Parker-McCray story—full version

No heartbeat

A year after Dorothy Parker-McCray and her husband, Cameron, had their first child, they found out they were pregnant again. “I was excited, yet nervous because we had a toddler who had just learned to walk,” Dorothy says. But her excitement soon turned into morning sickness, and then into every parent’s nightmare.

At their 12-week appointment, the doctor couldn't hear the baby’s heartbeat but told them not to worry, it was still early in the pregnancy. Then at their checkup a month later, she still couldn’t get a heartbeat. Dorothy went for a more in-depth ultrasound and that’s when doctors discovered that there was something wrong with the baby’s heart.

“We didn't know what to expect, but we were hopeful that things would be okay,” Dorothy says. “And while we were there, they told us that we were having a girl but that she had hydrops, which is fluid in her abdomen, and that her heart was severely malformed and that we would need to prepare to lose our baby girl. They didn’t expect her to survive the weekend.”

Dorothy had a lot of fear and anxiety, but then two days later, Easter morning, she was woken up by very hard kick from her daughter. “It was as if she was letting me know that she was still here and she was okay,” she says. “The next few weeks we went to the doctor every Friday, and they checked her heartbeat, checked her vitals, made sure I was still doing okay.”

Things were looking hopeful. Kylah’s heartbeat was up, and doctors were excited. A couple days before their next appointment, Dorothy felt like something was wrong, but “thought it was just the normal pains of pregnancy.” Then at their 22-week appointment, Dorothy and Cameron got the news: Kylah had passed away.

“We went through a whirlwind of emotions,” Dorothy recalls. “And en route to the hospital, I was called and told that there were no beds available so that we would have to come the next day. So, I went home and had to process the reality that our baby girl was gone.”

The next morning, Dorothy and Cameron went to the hospital to do the unthinkable. “There's a moment where you go through phantom kicks, so when I woke up that morning, I thought I kept feeling kicks, but they were not,” Dorothy says. “So, I had one final ultrasound to confirm that there was no heartbeat.”

Nearly 20 hours after being induced, Dorothy gave birth to Kylah. “They provided a small outfit for us to put her in,” she recalls. “They did her footprints and her handprints, and I got to hold her.”

Dorothy and Cameron went on to have two healthy children, Korinne and Klayton, after their tragic loss. Dorothy honors Kylah to this day by being involved with March of Dimes. “Part of it is a way to honor our daughter Kylah's legacy, to hand my grief to a good cause, to help other women that have gone through what I've gone through,” Dorothy says.

Each year, she raises money for March for Babies with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, one of March of Dimes’ National Service Partners. “It's one of our important principles to give back to our community and local chapter, and we’re very active with the March for Babies walks. Helping our youth, helping moms and babies, and making sure women have access to the care that they need during pregnancy and after is very important for our sorority.”

While most of us will never experience the tragedy of a stillbirth, we all know someone impacted by childbirth complications. We live in the U.S., after all—one of the most dangerous developed nations to give birth. What’s worse, women of color are up to 50 percent more likely to give birth preterm and their children can face a 130 percent higher infant death rate. March of Dimes is fighting to turn this maternal and infant health crisis around. “It's time for everybody to really acknowledge the work that March of Dime does,” Dorothy adds.

Parker-McCray story—short version

No heartbeat

A year after Dorothy Parker-McCray and her husband, Cameron, had their first child, they found out they were pregnant again. But the excitement soon turned into morning sickness, and then into every parent’s nightmare.

At their 12-week appointment, the doctor couldn't hear the baby’s heartbeat but told them not to worry, it was still early in the pregnancy. Then at their 16-week checkup, she still couldn’t get a heartbeat, and Dorothy went for a more in-depth ultrasound.

“They told us that we were having a girl but that she had hydrops, which is fluid in her abdomen, and that her heart was severely malformed and that we would need to prepare to lose our baby girl,” Dorothy says. “They didn’t expect her to survive the weekend.”

But things started looking hopeful—over the next few weeks, Dorothy went to the doctor every Friday. Kylah’s heartbeat was up, and doctors were excited.

Then at their 22-week appointment, Dorothy and Cameron got the news: Kylah had passed away. The next day, nearly 20 hours after being induced, Dorothy gave birth to Kylah. “They provided a small outfit for us to put her in,” she recalls. “They did her footprints and her handprints, and I got to hold her.”

Dorothy and Cameron went on to have two healthy children, Korinne and Klayton, after their tragic loss. Dorothy honors Kylah to this day by raising money for March for Babies with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, one of March of Dimes’ National Service Partners. “Part of it is a way to honor our daughter Kylah's legacy, to hand my grief to a good cause, to help other women that have gone through what I've gone through,” Dorothy says.

While most of us will never experience the tragedy of a stillbirth, we all know someone impacted by childbirth complications. We live in the U.S., after all—one of the most dangerous developed nations to give birth. What’s worse, women of color are up to 50 percent more likely to give birth preterm and their children can face a 130 percent higher infant death rate. March of Dimes is fighting to turn this maternal and infant health crisis around. “It's time for everybody to really acknowledge the work that March of Dime does,” Dorothy adds.