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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Retained Placenta - Manual Intervention OUCH !

19 replies

Tillyboo · 05/01/2006 11:05

After the birth of my first DD I had problems deliv my placenta. The MW's took all steps to expel it but all to no avail. After 2.5 hrs the MW's called in the registrar. What happened next was a huge shock to me . He rolled up his sleeve, apolog for any discomfort, told me to suck on the gas and air and proceeded to perform a scene from 'All creatures Great and Small'. The pain was excruciating and I was practially held down on the bed. Has anyone else had an experience like this ? The thought of experiencing this again fills me with terror.

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Gisou · 05/01/2006 12:18

Ouch, I had also retained placenta with my first and it has to be removed manually however they make an epidural first. I did not really feel any pain when the doctor removed it but I could not fell the lower part of my body for the next 3 hours and this was very unconfortable. very strange feeling not to be able to feel or move your legs.

I had a home waterbirth with my second and no retain placenta. So don't worry too much it will be surely fine this time

Aloha · 05/01/2006 12:20

OMG, you poor thing! How dreadful for you.

expatinscotland · 05/01/2006 12:22

OW! Dang, it was sore enough to deliver the placenta when it came out normally, I can't imagine having someone performing such a procedure w/nothing but gas & air - it's SORE down there after giving birth!

eldestgirl · 05/01/2006 12:23

Yup, I had this too. It bloody hurt!
Second time around, no problems. The placenta was "just sitting there" so the MW pulled it out. No pain at all.

Yummymummy24 · 05/01/2006 12:42

haha i had the exact same thing!!!!!!!!! two hours on a hormone drip first to try to contract the bugger out before hand. then docter came in and said oooh i can just pull it out if you want? i was so pissed off by this time i said yes it wasnt that bad felt dead brave and hard so i didnt use gas and air lol. it was over in a few minutes not an experience i'd like to repeat this time but i doubt it will happen twice

harpsichordcarrier · 05/01/2006 12:47

yep me too except they didn't even try to get it out any other way
dd2 had just been lifted onto my tummy and yep James Herriot manoeuvre
I was FURIOUS
poor you

novadandypowder · 05/01/2006 13:06

i was given a spinal block before they took mine out manually, i was just grateful i didn't have to go into theatre like they were talking about.

Cadmum · 05/01/2006 19:03

I was on my way to theatre to have it removed under GA but my blood pressure crashed and I was about to pass out so the consultant just reached in and pulled it out. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE experience but I was not looking forward to the Op either... I so hope that it does not happen again this time (I am also pg; due in 9 weeks.)

Tinker · 05/01/2006 19:13

I had one last time. The threat of an op after a speedy 2.5 hour labour made me sit on the loo and push it out.

Yummymummy24 · 05/01/2006 19:21

haha tinker thats soooo funny if i get in the same situ this time i'm so going to try thsat out!

AlmostAnAngel · 05/01/2006 19:25

OMG! i had retained placenta but had gen annisthetic and d and c 3 days after dd 2 was born,,

Yummymummy24 · 05/01/2006 19:29

When the midwife showed me the placenta (see earlier post) she said the ends were scraggy this was bad apparantly i think if they can pull it out whole its ok maybe you had some bits left in. poor you!!!!

amanada · 05/01/2006 20:30

This happened to me too - they tried to pull it out manually and the cord snapped (nasty scenes of spraying blood apparently - I didn't have my glasses on so was oblivious).
I had the theatre trip with epidural and lots of stitches and a 3 hour wait to see ds properly.
BUT you know the worst bit? The moment in theatre when I realised that the screen they put up between you and all the "action" was actually the end of my hospital gown.....
Somehow this was just the worst humiliation!

jwerb · 17/03/2006 20:42

This brings back memories. I started bleeding a couple of hours after a homebirth so went into hospital by ambulance. First attempt at placenta removal was done with gas and air... omigod most painful thing I've ever been through. I sucked on the gas and air so much I was totally out of it but it didn't stop the pain. Unfortunately there was some seriously embedded placenta still left in there so after a couple more hours of bleeding I was taken into theatre and it was removed over about an hour, only this time I'd had a spinal so it wasn't painful but more uncomfortable.

Good news is that at my next birth history did NOT repeat itself. Placenta came out easily, lost hardly any blood. I did say specifically in my birth plan that I would only consent to manual placenta removal under general anaesthetic though.

tortoiseshell · 17/03/2006 20:46

My mum had this with both her births. When I was born, there was some football match going on, so the doctor came in and made some wise crack about her having to wait a couple of hours, so just to cross her legs and wait, but 'mind you if you'd done that 9 months ago you wouldn't have this problem now'.

She was mad. Had it removed under GA, and somehow, whilst under GA, had a reflex movement with her leg and gave the stupid doctor a black eye. He actually did have the grace to apologise for his remark, along the lines of 'I'll know better than to make stupid remarks to you!'.

fob · 17/03/2006 20:56

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
I had that. After a very speedy labour and birth, I had to sit with the placenta in me for over an hour until a young doctor came along and asked me to squeeze it out while he tugged.
All the ante-natal classes said that the placenta delivery was the easy bit!
And it was bloody big!

corblimeymadam · 20/03/2006 12:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

spub · 20/03/2006 13:50

I also had the James Herriot experience; my placenta was retained and they asked me to suck on the gas and air so they could have a go at pulling it out. Wasn't hugely pleasant!
Then they put me on a drip to help expel it and asked me to breastfeed my dd.
Placenta refused to budge so I did end up in theatre with a spinal block and a manual removal but I was actually quite grateful for that as I had a 3rd degree tear (nasty) and so having it fixed under block was actually ok(ish!).
I'm also pg again and due in July. My consultant advised that there's only a 1-2% chance of retained placenta in the first place but that having had it once, your risk then becomes 10% for subsequent deliveries.........
Am considering an elective section this time around for various reasons!

sharklet · 20/03/2006 21:47

Me too. i was determined to be all natural about it all and resisted the injection. 45 Minutes later nothing. So they gave me the injection, another hour and a half later and they are about to wheel me up to theatre to have it removed under GA. The Dr came in and said I can try and pull it - you don;t want to go up to theatre do you. I said no and so he wrenched it out. DH thought I'd died and that the Dr had pulled out all my organs.

I don't remember it hurting, but I htink I blocked itout - aparently I screamed blue murder. Not even gas and air he just said one two three - pulll....

Ewwwwwww - shudder. I'm having the injection next time!

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