Jaclyn Gangloff had a normal pregnancy – until the end.
“She had gone full term. She was at 38 and a half weeks,”’ said Audrey Gangloff, Jaclyn’s mother-in-law and former Gillette Road Middle School principal. “She’d just been to the doctor on Thursday [March 13], and everything was fine. On Friday [March 14], her water broke. They got to the hospital, thinking they’re having the baby, and there’s no heartbeat.”
Chase Daniel Gangloff was stillborn due to an undetected complication. Jaclyn had suffered a placental abruption, but she had no symptoms or outward signs of trouble.
“It’s nothing you can ever expect,” Audrey Gangloff said. “You don’t know how to deal with it or what to say.”
Sadly, stillbirth is more common than one might think. According to the March of Dimes, stillbirth is defined as fetal death occurring after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It occurs in about 1 in every 160 pregnancies. Placental problems like Jaclyn Gangloff’s cause about 25 percent of stillbirths; in a placental abruption, the placenta peels away, partly to almost completely, from the uterine wall before delivery. It results in heavy bleeding that can threaten the life of both mother and baby. Sometimes it can cause the fetus to die from lack of oxygen. Other causes include birth defects, infections involving the mother, fetus or placenta, cord accidents (incidents in which the umbilical cord either becomes knotted, preventing the flow of blood to the fetus, or becomes wrapped around the baby’s neck), poor fetal growth or chronic conditions in the mother.
Regardless of the cause, stillbirth is often unexpected and always devastating.
“Parents form a bond with their child long before birth, so they may feel intense loss when their unborn baby dies,” said the March of Dimes website.
Miscarriage (preterm loss of a fetus) and stillbirth are common enough that October has been designated Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. It’s also the time when the March of Dimes holds its annual March for Babies. The event raises money to research preterm birth, miscarriage, stillbirth and other problems with pregnancy.
For their part, the Gangloffs, some of whom live in Clay and some in Cicero, are looking to help the March of Dimes in Chase’s memory. Jaclyn’s sister-in-law, Julie, has organized a 5K walk/run at Oneida Shores, to take place Oct. 4.
“Julie worked tirelessly all summer,” Audrey Gangloff said. “She formed a corporation and was able to get 501c3 status within two weeks, which is amazing.”
The family didn’t tell Jaclyn and husband Chris what they were planning at first, as they wanted it to be a surprise. They were concerned about how the couple, also parents to Olivia, would react to the news, but they needn’t have been.
“They loved the idea,” Gangloff said. “Jaclyn said her worst fear was that he’d be forgotten. This will help keep his memory going.”
Registration for the event will begin at 9 a.m. and the event itself starts at 10 a.m. Registration is still being accepted. The event will take place at Oneida Shores in Brewerton. It involves both a walk and a run, though this year’s run will not be officially timed (Gangloff said future events likely would be). The whole family is welcome, as there will also be face painting, balloon animals and other family-friendly activities. The cost is $20 until the day of the race, when it goes up to $25. To register, visit chase-inghope.wix.com/chase. All proceeds will benefit the March of Dimes.
“They’re a really good organization, because they do deal with infant mortality and research into stillbirth,” Gangloff said. “If we can save one family from going through this, we’re going to do that.”
Right now the event has 131 registrants. Gangloff said she’s hopeful that number will continue to rise, as it’s an important cause that affects too many people.
“We hope, from our tragedy, someone else doesn’t have to suffer the same thing,” she said. “There are organizations out there that will help so this doesn’t happen as frequently as it does, and it’s not as uncommon as you’d think. Something good has come of this if we can raise money to help others.”
