Hey Mamas. My DS is 7 mo, and everything is great except for one thing, and I feel like I am finally ready to ask about it now. This is probably going to be quite long, and mentions blood a lot, in warning for anyone bothered by that.
Mods, I'm not sure if this belongs here or not, I almost put it in birth trauma, but its about a PP issue, so I dont know? Please move it if need be =)
This has been hard for me to talk about, I was just able to talk to my husband about it a few days ago. For some reason it has just really really bothered me since DS was born. Short version, I had two bad PP hemmorhages, and after the 2nd we found out it was from retained placenta and sac. A really really big piece. I've had quite a few nightmares about it, and about blood since it happened.
I think if I knew WHY it happened, I could feel a lot better about it, and maybe have some closure. So I was hoping to get some help, thoughts, anything from other Mamas here, any Midwives or birth proffesionals in specific, that would be awesome.
Long version: Labor and birth was great. 31 hrs, he was a posterior birth, but he came out very easily in less than 15 min. Started breastfeeding within a few min.
Placenta had not came out yet, and MW thought I was bleeding heavily, and suggested pitocin to help get the placenta out. I had on my birth plan that I did not want this, but in the moments after birth and after the long labor, I just didnt really care about it at the time, and said ok. Pushed the placenta out pretty soon after that, came out easily.
My nurse sat next to my bed examining the placenta and sac while I nursed DS. DH and I were interested in looking at it, so she handed it over to us, and explained she had been looking at it to make sure it was in one piece. It definately looked like one whole piece to us too, nothing stood out to me that a piece was broken off.
About 1 week PP, I was standing up holding DS, and felt a huge warm gush. I thought I had peed myself, and looked down and I was really really confused, because the pool underneath me was almost black. DH started yelling that it was blood and to get off the carpet, so I steped out of the room into the hall where we had tile, and another huge gush came out. DH started really freaking out and I was just in shock and couldnt move or speak. DH called the MW, and while he was on the phone I had another gush. DH told me to go sit down, so I sat on the toilet with DS, but then decided to get into the tub instead. DH talked to MW, she said start BFing immediately to get my uterus to contract, and to massage. I sat in the tub BFing, and I still couldnt talk. I was soaked in blood from the waist down, and had gotten blood on DS. The toilet was covered and dripping with blood, there were blood splatters on the bathroom door, and the white bathmat was also soaked and splattered. I could see out into the hall where the biggest pool was, and it had spread out and there were more splatters on the wall in the hall. It really looked fake, like a crime scene in a movie bc there seemed to be so much. BFing and massage got the bleeding to stop, MW said if it started up again, get into the ER ASAP. Said she would call back and check on us later, and she did and the bleeding had not started up again, so she said keep in touch. I sat in the tub for about an hour, because thats how long it took DH to soak up the blood from our carpet.
About a week later, DS had his 2 week WBV, and on the way out of the Peds office, I had another gush of blood. We got in the car and drove straight to the hospital. MW's examined me, and said I needed to be looked at by the resident OB. So went to another section of the hospital, and I was there for about 8 hours. In that time, I had 3 vaginal exams, very painful and emotionally traumatic for me being only 2 weeks PP. I'm still not sure why I had to have 3 seperate people examine me. I was sent for an ultrasound. They said it looked like I had a lot of blood clots in my uterus, and gave me the choice of having a D&C or going home with a Rx of Methergine. I dont remember the dosage. I chose the methergine, I didnt want anyone else near my vagina that day, I'd have enough of it already. They also gave me antibiotics.
The next day, I was going to the bathroom, and I felt almost like I was in labor again, like I needed to push, so I did. A HUGE piece of something slid out of me. I fished it out of the toilet (yes, I know gross) because I wanted to see what it was. It felt and looked like a big piece of raw meat, as big as my palm and thick. It also had a lot of membrane on it that looked to me like the amniotic sac. I called MWs right away, they told me to come in and bring it with me.
Got to MW office, and they confirmed, it was indeed a very large piece of placenta and sac. They sent me for another ultrasound to make sure that nothing was still in there, and gave me the all clear that it looked good and I could go home. They scheduled me another visit 2 weeks after that and checked me out again to make sure it was all ok.
Never had any more bleeding or problems, other than being very very tired and woosy for a while, and scared. I was so scared to do anything for a while, which made taking care of a NB very hard. I was scared to even stand up, or go to the bathroom. I had a lot of nightmares about blood, and about my DS being covered in blood. I still have them sometimes. I want another baby eventually, but its hard to think about it when this is still bothering me.
One thing someone suggested to me, was late in my second trimester, DH and I were in a very bad car accident. I spent the night in labor and delivery with the nurses watching my (small) contractions. I did have bleeding, they couldnt tell if it was me, or the placenta, or DS, and I had to have a Rogam shot bc I am RH-. I was thrown sideways, to the center of the car, and my belly was covered in bruises from the seatbelt.
A friend asked me if that could possibly be the reason for the tearing off of a piece of my placenta, and why the placenta we looked at right after birth appeared to be whole? Is that even possible? Did I possibly bring this on myself by letting them give me pitocin after the birth of DS? Did the MW, nurse, and OB do the right things? I'm still trying to wrap my head around this 7 months later.
