Low lying placenta birth stories?

[WolfMother326]

If you had a low lying placenta, how did it turn out? Did you have to stay in hospital? Bleeding? Early labour? C section (and at what week?)

Thanks!

I had a low lying placenta with my first. It moved up and I had no problems with it by the time of delivery. I did have a hemorrhage after my son was born but I don't think that had anything to do with the placenta being low lying at the start. Congrats on your pregnancy.

Exact same story as @Loonylooops - most of them move by the 34 week 'check' scan

Thanks ♡

I had a low-lying placenta in my first pregnancy and due to the amount it was covering the cervix, I was told not to expect it to move. However, it unexpectedly did at 36 weeks so I cancelled my planned c section (already had the date) and had a natural birth at 39 weeks. I was very careful up until 36 weeks though as was terrified of it causing problems so went on pelvic rest and really took things easy.
I’m now expecting baby 2 and placenta is high up this time!

@MrsGreen2021 it's great that it moved so much! Was it on the front or back? Glad you got to have the birth you wanted.

Yeah mine moved by the later scan and had no issues. Try not to worry about it too much x

I had a full placenta praevia and it didn't move. Had a c section at 36 weeks and all good.

If you search placenta praevia on here you'll find a fair few threads.

I had bleeds from 27 weeks and early labour at 32 weeks with a c section however I do think my experience was rare and other people I’ve spoken to it moved or they had a c section at full term if it didn’t move

I had stage 4 placenta prevea and had a planned c section at 38 weeks. It was picked up week 22. It was all good.

It didn't move, had a bleed at 34 weeks and went into labour so had a c-section, baby was fine.

I had low lying anterior placenta in my second pregnancy which was fully covering the internal os at a 26 week specialist scan. A second scan at 32 weeks showed that it was still low-lying but no longer covering, I think they said anterior was more likely to move. Even so this was still deemed close enough to require pelvic rest and a C-section at our before 37 weeks but I got to 36 weeks without a bleed and wanted to get as close to 39 weeks as possible for the health of the baby so I asked for a third scan which showed that it had moved a bit further and was borderline for a vaginal birth.

In the end I opted for C-section anyway but at 38+4 rather than before 37 weeks and it was probably good that I did because it wasn't just praevia it was also accreta, i.e. attached to my uterus, and it hadn't been picked up on any of the specialist scans I'd had. I ended up losing 2.5l of blood however they stopped the bleeding and decided I didn't need a transfusion and I went home the next day.

So, a bit of an essay and no clear lessons for vaginal birth Vs C-section but I guess my main concern was to get close to 39 weeks and I managed that even with mild accreta.

Thanks everyone for your stories.
I'm 33 weeks, I had a scan last week and my posterior placenta is low lying less than 5mm from cervix. I've had a previous emergency c section and was planning to have ELCS at 39-40 weeks but now just a bit worried about bleeding etc. Been given zero advice about pelvic rest or anything. I live 45 min from my hospital. Having a rescan at 36 weeks.

I had a low lying placenta. Discovered this when I had fairly heavy bleeding at about 5 months which was terrifying. Had a bit more during the rest of the pregnancy but (like others) it did move in time for the birth. I was able to have a vaginal birth with no interventions and my son was healthy and happy (although I did go to 42 weeks and nearly had to have an induction!)

Good luck, i hope yours moves round.

Posterior placenta's are less likely to move away from the cervix. Mainly because the back wall of the uterus doesn't stretch and grow as much as the front during the final weeks of pregnancy.

Less than 5mm will likely result in a planned section.

Mine was posterior and less than 8mm. I was booked for a 39 week section. I was told to get straight to the hospital at the first sign of bleeding so decided to stay reasonably close to home from week 34.

Having said that, I had a very easy pregnancy, no bleeding, straight forward section and a very quick recovery.

Thanks @WutheringMights that's really useful to hear. And I'd be ok with that scenario. I am not planning any travel in the next few weeks except one day I need to go to London (1 hour away). I am going to get my hospital bag packed and baby stuff ready next week just in case.

