polyhydramnios-excess fluid

[hallowicious]

hi I am pregnant with my 3rd child. we've made it to 36+2! I have a condition called polyhydramnios which means I have too much fluid around baby. I am due to be induced on Tuesday 4th nov but have loads of worries etc about everything. has anyone had this condition before or has it that has any advice or that I can talk to please? im tired of hearing from a midwives/consultant view and would like to know the experience of someone who has had this condition before. many thanks x

[DinoSnores]

I had polyhydramnios in my third pregnancy. There were concerns about DD"s increased growth (macrosomia) but the diabetes test was negative, so we don't know why it happened.

I was induced at 39 weeks. Breaking my (significant amount of - junior doctor needed to change her scrubs afterwards) waters did nothing, so the syntocinon drip was started after 4 hours. I had an epidural which was lovely and DD was born about 3.5 hours later with a couple of minutes of pushing at the end. The epidural was nice and light so I could still move my legs in the bed and could still feel contractions, but they just weren't painful! Despite her big head, I had a tiny graze. She BF straightaway and it was all entirely uncomplicated. One of the midwives put a nasogastric tube down DC3 to check that the reason for the polyhydramnios wasn't a problem with oesophageal atresia www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Oesophageal-Atresia.htm. That was done pretty quickly and then we enjoyed lots of skin to skin all night while DD fed. I went home the next afternoon (DD born at 10pm).

My first was born at home and I can say that I actually recovered far more quickly with her than with DC1.

[hallowicious]

can I ask how severe the condition was with u?

I have been told mine is mild I am 36 weeks measuring 43. I am concerned because I know there can be chromosomal disorders which can cause it and both my other children have been poorly from birth. my dd (5) had issues with her bladder/kidneys which seems to be sorted thankfully and my son (3) is a bilateral cleft lip/palette child (ongoing care) so I am worried that I cannot have healthy children. I know it sounds awful but I would just like a 'normal' healthy baby. love my other 2 regardless btw just really worried about complications.

its good to finally speak to someone who has experienced it as none of my friends/family understand how hard it is.

why did they wait until 39 weeks? my FM consultant has agreed 37 but then I have SPD and my back is out of alignment as well.

[hallowicious]

forgot to mention baby is about average in size although my other 2 were both late and tiny (daughter 6lb 14oz @40+3) @(son 7lb 3oz @41+3) x

[gamerchick]

I had it with my third.. I was induced bang on 40 weeks and nudging a 50 inch waist. I've never been so happy to have my waters bopped but that little pathetic pampers pad they put down wasn't enough as it waterfalled off the sides and end of the bed and went up my back.

Physically he's a picture of health.. He does only have 2 lines in each hand but that can happen anyway.

[Itsfab]

I had this but it wasn't diagnosed until I flooded the theatre when they performed an emergency c section due to him not coping with slight contractions. He was flat on delivery and when a tube was put down his throat it came out kinked. It is not meant too so he had an x-ray when less than an hour old and I wasn't able to feed him until the results were known and he was okay.

He is absolutely fine but for three days no one told me that so I was scared to love him too much as he was obviously going to die.

I was being tested for Obstetric cholestasis but the above over took that so never got the results. I am sure I had it though.

My advice is to keep a very very close eye on your baby's movements and if there is any change get yourself in.

A baby moving much less, or much more, than normal needs checking out.
A baby does not move less nearer the due date as less room.

I was seen by an incompetent, uncaring midwife and it was pure good fortune my baby survived another few hours to be scanned by someone who was very good and alerted the necessary people who then delivered our son very quickly.

[Itsfab]

BTW he was predicted to be 8-9 lbs.

He was 6lb 12.5.

[hallowicious]

ItsFab/GAMERCHICK I have an excellent midwife who picked up on my size and pushed the hospital to do something. glad to hear they are ok now. were u worried about abnormalities etc when u found out? I know what u mean. I don't feel like I can get excited about meeting her in case there is something wrong. don't get me wrong if she has any problems I will love her the same im just scared and want to be prepared so I don't fall apart if the worst happens.

did u feel like this?

[gamerchick]

I was worries when they couldn't find the back of his neck on the scan and sent me for a more detailed one.. where he flaunted a decent pair of knackers at the room full of dudes. They couldn't find anything wrong physically and were very reassuring.

I didn't worry after that despite the extra scans.

However I didn't have any problems in previous pregnancy's or afterwards so didn't have the niggles you have now.

Try and relax as hard as it is.. your baby will be here soon and it really may be just one of those things.

And ask for an extra pad or 2 when they break your waters.

[lornemalvo]

I had this with all 3 pregnancies. None of my children had problems. Consultants kept a good eye on me and I was induced with my third. They scanned the babies a lot to check for abnormalities but didn't find any. I think it is dangerous to go past your due date with polyhydramamnios. If you are being observed and induced early try not to worry. Best of luck.

[hallowicious]

thanks gamerchick. I am trying to. I suppose the only thing I can do is deal with any issues if they come up. I have been told chances are 98% shes fine as nothing else showed up on scans. hate the waiting to find out tho.

