A New Jersey mother, Karen Brennan, faced an unimaginable tragedy during her late-pregnancy appointment when she learned that her baby boy, due within days, no longer had a heartbeat. At nearly 35 weeks pregnant, Brennan attended her check-up with anticipation but left the appointment devastated. Her healthcare provider struggled to detect a heartbeat with the Doppler device and recommended an ultrasound.
In an interview with Newsweek, Brennan recounted the moment when her doctor delivered the heartbreaking news. “She said, ‘I’m so sorry, Karen,’ and that’s when I knew something was really wrong,” she said. Hours later, Brennan and her partner, Michael Johnson, were sent to the hospital, fully aware that they would deliver their son knowing he had already passed away.
On July 1, 2025, Brennan gave birth to her baby boy and learned the cause of his death: two “true knots” in his umbilical cord, a condition that occurs in approximately one percent of pregnancies. Reflecting on her pregnancy, Brennan now believes she noticed signs of trouble long before that final appointment.
At the 20-week anatomy scan, her son’s femur measurements were in the 11th percentile, which, although considered within the normal range, suggests he was smaller than expected. “Another major indicator was I didn’t feel him move a lot,” she shared. “I would feel him move for one day, then not feel him move for two or three days, and [the doctor] told me that concerned her.” Despite her worries, each Doppler check reassured her that everything was fine, and no further testing was conducted.
Brennan’s research following her loss has left her grappling with moments she believes were overlooked by her healthcare providers. Ten days prior to her 34-week scan, a routine ultrasound while her doctor was on vacation included a 3D image that now reveals a cord knot. At the time, she lacked the knowledge to identify a true knot and assumed all was normal.
Even the day before her son’s passing, an elective 3D ultrasound at a boutique studio left her feeling uneasy when she noticed the cord positioned in front of her baby’s face. “I can crop it for the picture,” the technician had told her. Now, in hindsight, Brennan recognizes the knot was right in front of his face. “I never heard about a true knot before, so I had no clue what to look for,” she explained.
Brennan is committed to raising awareness about her experience, noting that she had four of the five known risk factors for true knots: being over 35, carrying a baby measuring below average, experiencing reduced fetal movement, and having multiple prior deliveries. The only factor that did not apply was expecting twins. “When I talked to my doctor, she told me I wasn’t showing any of the signs,” Brennan recalled. “I literally laughed and told her I had every single one of them except for one.”
Now, Brennan copes with her grief through gratitude for her three healthy children, Kya, 12, Dakota, 10, and Aria, 7, as well as her faith. “In my mind, I have to keep telling myself to trust God’s plan,” she expressed. “I go down a rabbit hole trying to ease my mind, telling myself that knots form from seven to 12 weeks. It was there the whole time.”
While she will always wonder if more attentive monitoring could have altered the outcome, Brennan is determined to share her story in hopes of preventing similar heartbreak for other families. “For me to go full-term 34 weeks and it end like this is a complete tragedy,” she stated. “Things like this should have never happened—all of the technology these days. Women just need to be more aware of things that could still happen.”