I had placenta praevia with dc2 I found this out at about 26 weeks when I started bleeding, they wanted to keep me in hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy but I couldn't as I had another child at home.
I got a steroid injection in case baby was born early.

I was booked for CS but went into labour early and they told me to call
an ambulance to take me to hospital which I didn't as I thought it was silly to get an ambulance for being in labour.

I was prepped for a CS in the hospital had an epidural in the theatre however they said baby had pushed past the placenta and I had a natural birth.

I have no idea how far the placenta was over the cervix I don't remember being told exactly, I think it was completely covered but it was nearly 25 years ago so no idea.

My gp just said to me don't do hoovering and don't squat or carry heavy things I actually had no idea how serious it could have been.
But all turned out fine in the end.

@VeryStressedMum that is really wild. I'm so glad it turned out well in the end!

Yes @WolfMother326 34 weeks onwards is a good time to stay reasonably close to home just incase you have a bleed.

Since my pregnancy, I've spoken to a fair few women who had Placenta Previa or the placenta close to the cervix and none of them bled during the pregnancy. Hopefully, it's not a common problem and you too will have a super final few weeks. Best wishes.

Thanks @WutheringMights - I hope that will be the case. I've now had a consultant appointment set up for Monday which I assume is to discuss this, so at least I'll be able to hopefully get advice and some reassurance.

I spoke to the consultant this morning and feel a little fragile now. She was really apologetic that no one spoke to me after the scan I had 2 weeks ago. Basic takeaways are that she doesn't think it's likely the placenta will move at this point due to its position on back wall at 5mm from cervix/ my previous c section. Wants to book a planned c section for 38 weeks to avoid labour as that can cause heavy bleeding. Aiming for Fri 23 August but will get a date booked by my 36 week scan. She does not think it's likely to be embedded in the uterus as the position doesn't imply that, but they will have extra doctors on hand and also have a supply of extra blood in case anything goes wrong 😬 I'll be booked a double slot for the procedure to give lots of time to go slowly. She said I'll probably stay in 2 nights just for safety but she doesn't think it will be complicated as its not actually covering the cervix, it's more from a cautious approach. Also, if I have any bleeding come straight to hospital, whether there or if very serious ambulance. But she said hopefully won't happen.

I saw your last post and thought I'd try to provide a bit of reassurance and expand a bit on my post above. I got similar warnings about risk of bleeding before my section date and told to call an ambulance if I couldn't get to hospital quickly but I didn't bleed before my section at 38 weeks even though my placenta did turn out to be attached. I was also told that I was at risk of bleeding in the section itself and there would be senior consultants on hand and matched blood as well as a double slot (for which I was highest risk, first on the list for that day). And, as I said before, I did end up bleeding a worrying amount and at points there were a lot of people around my operating table and some commotion and concern but fortunately they managed to maintain an air of control and so I wasn't unduly upset. I was also still able to see the baby being born, do skin to skin, etc. Afterwards I breastfed easily and went home the next night. And I don't think my recovery was much worse than it was from my first section.

Obviously this was just my experience but as there isn't really anything you can do other than be sensible about activity and take action if you have bleeds, I think that anything that reduces worry is helpful.

I bled at 12 weeks, scan showed I’d lost a small part of the placenta. Pregnancy continued normally. A few days after my due date I had ante natal app, baby hadn’t dropped, no signs he was near ready to arrive. I was asked if I’d had bleeding in pregnancy. When I said yes, I was scanned. Was booked in for induction a week later and ended up with emcs 36 hours after being induced.

Thanks @NetflixViewer it does help to hear firsthand experience. I'm trying not to be too anxious. It's good to know that in your case all the extra measures were enough and that everyone stayed calm. I have some birth trauma from first time around and I've worked on it a lot but this is definitely bringing some feelings back up.

I had placenta previa marginalis and then vasa previa. Baby delivered at 36 weeks and did well.

@Likemyjealouseel that sounds pretty intense! Did they discover it had become casa previa at the 36 week scan?