To Full Term, by Darci Klein

I accidentally stumbled upon this book at Half Price Books last weekend, and ended up reading it in a day. Published by Berkley in 2007, this memoir is a by a mother of six: 1 living baby that was born premature prior to 30 weeks gestation and spent two months in the NICU, 2 babies that were miscarried, a set of twins that was born too premature to save, and finally, 1 baby that was born full term. 

In To Full Term, Darci discusses the importance of fighting for preventative medical testing, even though it's taboo among much of the medical community. Today, obstetric guidelines say a mother needs to have lost at least two babies to miscarriage in order to have a simple blood test performed to check for genetic disorders. On a personal note, I was fortunate to be able to have this testing done after one second trimester miscarriage; but I had to demand it. It was not offered to me, and wouldn't have been if I hadn't done some research on my own and suspected a problem. Now, hopefully, knowing what I do about the disorder I have, future miscarriages may be more preventable. Unfortunately, Darci did not know to fight for this testing until after the death of her twins, and testing did confirm Factor V Leiden, a thrombophilia, or bleeding/clotting disorder. 

Darci's memoir discloses exactly what this fifth pregnancy was like for her, with its constant setbacks and the ever-present fears she brought with her due to her many previous losses. She states from the very beginning that her goal is to get the word out that genetic testing needs to be done as soon as a problem is detected, and that babies and pregnancies are not interchangeable, therefore, it is not acceptable that the medical community often will not consider testing until at least two babies are lost (the idea being that a couple can always "try again," as though each baby is not its own, never to be retrieved, self). This book made me cry more often than not. I had to set it down several times and then pick it back up later after a break, as it only intensified my fears. I would not recommend it for anyone that has not already experienced pregnancy loss or for anyone that is healthy, but it is a great resource for those who sense they need to undergo genetic testing but are not being supported in this endeavor, as well as for those who have been diagnosed and could use a little hope that, with proper treatment, it is still possible to conceive a full term and healthy child, difficult as that road might be.