Just delivered yesterday, part of placenta still - Page 2

[crissei]

Wow, good timing! I just finished reading this UC roll call birth story that describes a similar situation. HTH.


http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...07&postcount=1

[GinaRae]

Gather a few midwive's numbers and start calling around. Someone may come over or have you come to them and do an exam. Might save you a trip to the hospital.

When I had my second son, I ended up with a D&C surgery 7-10 days after the birth because of retained tissue. My uterus couldn't contract down after a certain point. I would suggest getting checked before that happens since it was painful, I was bleeding heavily, and the surgery interrupted my time with baby.

[cathicog]

sounds like a retained membrane( part of the bag of waters). Keep an eye on your temperature, any higher than 102, then go in and get someone to help you get a prescription for antibiotics. A piece of membrane can cause a nasty infection called endometritis, and can spread to the rest of the uterus, and into the tubes. You don't want that. Most of the time, the membranes will come out in one piece, but after the birth, you have to put the whole placenta/bag picture together, to make sure it is all there. if not, get it checked. don't wait. Hope taht helps.

[snowymom]

Originally Posted by tammyswanson

It was weird...I'm wondering if it was hanging by the membrane...to describe it it was like the placenta was out...but it was like at the end of a balloon, all stretched. I dabbed at some stuff and where it was coming out of my vagina, there was a whitish sheen...not sure if this describes it or not. It's like the placenta was still sort of attached, like a big bag hanging there. I tried twisting it and stuff, but it didn't come off. Hope this describes it a bit more? Thanks for all your advice, hope to post the birth story soon.

This is EXACTLY what happened with my last birth, first UC. I did, too, try gently twisting and putting pressure on it but it wouldn't budge. I could see, though, that it was the membrane and I eventually took scissors and cut it loose. I did have my placenta examined by a DR as well because to me it looked intact and they never noticed where the membrane was cut (I didn't mention it either as I forgot). It felt like cutting chicken skin.

A few days later, it did come out. I only ever blead about a 1/4cup when the placenta came out then minimal bleeding after that, so I never worried. I would watch for signs of infection, JIC. HTH, Meg

[MsBlack]

Membranes can and do get retained sometimes...it's happened to me, a fairly large piece of it, too. It did, however, come out on it's own on day 4, no problems. If I am 'seeing' what you're describing, then it is retained membranes.

Do watch your temp and be alert to pain in the uterus--NOT afterpains, contrax that come mostly with nursing/right after nursing, but a throb, ache, constant. Any fever is suspect--but if you get an infection, you will probably really be hurting, too. Any weird smell--if there is infection starting, that would be because what is in there is rotting, and it will smell bad. Watch your lochia/flow--for yellow or green. Red, brown, clearish, pinkish is ok and it should only smell like blood, not rot. You should not be soaking pads very fast--or at least, you might have a couple hours of more bleeding when it tries to exit, but this should subside--get help if you bleed so much that it makes you feel faint or otherwise icky.

Rest, excellent nutrition and hydration, LOTS of nursing, and if you're up for it, then maybe a little walking (easy)--it will most likely come out on it's own.

Just don't take any symptoms described, or any feeling of being ill, too lightly. Intrauterine infection can kill--pretty darn fast. That said, don't worry either--just pay attention. You may or may not notice when it passes--I did, happened in the shower, if it's a big enough piece it'll be hard to miss. But it could break up while in there, and come out on your pads in such small bits that you miss it. If it's only membrane, most likely it'll pass without ado.

I drank ginger tea to help it exit--didn't exactly know it was in there, but had a feeling I should treat myself as if something was in there that needed to come out.

[accountclosed3]

it's so cool that we can share these experiences and learn so much from each other.

my intuition didn't give me any big alarms (certainly not an alarm like the pp who wanted to scare you into the dirty ER where you likely would get an infection), just the nudge to observe carefully--temp, overall feeling of wellness, bleeding. that was it.

[accountclosed3]

and i forgot to mention: Congratulations on your birth and baby!

[starry_mama]

I have no experience or advice to offer, but I wanted to say congrats! I can't wait to read your birth story (when you feel up to it of course!)

[cottonwood]

Great post MsBlack. So what exactly does the ginger do?

[2bluefish]

Just to throw my experience to the mix, when I got a uterine infection (nothing retained), I felt like I had the flu - I didn't notice pelvic pain. They kept me in the hospital for 3 days on IV anitbiotics - and I actually do think it was a neccesary treatment, because it was a very hard homebirth, and I was quite run down. But not fun. Second birth I started getting flu-like symptoms several days after the birth - I put myself on oral antibiotics right away (I had some from Mexico), and avoided the trip to the doctor. (I've had risk factors for infection both times - prolonged rupture of membranes, mecomium in the water, VEs, and perhaps not contracting enough post partum.)

[accountclosed3]

there is definitely a place for western medicine in the UC toolbox.

whether or not Tammy is to that place, i don't know. but, she'll know soon enough. it will either resolve itself, something natural that she tries will work, or she'll have to go and get some help.

either way, no big deal.

[mnearthmomma]

have you tried cranesbill or shepherds purse yet?

[gurumama]

If it's retained membrane, clots could be wrapped in the membrane. Is your lochia lighter than you expected? Retained membrane with clots could block discharge. Do you have a MW you could consult about this?

[Youkali]

Have you heard of sepsis, ever? One of my friends nearly died last year because she developed an infection after some tiny placenta parts had stayed inside post-delivery. Luckily, she took her fever seriously and got herself into a hospital ASAP, where she was saved in the nick of time. The doctors there were practically white with shock - an infection inside the womb is no laughing matter and can turn into a full-blown sepsis (which is among the top 5 or so causes of death in the western world, IIRC) within hours.

Please, please, please, if you feel weak or faint or have even the slightest temperature, call 911 or go to an ER or whatever.

[georgia]

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And to the OP, congratulations on your baby and please keep us posted as you can.

Thanks for everyone's cooperation and understanding.

[tessie]

Congrats on your baby.

However, respectfully, I would seek medical advice. Potential uterine infections aren't something to faff about with.

[Seie]

Ok this may be coming way late - and you probably did so already, but I read somewhere (here?) that coughing will often help retained membranes come out?

Congrats on your new babe. I hope the membranes-issue resolves itself without you having to go to the hospital/doc or the like

[MyBoysBlue]

I had a similar situation with my UC. The placenta was hanging by the membrane. We looked it up in Heart and Hands by Davis. It suggested twisting the membrane into a rope until it detaches. It worked for me and nothing was retained. I stayed like that, with it hanging, for a good 40 minutes before we figured out what to do.

[earthmothergypsy]

Congratulations!

I too believe what you are describing is retained membranes (the bag the baby was in). It should pass on it's own, but do watch for infection and heavy bleeding. It may not be attached to the uterus, but just stuck in the edge of the cervix when it closed or even in the vagina. Just keep an eye on things!

~A

[earthmothergypsy]

I forgot! Start drinking echinacea tea/infusion daily. This will help boost your immune system and keep infection at bay. This is what is used for childbed fever and I have a doctor that even agreed that it was a better choice than antibiotics. I did this after a m/c and d&c just to make sure there were no bad bugs in there to cause problems. ~smiling~
Vit C would also be a good thing to take or increase as you take care of the issues.

Good Luck!

~A