Heavily Pregnant Mom Captures Bump, Not Knowing Soon Her Baby Will Be Gone
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A woman's once-joyful video of her surprise pregnancy belly has become a painful reminder of tragedy in a post online.
An Instagram reel showing Wendy Thao cradling her pregnant belly now carries a heartbreaking truth: the baby she was expecting would soon be lost to stillbirth. Thao is now sharing her story of profound loss and the journey of navigating grief while embracing new life online. She spoke about this with Newsweek, explaining how she manages the expectations of motherhood while going through the impossible.
"She doesn't know it yet, but her seemingly healthy surprise pregnancy will end in a stillbirth at 33 weeks," Thao captioned her video. "If you're new here and don't know Delilah's story, she was born sleeping at 33 weeks due to a sudden, unexpected placental abruption. I felt her kick at noon, and by 5:00 p.m., she was gone.
"There were no signs, no reasons—just an unbearable silence where life should've been. She was perfect in every way, just too perfect for this world."
Photos from Wendy Thao's Instagram reel which show her pregnant with her late baby, Delilah.
Photos from Wendy Thao's Instagram reel which show her pregnant with her late baby, Delilah.
@ourlovinghive/Instagram
Thao told Newsweek that everything halted the moment she learned of her daughter, Delilah's, passing.
"It felt like the world stopped," she said. "I remember sitting in the ultrasound room, holding my breath, watching the technician's face change...I knew something was wrong before anyone said a word. When they finally told me there was no heartbeat, it felt like I left my body. Like I was watching someone else's life fall apart."
The experience of delivering Delilah was profoundly painful. She remembered going to the hospital to deliver a baby she knew was already gone.
"The silence in the delivery room was deafening," she said. "No cries, just silence. Holding her in my arms was both the most beautiful and the most painful moment of my life. She was perfect. And yet, I knew I'd never get to watch her grow."
'Eleanor Saved Me'
It wasn't the first time Thao had lost a child—before Delilah, she had had a miscarriage. But Thao now has another child, Eleanor, leaving her to navigate immense love and grief at once.
"As I hold my sweet Eleanor sleeping on my chest, I can't help but think of the babies I've lost," she wrote in her caption. "Never in a million years did I imagine I'd lose two."
Navigating grief while caring for Eleanor has been a delicate balance.
"There were days I felt completely shattered, like a part of me was missing," Thao said. "But in many ways, Eleanor saved me. She taught me that it's okay to grieve and still feel joy and love...Some days, staying present meant simply holding her close and breathing through the tears. Other days, it meant laughing with her and allowing myself to feel joy without guilt."
For others experiencing similar loss, she offered advice. "Let yourself feel it all. There is no 'right' way to grieve, and no timeline for healing," she said. "Lean into your support system, even when it's hard to ask for help. Say their name. Talk about your baby. They existed. They mattered. And they always will.
"There were so many moments when I felt completely alone in my grief, like no one could possibly understand the ache of loving someone you never got to bring home. If sharing Delilah's story helps even one person feel less isolated in that darkness, then her life continues to have meaning in this world."
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