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Original poster

Anyone who had a big PPH giving birth

76 replies

BumperBump · 06/02/2023 16:08

How did you get over your fear and have another child? I lost a lot of blood and there was no reason/ risk factors for it. I know it increases my risk of it happening again. It really puts me off having DC2.

OP posts:

october77 · 06/02/2023 20:41

This was my biggest fear after losing 2.5l and having a transfusion after my first. Couldn't have asked for a better birth with my second, she flew out. I was put on the syntocin drip following birth to control any bleeding, I had to stay on it until it was completed which was about 4 hours. I kept going to the toilet and getting the midwives to check if the blood loss was normal, I was so paranoid. But it was all fine and I was home the same day, hardly any blood loss at all.

I had a midwife who really listened to me throughout my pregnancy which I feel made such a difference. Don't be afraid to drill it into them what your worries are, they will take you seriously and have preventative measures in place for you.

SylvanianFrenemies · 06/02/2023 20:42

I lost 1.5l.
We have a 5y age gap! But things were fine with DD2, no excessive bleeding. In fact i was on a high after her birth and felt great.
I went on to have other unsuccessful tries for DC3 but that's another story.

Darkdiamond · 06/02/2023 20:43

I had a forceps delivery which tore the vaginal wall inside. They couldn't stop the blood and I lost 1.5 litres. I felt like I was losing consciousness and they put me on oxygen straight away. They stopped the bleeding and i had a transfusion. I had a planned c section next time!

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figmaofmyimagination · 06/02/2023 20:46

I lost 2L with my first and then had an elective c/sec with my second. Completely different, peaceful, healing experience. Wish you all the best x

Lmgify · 06/02/2023 20:48

I had PPH first time round (emergency c section. Second time round in blood thinner due to clots, and spoke to the doctor before my elective c section, they said they’ll be extra careful and they’ll cross match blood. Second time round PPH was internal and no one noticed, by the time they did I needed 5 units of blood all up. My regional hospital didn’t have it and had to get it from the nearest major hospital using blood bike. Thank fuck I didn’t die

mumonthehill · 06/02/2023 20:53

I also had a PPH with first ds. Had a transfusion and it was awful. It took me a long time to recover. 6 years later had next ds, consultant led and it was a breeze, quick birth and no PPH. Honestly i do not talk about it often but it has affected me. However second birth was so different and positive.

hanahsaunt · 06/02/2023 20:55

Hmm. I lost half my blood volume with my first and needed a transfusion. It was at the end of an exceptionally difficult pregnancy (24 weeks with hyperemesis half of which was spent in hospital) and a very short labour (2 hours from start to finish) so the whole thing was quite shocking and the least of my worries about another. As it happened my next pregnancy was completely unexpected and I just rolled with it. Had another two after that...

UnicorseTime · 06/02/2023 20:56

Yep 11 yrs later and I still feel my heart in my throat when I open threads like these.
I see reading threads like this that my experience isn't "typical" even for what I think of as a major pph so for many people it's more routinely taken care of (although scary I'm sure).

When I went to visit a relative in the same intensive care unit once I completely freaked out and flashedback to being there and burst into tears!

bumblenbean · 06/02/2023 21:03

Sorry you had this experience OP.

I had a 3L PPH during my first labour but apparently mine was due to a very long / difficult labour (3 days!) and then forceps delivery, so it wasn’t the ‘sudden’/ gushing blood loss some experience. I imagine that would be a lot scarier. The first I knew of it was when told I needed transfusions. The whole birth process was very traumatic but I don’t really remember the blood loss as I was more concerned with DS having to be resuscitated and going into PICU etc and wasn’t really aware of what was going on.

Bizarrely my experience meant I wanted to have another to have a ‘better’ experience (though obviously there was no guarantee of this so was probably quite reckless and I don’t think i was quite in my right mind as DS was only 2 months when I got pregnant with DD!).

thankfully DD birth was a dream in comparison, no significant blood loss and all over in a few hours.

I had a debrief with the lovely consultant after DS and she was very reassuring that chances of similar happening again wasn’t significant. So I’d say you have every chance of having a much easier experience second time round- but appreciate the unknown is scary.

@stupidsocialmedia im so sorry you lost your baby. That must have been a heart breaking experience 💔

LucyWhipple · 06/02/2023 21:04

My PPH was after dc2, but was the main reason we didn’t go on to have any more. I probably would have gone for it - I was fairly out of it at the time so don’t remember it all but the recovery afterwards was really tough (I don’t remember / wasn’t conscious for a fair bit of dc2’s first week) - but DH was an absolute no as it was really scary for him and he didn’t want to take the risk of it happening again / being even worse another time.

I’m sorry you had a bad experience too. Have you had birth debriefs etc? That may help you understand things a bit more and to feel reassured in terms of what could be in place preventatively a second time round?

VouloirCestPouvoir · 06/02/2023 21:20

I won't go into details I didn't have my next baby for six years because I felt scarred psychologically. I was worried it would happen but I kept as positive as I could. It was better with next baby but I still lost a fair amount of blood but not enough to be losing consciousness and needing a transfusion. So keeping a positive mindset kept me going x

TokyoSushi · 06/02/2023 21:25

I had an ELCS after a big PPH the first time, it was an absolute dream.

