anencephaly.
In September 1992, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) recommended that all women capable of becoming pregnant should consume 400 µg of folic acid/day on an ongoing basis to reduce their risk for having a pregnancy affected by spina bifida and anencephaly (i.e., neural tube defects [NTDs]) (1).
The recommendation was preceded a year earlier by a CDC recommendation for women at high risk (i.e., those women who have had an earlier pregnancy affected by an NTD). The 1991 CDC recommendation stated that women at high risk should plan subsequent pregnancies and consume 4,000 µg/day of folic acid from the time they begin trying to become pregnant through the first trimester of pregnancy to reduce their risk (2).
The 1992 USPHS recommendation specified that women at high risk should follow the general population recommendation for consumption of 400 µg/day when not trying to become pregnant (1).
Both of these recommendations were based on scientific evidence that increased folic acid consumption reduced the risk for having a pregnancy affected by an NTD. In 1983, a nonrandomized but controlled trial that studied multivitamins containing folic acid determined that folic acid might prevent NTDs (3).
Our Families Reality.
Over the next few weeks we are nearing the end of the hardest decision we will ever make, we are praying and hoping that the healing process can start thereafter.
During this process we have lost income from missed time at work and are trying to cope and continue to take care of our 2 daughters ages 6 and 9. We are trying to raise money to cover burial cost and loss income from work.
Thank You for your Prayers and Gifts
We appreciate your support of any amount.
We are a giving family and being the ones that now need the support and help is very difficult.
Our Family Is Committed to Continued Research and Supporting others who have lost loved ones to Anencephaly.
We wear our green bracelets and green ribbons in support of our sweet precious baby boy Jeremiah W. Smart and all the parents and families that have lost babies to this terrible uncontrollable disorder.
Organizer
Shayla Smart
Organizer
Hot Springs National Park, AR