Unexplained 2nd trimester loss

[KittyFantastica]

Hi all, has anyone gone through anything similar?

Please note, I'm not talking about PPROM in this case, I understand that also causes 2nd trimester loss, but that's not what happened in my case.

I started having Braxton Hicks randomly at 16 weeks pregnant with my little boy. I didn't know that's what they were at the time. By 17 weeks, I was having horrific pain in my bladder every time I tried to urinate. I could go, but it was difficult and painful enough to make me cry each time, and the pressure never truly went away. Peeing also caused Braxton Hicks every time. I flagged this pain to my community midwife, my GP, and I also called triage at one point as I was so worried, but they put the phone down on me because the pains weren't rhythmic every 20 minutes. They told me everything would be fine and I should try not to worry so much. Two weeks later, I was in labour and delivery giving birth to our perfect baby.

Baby was very much alive all the way through labour, and all of his tests have come back clear. All of my blood tests and swabs have now also come back clear, so it's just being put down as unexplained. The thing is, I think the pain in my bladder was something to take note of, but no one listened. No one will seem to give it any credence. All they will tell me is we can try again and hope for better luck next time. I've already had two early losses previously, my heart is absolutely shredded. I can't keep doing this. No other mum's I've spoken to ever having experienced contractions caused by their bladder and both the consultant and midwife are shaking their heads.

My water's didn't burst until 6 hours into labour, and I had to labour hard to get him out. He didn't just slide out easily. When they examined me when I first went in with a sharp pain, all they would say was that the sac was visible and I'd have to give birth. They didn't offer anything to stop my labour, even though my waters hadn't gone, and they didn't offer an emergency Cerclage.

Has anyone had a 2nd trimester loss unexplained like this? What did you do? Did you try again? If you did, did you have a full-term pregnancy? Thank you for reading.

I can’t help, but I’m so sad for you xxx

Thank you for acknowledging my post, it means a lot ❤️

I’m so sorry for your loss of your son and I’m sorry this hasn’t had more responses.

Where I work you would be offered scans of your cervix in the second trimester of a subsequent pregnancy to try and identify any shortening of the cervix, so that earlier intervention could happen with cervical suture. You may also be advised to take progesterone.

They’re right that the vast majority of the time no answers are ever found, and that’s so difficult. Unfortunately if labour begins at that stage of pregnancy, there really is very little to be done. Cervical suture performed with bulging membranes (you say the bag of waters was visible) would almost certainly have caused the waters to break.

There’s good evidence that infection can trigger premature labour, so many trusts now routinely send urine samples off in women who have a history of second trimester loss/premature labour. This may offer you some reassurance. Again, it can’t be confidently said that this was the cause of your labour, as you say all swabs etc came back negative.

It may be worth speaking to your GP and asking for referral for hospital debrief and they will be able to tell you explicitly what the care would look like in a future pregnancy.

I wish you all the best. You have every reason to believe that a future pregnancy would look very different and have a happier outcome.

I'm so sorry.

Personally I'd make a complaint about the experience you had of feeling unsupported and not taken seriously. Whether that would have changed the outcome or not you wouldn't be left feeling like no one listened to you...

Could you pay for a private consultation to discuss in more detail what is known about infection and bladder pain?

@Whingewithme thank you so much for all the information and @5475878237NC for reading.

We will be lodging a complaint with PALS and with our GP practice as in all three cases I was told my pain was nothing to worry about and dismissed, yet it definitely was a very obvious sign something was wrong. No one examined me, and there was clearly cause to.

In terms of infection, there was none found anywhere. The cord, placenta, my bloods, his bloods, urine and swabs came back fine and clear. So, it doesn't look like infection. The bladder pain I had was absolutely not a UTI, I've never felt anything like it.

My concern is that no one is taking the fact that I was unable to void my bladder seriously. My midwife said not being able to void can cause contractions to start, yet no one is giving the pain I was having any attention. I had a full litre of urine stuck in my bladder until I was giving birth. It's no wonder I started having contractions so early.

I'm also scared that, if this is a cervical issue and not the bladder issue, measuring it every two weeks will be pointless. Dilation can happen within hours. I'm not interested in losing another baby this way, nor stressful emergency surgeries to try to save my next baby. I want preventative care but because they consider this unexplained, they won't offer anything except progesterone, which will not prevent pre-term labour.

It's a mess and I feel like my baby's life was so unimportant to them. Now I'm basically being told my next baby's life doesn't matter either. We can't really afford to go private, and the consultant we'd see for a private consultant is the same one we'd be referred to on the NHS if we got pregnant again, so it seems a bit moot.

Im so sorry for your loss. I had a 20 week loss last year. I was unable to empty my bladder properly and developed early onset preeclampsia and she died while I was in hospital. My issue was diagnosed but I was at high risk of developing it again where I had preeclampsia twice. I had a tonne of extra scans in my pregnancy this year and had a healthy baby boy last month. I went in prepared for the worst to happen again and I had a very stressful pregnancy. The outcome this time around was good for me but it was possibly down to luck this time

Oh @KittyFantastica i truly am so sorry. This is just awful. I remember talking to you on some threads before after a previous loss. I am so sorry this has happened x

My heart breaks for you reading this OP. I'm so sorry you and your baby were treated like this. It sounds like you're doing all the right things with a PALS complaint- i hope you can push it to the highest levels and get answers. Wishing you luck for your rainbow baby next time.

Thank you all for your very kind messages ❤️

@yipyipyop thank you so much for sharing your experience. Did you have the same issue with your bladder in your next pregnancy? I'm so very sorry for the loss of your little girl. It means a lot to see you've had a happier result from your next pregnancy. I'm currently pregnant again and absolutely stressed and terrified out of my mind.