[hallowicious]

thanks lornemalvo :)

[Itsfab]

I wasn't worried, or even thinking, about abnormalities as I knew if I had OC and it wasn't discovered in time my baby could die. I just wanted my baby alive.

It has always bothered me that we don't know why he was reacting the way he was and I worry he will collapse on the sports field with an undiagnosed heart problem as I have heard other children have. No idea of course if their mothers had polyhydromnious.

DC2 - I had scans weekly at the end.

DC3 - a couple of extra scans for other reasons.

Funnily enough, DC2 and 3 were born vaginally and they both have physical difficulties but that is pure coincidence I think and they get them from DH and I as opposed to a random problem.

With DC3 we knew there was a problem, and I had already lost his twin, so as soon as he was born I did ask if he was X though really the problem was Y but I figured the student midwife who delivered him probably wouldn't know what Y was and if I said X they would look carefully at him.

Try really hard not to stress yourself out. It won't change anything at all and it is using up precious energy when this is a special time when it is just you and baby together. Once they are born they belong to the world .

[Itsfab]

DS1 was delivered at 38 weeks.

[elliejjtiny]

I had polyhydramnios with my 4th son. When he was born I was measuring 7 weeks ahead. He had other problems too (cleft lip and palate, hydrocephalus and development delay) and was born by C-section at 35 weeks because my waters broke and he was in a really weird position.

[glutenfreekiwi]

I had it with my one and only - they said she would probably be pretty prem and we were on weekly scans from 24 weeks.

At 40w2d I begged for induction as I was quite literally rounder than I am tall (5'2"), weighed well over 250lb and could barely move for the pain in my hips and she still was showing no signs of arrival!

2 days later we went forward for induction which was a slow process - so much fluid meant she didn't apply properly to my cervix so I didn't dilate beyond 4cm, even with ARM and drip. She was still doing somersaults even while I was contracting. 36 hours later we went forward for cesarean as I wasn't progressing and a perfectly healthy if somewhat large baby was born - 9lb 10oz and almost 41 weeks!

So it's not all bad news, although I was warned about the risk of cord prolapse etc and that she was looking to be quite big. Also was told to put a shower curtain on my chair, on the seat of my car (amniotic fluid is apparently very hard to clean up properly and can cause the seats to rot!!!) and on our mattress just in case. The medical types have to warn you of everything that could go wrong which can be a bit daunting.

After all that - sorry it's long - the best thing you can do is relax and avoid stress as much as possible, what will be will be and you can't change much at this stage.

Wishing you all the very best for your little one.

[rubyboo2]

Ive had this with my previous 2 pregnancies , I usually develop it at 27 weeks . I have group B strep I dont know if that has anything to do with it ?

With my first pregnancy I had Gtt which was neg , I was having really bad stomach pains doppler Ultrasound was fine . I had him 3 days early thankfully which was when the midwife told me half of the placenta had died and if i hadnt had him then then he wouldnt be here now .

In my second pregnancy I had that much extra fluid they couldnt even put it on the chart , they were talking about draining the fluid which was enough to send me into labour . They were concerned about cord compression , and when there is excess fluid the baby cant get into position or head to push on cervix and start labour off . My for waters went in a big gush so we headed straight into hospital , no cord compression and all went well. Luckily I had a great midwife and all went well he weighed 9lb 2oz !

I am now 25+3 and waiting for it to start again . I would def have the induction as you probably wont go into labour naturally and when you do start in labour they can monitor you closely . My boys were both healthy and well . Take care .

[AnythingNotEverything]

I had this in my second pregnancy. At 40+6 my fundal height was 53cm

I had GTT and TORCH screening because DD's tummy was measuring large, and I had extra scans at 32 and 38 weeks. She looked fine, not even on the large side.

I had a date to be induced because DD wasn't engaging even over term. This isn't unusual with second babies but the risk of my uterus popping and the cord prolapsing was too great. When I went to be induced they found I was already 4cm, so they broke my waters (the flood of fluid was impressive), contraction started within the hour, progressed well and she was born 5 hours later with just has and air.

She had issues with her blood sugars at birth so might have had GD by the end. She was also almost 10lb, but I do tend to have big babies.

Anecdotally the extra fluid may have been caused by an endocrine condition she has, which we discovered after the heel prick, but there isn't a concrete link and her condition isn't problematic anyway.

[hallowicious]

hi all thank you for the replies it was good to hear all your experiences. im glad that things worked out for u all. just an update, my little girl (the one who caused all the issues) was born by induction 3 weeks early at 37 weeks. arrived on bonfire night in the morning after over 15 hrs in labour. it was horrific and the consultant has already agreed to sterilize me and has told me never to have any more children as my body cannot cope. she is perfectly healthy no issues that we know of. still waiting for results of heel prick but were really glad to have her here and be able to mobilise again. still in pain with my back but it will heal in time we hope, will be having follow up with consultant at some point to make sure no permanent damage has been done as I had a serious back injury already from when I was 15 that has been aggravated a lot. thank you again and take care xx