Traumatic birth?

[Kayleyanniex]

Hey girls, I’ve just came on here for some support/advice. I gave birth around 3 weeks ago and I suffered a very bad hemorrhage from a retained palcenta. I lost around 2 litres of blood. I’m doing very good now and recovering. I am just wondering has anybody else had a blood loss during child birth? Thank you.

I lost about 4 fifths of my blood and needed quite a few transfusions with my youngest 8 years ago

@Kevintheelf80 thanks for the reply and I’m sorry to that. Can I ask what caused the blood loss? I had 2 blood transfusions. I recently commented on a post on on Instagram about the amount of blood I lost and I got called a liar 😂 it’s disappointing wanting share your birth story and get called that so it’s nice to hear someone with a similar experience as mine x

I couldn't believe it myself but this is what it said in my notes and what the midwife told me ag the time. I could have died basically but they got the transfusions in quick. It was caused by the doctor cutting through a varicose vein down there as part of an episiotomy. They had buckets at the end of the bed catching the blood coming from it.

I also had a PPH. Was very unwell for some time and felt very weak. I think it helps to talk about it and understand what happened. I was rushed back into hospital without ds and remember very little of parts of it. Second birth was totally different and it did not happen again.

I had a tough birth, lost a lot of blood and was rushed to theatre without even holding my DC. I had two transfusions, terrible infections and then at 12 days post-partum a large haemorrhage and another hospital stay all within the first lockdown. I was totally alone in hospital, no support network, poor DH was stuck at home. Very scary and tough.

Now expecting our second child and it's taken me a long time to come round to trying for another due to experience.

@mumonthehill so did your PPH happen at home then you went back in? Can I ask what caused yours? Yes it does it help to talk about it, I never thought it bothered me at first but it clearly does as I think about it alot and it has scared me. Thank you for the reply! Xx

@Bailem hi, sorry to hear about your experience it’s sounds terrible what you went through. I recently read about you can hemorrhage 12 days after birth which I never knew you could! I really hope your second birth goes alot smoother with no complications. I feel too scared now to have a second child. I have discussed this with my partner and I don’t think we will I just couldn’t risk my life again.

@Kayleyanniex yes i was home. I was about 24 hours after birth. Retained placenta caused mine, it was all rather traumatic. I could not have ds with me. Honestly i did not talk about and I should have. Mine was 24 years ago.

@mumonthehill sorry to hear that. Mine was caused by a retained placenta my hemorrhage happened within 20 mins after giving birth. The midwife was trying to pull on the placenta then the hemorrhage happened. Did you go home with the placenta still inside or was it removed before going home? I do talk about mine but sometimes I don’t realise how serious my blood loss was. I lost around 2 litres so I think I was pretty close. I’m just happy that me and the baby are safe and still here xx

I went home and was bleeding heavily but it was my first birth and I thought it was normal. Then suddenly it really was bad, literally pouring out of me. The placenta was still in. I remember saying at A and E that I could not sit down and then suddenly I was on a bed. I got so cold! I stayed in and had a transfusion but this bit I do not remember. Please keep talking and remember you are not alone. Second birth was a breeze, quick and no issues but I did have to be consultant led. I have a big age gap though.

So sorry OP, it is awful.

I also had a PPH when I had my first child, 3 years ago - I lost 2.5 litres of blood, and had 2 transfusions. I remember genuinely thinking I was dying, it's something that doesn't ever leave you.

My PPH was due to the episiotomy hitting a "vessel" rather than anything relating to the placenta - essentially I was bleeding out from where they cut.

If it helps you, I did go on to have another child - I was also quite against it at the beginning, as I didn't want to risk not seeing my first child grow up for the sake of a theoretical second child. But speaking to a few doctors, there are precautions they can take, especially knowing you're at higher risk - medications they can give you to try to prevent it happening again, and blood on standby just incase, etc.

The birth of my second child was totally different. Much more straightforward, less than 300ml blood loss.

Thankfully all done now!

A slightly different situation but similar emotions so I thought I’d share too. I lost 2.5 litres of blood and lost consciousness during my c-section as a result of a thicker area of my uterine wall being cut through and my baby getting stuck. I remember thinking there must be a problem when they didn’t show me baby straightaway as planned and wondering if the issue was with baby or me. Then hearing my baby cry and thinking oh it’s me which must have been when I passed out as that’s when it all becomes a bit of a blur.

I can sympathise with being called a liar as people quite often tell me I must have “remembered wrong”. I attended a birth reflection appointment at my hospital though which I found really helpful and got copies of my notes which have helped to validate my feelings. I would definitely recommend this if it an option for you.

I haemorrhaged during my elective c-section and lost a lot of blood, which resulted in me having a blood transfusion and a balloon fitted to stop further bleeding. This was due to placenta previa. Luckily for me I was blissfully unaware until they gave me a run down of what had happened. When I got home after a week in hospital I was terrified of haemorrhaging again but thankfully I was fine. It’s so scary, I hope you have some support x