so do I need to keep my womb for anything?

[fruitful]

I had a scan this morning and was told that it is highly likely that I have placenta accreta. Quite high chance of needing a hysterectomy when they do the cs. I'm seeing the consultant tomorrow but I'm wondering - do I care? What do I need my womb for? (this is baby 3 and I am never doing this again).

And while we're here, has anyone else had placenta accreta?

no personal experience, but a friend of mine had a partial hysterectomy years ago, after the birth of her third child and she was quite distraught about it for some time. She said that even though she knew she didn't want any more children, it wasn't nice knowing that she no longer had the option to change her mind.

Good luck with your appointment tomorrow.

xx

I am interested in this so........

bump

my mum had it
she had a hysterectomy after her cs
I was her second and last childbecause of this
it was only when she was here at the birth of gecko (my third) and I was gooey with love for my darling bundle that she told me she would have liked to have 4 kids.

I actually cried

the only thing I can think of, other than an obvious lack of future pregnancies is the hormonal come down from a hysterectomy.

My Mum had one about 10 years ago for endometreosis and it forced her through an early menopause, as far as I know in cases of 'induced menopause' (i don't think that's thet echnical term btw) it makes the change much quicker and intense. Basically what should have been a relatively gentle 3-5 years of gradual slowdown for my Mum's system was an 18 month nightmare ride, hormonally speaking.

hope all goes well when you see the consultant.

i would second what nomdebroomstick says re the hormonal issue

also, even if you don;t wish to or are able to have any more children, then your uterus is still a symbol of your womanliness and femininity, and some women find it very difficult emotionally after a hysterectomy.

same for my SIL; she's had a full hysterectomy in her early thirties and she is on HRT, but it's been problematic finding the right dose. Obviously the dr wants her on the lowest possible dose in view of possible side effects but the low doses have meant that she's suffered lots of menopause symptoms, and I don't know if this is related or just her, but she's put on LOTS of weight.

so I think it can be fine (SIL is v v happy she's had it done) but it needs careful talking about with the dr's involved I would say and close monitoring.

Obviously if it turns out I need a hysterectomy during the cs, then I need it - they're only going to do it if they can't save my life any other way. I don't actually have a decision to make.

I just want to know what the issues are - the docs are all talking as though hysterectomy would be a disaster and here is me thinking "mmm, no more periods ever".

that would be my view, fruitful

Sounds great, to me!

And my view as well Fruitful.

Hormones are the problem though, I am a crazy cow monthly anyway, would it get worse?

Hmm, do you still get hormonal craziness if they leave your ovaries in?

Guess I shall ask tomorrow. At least the consultant is a woman!

Hold onto your uterus if you can
If you have no uterus, your ovaries tend to notice and so stop producing reproductive hormones like oestrogen and progesterone ie an early menopause.
You would need HRt to give your bones oestrogen protection(keeps bones strong) and to keep you oestrogen dependent tissue plump and healthy (breast and genitalia)
I echo lulumamas comments about your uterus being the keystone to your femininity
An ealry menopause is something to avoided if possible
Obviously if you need the hysterectomy because it is life saving, then that is the decision made for you.
Good luck iwth your placenta accreta.
Trinityrhino

Someone in my family is in exactly the same boat as you on this one. She's ok about it, she wants three children and to leave it at that.

Its a big operation on its own, with up to a few months recovery (depending on how healthy / fit you are).

I hope the pregnancy and the birth and the op all go well for you.

as a medic i would feel that you should make it completely clear you do not want a hysterectomy unless it is a lifesaving procedure which it can be sometimes with placenta accreta
there are all sorts of implications to hysterectomy at a young age, physical and very much psychological
good luck!

This happened to my neighbour at 21 with her first baby. Devastating!

I found A Little Wish when looking for info for her.

You might find it useful.

Actually that was the new under-construction site. You may prefer to look here instead.

A girl on an Irish board I'm on had this on her 7th baby ( 7 Cs's too!) She didn't need a hysterectomy. I'll see if I can look it up....

Cutting and pasting:

"Hi
I had a preavia and query accreta with DS7. There were also 2 accreta/praevia cases inthe hospital, one just before me and one at the same time as me.
The hospital (I was an inpatient) sent us all for MRI scans but apparently these are not conclusive. The accretas, even though the placenta had grown out of the uterus came away pretty easily.
They really dont know the extent of anything until they open the uterus for delivery. Accreta is very unusual. Have a look att he Royal COllegeof Surgeons and Obstetricians web site as they have a great leaflet for medical personnel on it (it was my bible!).
APparently on a scan the 'clues' to an accreta are lacunae which are holes filled with fluid in the placental area nearest to the previous scar, no definite delineation in the scan between placenta and uterine wall.
The reason they say hysterectomy is if they cannot stop the bleading etc
None of the 3 of us had to havea hysterectomy. "

And another post from a different lady on the same thread

"Accreta is very uncommon, but I know there were two cases in the Coombe this year. One had a sucessful manual removal, the other lady refused treatment and came in 27 days later having delivered the placenta at home. It was very small but her body had kinda reabsorbed most of it and she had no complications. "

So 5 cases, 2 different hospitals, no hysterectomies!

I had a very depressing conversation with the consultant where we didn't really discuss the hysterectomy cos she was too busy loading me with other grim scenarios. Like a general anaesthetic and a classical incision and intensive care.

Aaaaggggggggh

I'm in hospital so I'll have plenty of chance to talk to her again. When I am a bit calmer!

Fruitful! Hopefully she's just painting the worst case scenario and the reality will be a lot better.