Giving birth in a midwife led unit after PPH last time?

[CaptainHetty]

Following the birth of my daughter 3 years ago I suffered a PPH.

After attempting to ask quite possibly the most elusive midwife ever my midwife over the phone yesterday with little success I figured I'd get more joy elsewhere - are the chances of me having another PPH increased at all, and if so, will this lessen my chances of being able to give birth in a midwife led unit as opposed to on the labour ward?

Thanks :o

it depends on the reason for your PPH. Some things can reoccur, others might the result of interventions such as ventouse or from very long first timer labour and a tired uterus. I would request to meet the lead midwife on the unit or an associated Supervisor of Midwives to discuss your options.

PPH is more common with first babies (from all causes) than second. However you have some increased risk having already had one.

most birth centres exclude women who have had previous pph.

Thanks for your quick response :)

I'll see if I can get any more info out of the midwife when I see her then contact the unit afterwards :)

Sorry cross posted with you mousy , thanks for your response as well, at least if they say no I'll be kind of expecting it! x

I had a PPH and i'm planning on MLU - Mw says it should be fine if they keep a close eye

I had a previous PPH but was keen to be either at home or in the MLU. I had to have a meeting about it with a consultant and also the supervisor of midwives. The meetings were really fantastic in that they gave me very straight forward statistics on my risk factors. The SOM was brilliant and she really went through my previous birth with a fine tooth comb, explaining everything. Both of them said that they can't ignore the stat that of the 5% of women who have a pph in their first birth, 1 in 3 will have a repeat pph in their second birth. This is an interesting stat but of course doesn't take into account WHY the woman had a pph which is a factor that needs to be considered. My pph was minor (500ml) and was believed to be caused by the episiotomy/forceps rather than something interior such as a retained placenta which is a different kettle of fish. I've looked at the risk and decided that I am less likely to have intervention/assisted delivery if I choose to go to the MLU which will further reduce my risk of a pph.

I'll definitely ask to discuss it with someone.

Mine was with my 3rd labour, my first two were fine. As far as I can remember I was never actually given a reason for it happening, but I never had any intervention of any kind, just a very straightforward 2 hour labour. I know my loss was under 1000ml so considered minor, as well. I'm guessing the water birth I had my heart set on is going to be out of the question as well, but I will definitely talk it over with my midwife :)

Is the mlu attached to the consultant unit? I had a major pph (after wanting a homebirth) and ended up in intensive care. I had to have a transfusion very urgently. I realise this is quite rare but I think increased risk of a major pph would be a reason for me to be in (or very near) a clu. I might not have made it if I had been an ambulance ride away as a major pph is so serious.

If however its just down the corridor that's a different risk again (our mlu is next to the clu so were I to have another I would argue for that).

Do speak to the MLU and see what they think/ whether you are at increased risk etc. AS you say it was a minor pph. (I have no idea of risk factors - they would be able to advise better. I saw a supervisor of midwives when I was planning my birth (planned hb!) who was able to talk through risks and best support etc. She was fantastic even though I was very grateful in the end I wasn't at home).

I'll have to keep an eye on this thread as it's very relevant to me at the moment.

First baby (nearly 4 years ago) was a failed ventouse/forceps/3rd degree tear and I was readmitted when he was 5 days old for a blood transfusion (3 units), until that point no one had mentioned that I might have had a pph or lost an unusually large amount of blood during birth.

I'm now pg again and at my booking-in appointment the mw took my history and asked if I'd had a pph, to which I said I didn't know. So I've got a consultant appointment in a couple of weeks to discuss things, but I really, really don't want to be consultant-led. I desperately want to use the MLU (which is across the corridor from the CLU) as the idea of having to be monitored continuously and strapped to a bed is keeping me awake at night. As far as I can see my pph (or whatever it was) was directly related to the invention during birth and if I can avoid that then I am very unlikely to hemorrhage again.

Me too. i'm due in 9.5 weeks... my PPH was just over 1000mls i think. Due to them thinking some of the placenta was left in, turned out it wasnt. They just put it down to big baby 8lb9 and i'm very slim.., fast labour & delivery for a first baby, low iron. and just that my body didnt have time to catch up? done all naturally, i just started to bleed 2hrs after birth :s

For those who were keeping an eye on this because they're in a similar situation:

I saw my midwife today and she said she can't see any reason why I won't be able to use the MLU as long as they keep an eye on everything. She wants me to check with the Unit first rather than just assume I can, but says after a minor PPH there's nothing that automatically excludes me from using the MLU, it very much depends on the individual circumstances and reasons for the PPH in the first place x

I had a pph with my first, but was able to have a mlu birth at a stand alone mlu Primarily because I denied the pph.