Just one day after announcing their fifth pregnancy, Chip, 43, and Joanna Gaines, 39, shared a precious video via Instagram of their little one’s heart beating during an ultrasound. We’re sure the last thing the Fixer Upper couple anticipated though was for some fans to point out that their baby could be suffering from a scary condition! Joanna posted both the video and a complimentary photo via Twitter on Jan. 3, and it wasn’t long before followers sounded the alarm. Click here to see pics of celebs’ gorgeous baby bumps.
“Chip swears he can already tell it’s a boy. Look at the little heartbeat!! 🙌🏽❤️❤️ #5,” Joanna captioned the ultrasound clip. But while Chip and Joanna may be focused on the baby’s sex, fans’ eyes immediately went to what appears to be excess fluid around the fetus. Some have even commented that the condition seems to mimic hydrops fetalis, which can be fatal for babies. “Happy for you but I hope you follow up with an OB specialist — baby appears to have hydrops fetalis,” one concerned Twitter-user wrote. Another simply said, “This ultrasound almost makes it look like baby has hydrops.”
Hydrops fetalis is a severe, life-threatening problem of severe swelling in the fetus and newborn, according to Stanford Children’s Health, and it can result in the baby’s organ systems being overwhelmed. Sadly, about half of unborn babies with hydrops do not survive, the site states. However, TMZ reached out to a radiologist who practices at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Nicole Saphier, and she said no final conclusions can be drawn based on Joanna’s image alone.
Happy for you but I hope you follow up with an OB specialist – baby appears to have hydrops fetalis.
— Rachel Faulkner (@Rachel2063) January 4, 2018
This ultrasound almost makes it look like baby has hydrops
— Brooke Holt (@BrookeHolt19) January 3, 2018
While Dr. Saphier said there does appear to be skin edema (excess fluid in the skin), which does give rise to concern, it’s not conclusive. She says she’d need to “see the whole ultrasound to determine if excess fluid is present in additional cavities such as the heart, lungs, or abdomen.” We certainly hope everything with Joanna and the baby is alright! This will be Chip and Joanna’s fifth child together, as they’re already proud parents to Drake, 12, Ella, 10, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay, 7.
Chip and Joanna started HGTV’s Fixer Upper centering around their home renovation and design company in Waco, TX back in 2013. Just this past fall, the two announced they are quitting the show in order to focus on their family. Now, three months later, it all makes so much more sense!
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — do you think something could be seriously wrong with Chip and Joanna’s baby? Were you excited to find out they were having another?