Thank you to anyone who read this entire thing.
Mods, I'm not sure if this belongs here or not, I almost put it in birth trauma, but its about a PP issue, so I dont know? Please move it if need be =)
This has been hard for me to talk about, I was just able to talk to my husband about it a few days ago. For some reason it has just really really bothered me since DS was born. Short version, I had two bad PP hemmorhages, and after the 2nd we found out it was from retained placenta and sac. A really really big piece. I've had quite a few nightmares about it, and about blood since it happened.
I think if I knew WHY it happened, I could feel a lot better about it, and maybe have some closure. So I was hoping to get some help, thoughts, anything from other Mamas here, any Midwives or birth proffesionals in specific, that would be awesome.
Long version: Labor and birth was great. 31 hrs, he was a posterior birth, but he came out very easily in less than 15 min. Started breastfeeding within a few min.
Placenta had not came out yet, and MW thought I was bleeding heavily, and suggested pitocin to help get the placenta out. I had on my birth plan that I did not want this, but in the moments after birth and after the long labor, I just didnt really care about it at the time, and said ok. Pushed the placenta out pretty soon after that, came out easily.
My nurse sat next to my bed examining the placenta and sac while I nursed DS. DH and I were interested in looking at it, so she handed it over to us, and explained she had been looking at it to make sure it was in one piece. It definately looked like one whole piece to us too, nothing stood out to me that a piece was broken off.
About 1 week PP, I was standing up holding DS, and felt a huge warm gush. I thought I had peed myself, and looked down and I was really really confused, because the pool underneath me was almost black. DH started yelling that it was blood and to get off the carpet, so I steped out of the room into the hall where we had tile, and another huge gush came out. DH started really freaking out and I was just in shock and couldnt move or speak. DH called the MW, and while he was on the phone I had another gush. DH told me to go sit down, so I sat on the toilet with DS, but then decided to get into the tub instead. DH talked to MW, she said start BFing immediately to get my uterus to contract, and to massage. I sat in the tub BFing, and I still couldnt talk. I was soaked in blood from the waist down, and had gotten blood on DS. The toilet was covered and dripping with blood, there were blood splatters on the bathroom door, and the white bathmat was also soaked and splattered. I could see out into the hall where the biggest pool was, and it had spread out and there were more splatters on the wall in the hall. It really looked fake, like a crime scene in a movie bc there seemed to be so much. BFing and massage got the bleeding to stop, MW said if it started up again, get into the ER ASAP. Said she would call back and check on us later, and she did and the bleeding had not started up again, so she said keep in touch. I sat in the tub for about an hour, because thats how long it took DH to soak up the blood from our carpet.
About a week later, DS had his 2 week WBV, and on the way out of the Peds office, I had another gush of blood. We got in the car and drove straight to the hospital. MW's examined me, and said I needed to be looked at by the resident OB. So went to another section of the hospital, and I was there for about 8 hours. In that time, I had 3 vaginal exams, very painful and emotionally traumatic for me being only 2 weeks PP. I'm still not sure why I had to have 3 seperate people examine me. I was sent for an ultrasound. They said it looked like I had a lot of blood clots in my uterus, and gave me the choice of having a D&C or going home with a Rx of Methergine. I dont remember the dosage. I chose the methergine, I didnt want anyone else near my vagina that day, I'd have enough of it already. They also gave me antibiotics.
The next day, I was going to the bathroom, and I felt almost like I was in labor again, like I needed to push, so I did. A HUGE piece of something slid out of me. I fished it out of the toilet (yes, I know gross) because I wanted to see what it was. It felt and looked like a big piece of raw meat, as big as my palm and thick. It also had a lot of membrane on it that looked to me like the amniotic sac. I called MWs right away, they told me to come in and bring it with me.
Got to MW office, and they confirmed, it was indeed a very large piece of placenta and sac. They sent me for another ultrasound to make sure that nothing was still in there, and gave me the all clear that it looked good and I could go home. They scheduled me another visit 2 weeks after that and checked me out again to make sure it was all ok.
Never had any more bleeding or problems, other than being very very tired and woosy for a while, and scared. I was so scared to do anything for a while, which made taking care of a NB very hard. I was scared to even stand up, or go to the bathroom. I had a lot of nightmares about blood, and about my DS being covered in blood. I still have them sometimes. I want another baby eventually, but its hard to think about it when this is still bothering me.
One thing someone suggested to me, was late in my second trimester, DH and I were in a very bad car accident. I spent the night in labor and delivery with the nurses watching my (small) contractions. I did have bleeding, they couldnt tell if it was me, or the placenta, or DS, and I had to have a Rogam shot bc I am RH-. I was thrown sideways, to the center of the car, and my belly was covered in bruises from the seatbelt.
A friend asked me if that could possibly be the reason for the tearing off of a piece of my placenta, and why the placenta we looked at right after birth appeared to be whole? Is that even possible? Did I possibly bring this on myself by letting them give me pitocin after the birth of DS? Did the MW, nurse, and OB do the right things? I'm still trying to wrap my head around this 7 months later.
Thank you to anyone who read this entire thing.
I know you will come to that place of healing since you are working so hard on processing the entire situation.