FrodisCapering · 06/02/2023 21:34

There's 18 months between my children. I had excellent care from a Dr the first time and I asked for her to deliver my second child. She was amazing and had a drip set up for me directly after giving birth. She made me feel very safe

UnicorseTime · 06/02/2023 21:43

@LucyWhipple yes my husband had some trauma too - and in the initial months everyone focused on me and he didn't have any chance to share that. He held a baby, saw me into ICU and was eventually told to go home so went home without either of us... he had child 1 to care for too and I was so (irrationally) angry at him for ages for not "being there" or getting my baby for me when he'd prioritised looking after child 1.

UnicorseTime · 06/02/2023 21:44

I'm realising my story isn't quite the same so probably ought to stop posting. But I haven't had the chance to talk about it recently and was drawn to the thread!

whatsinaname2 · 06/02/2023 21:47

I had a massive PPH with my second baby. I was put in a private room for some reason, and then found at some ping later in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. I don't remember much other than a lot of commotion and thinking how terribly sad it would be if I left behind two babies. And a vaguely remember being held down on an operating table by four nurses whilst a doctor felt inside my uterus for anything left behind. Thankfully it didn't really hurt but they must have expected it to. Maybe adrenaline got me through.
Anyway, it certainly didn't put me off. I've had two more since and both births were a cinch. The hospital were on the ball with making sure they monitored me closely and had my blood type ready to go. Don't be scared, you will be fine. x

wishuponastar1988 · 06/02/2023 21:48

I had a PPH with my baby in august, lost 2l and had 3 transfusions. It was so traumatic, had a 'textbook' labour and they sent my partner home to get the car seat for me and baby to be discharged a few hours later. However it then went wrong, placenta didn't come away and I had a PPH. Ended up having a general anaesthetic as their original plan of a spinal was not safe, genuinely thought I was dying it was utterly horrific. Just remember lots of shouting and people running around then woke up 4 hours later. Had a debrief which I found quite useful but I am scared of having another baby. They told me that there is a 1/3 chance of it happening again however said that they would take precautions. I'm interested to read others responses to this thread - thanks for posting.

Ablababla · 06/02/2023 21:56

I lost 2.5 l with DS2. I had horrendous PTSD. It took me five years to try again.

DS3 birth was fine. The labour was carefully managed with a drip and they whipped baby out with a vontouse so I wasn’t pushing to long. I lost about 1l which the doctor told me he considered a PPH and wanted to keep me in. I felt absolutely fine and told him it was nothing compared to 2.5 and I went home the same day.

RamonaBadwolf · 06/02/2023 21:57

I’m not sure if this is what you want to hear, but I lost 3L and was convinced I was going to die. 3 hours in theatre, oxygen, transfusions, throwing up, and think they eventually put a balloon and packing in to stop the blood loss. It was the middle of the light and drs were being paged in from home. Was in HDU for 2 days then a further 2 on a regular post natal ward. I would have loved a second but 7 years later I’m still traumatised, so it won’t be happening.

UnicorseTime · 06/02/2023 22:04

@RamonaBadwolf that sounds like mine. I kept telling HV etc I was struggling but looking back I was properly in the flows of ptsd. I used to get intrusive thoughts and all sorts. We won't be doing it again it was the most terrifying experience I've had. I had a picture of "my" baby next to me on ICU that they sent up when I went hysterical but I didn't know her and just wanted my baby 😔. I wasn't fully aware how serious it was to begin with and was alone (well with icu nurse) and so confused.

xprincessxjanetx · 06/02/2023 22:22

I had a massive PPH with my first born. My 2nd I didn't worry about it at all for some reason but I did have another PPH but only a very slight one. My 3rd I only lost 300ml but I ended up with severe post partum anxiety and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD as I kept having flashbacks from my first delivery. I ended up on a plethora of medications, 2 of which I still take even now and it's been nearly 7 years. My 4th baby I only lost 150ml, my 5th was EMCS and I lost 1L but as it was a c-section it's expected to be more than a VD. My 6th was an ELCS and I lost 1L again. I am now pregnant with twins and having another ELCS and even though it doesn't plague my thoughts constantly it is still there in the back of my mind niggling at me.

RamonaBadwolf · 06/02/2023 23:34

@UnicorseTime so sorry to hear you had a similar experience. Realistically I think I probably have PTSD around it. So sad really

MyopicBunny · 06/02/2023 23:36

I had a PPH with dd1 which was caused by the injection they give you, right before birth to expel the placenta. I never had it again with any of my other children and the placentas all came out within 10 minutes by themselves.

RamonaBadwolf · 06/02/2023 23:37

Also OP remember that due to the nature of the thread you are likely to get posters here who have had extreme experiences. Try not to be overly influenced by what you read here.

UnicorseTime · 07/02/2023 06:49

Yes reading up mine was pretty extreme- but most people's haven't been and have tried again. If you are consultant led and they are aware of the risk they can be prepared second time round.

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