Retained placenta - share your story please.

[NH86]

Hi.

I'm a little panicked.

A week after my LG was born, I was readmitted to postnatal after a heavy bleed and loss of blood clots.

I was treated for suspected infection - turned out to be Strep A and scanned. The scan showed retained placenta.
I was given misoprostol and sent home with the consultant hoping it would pass on its own.

Today, two weeks later, scan shows the placenta is still there.

Consultant has stated the operation to remove it would to more harm than good, the misoprostol wouldn't work if tried again and that my first period post partum should shed the placenta.
She sent me home with advice to keep an eye on myself - temp, loss of blood, stomach cramps or generally feeling unwell. Any of these signs, go straight back to hospital.
I'm booked in again for another scan in six weeks time with the hope it has passed.

My anxiety is high and now having to wait 6weeks is putting me on edge.

Any stories of retained placenta, please share.
It's not discussed enough.

Thank you

I had a retained placenta but had it removed a few hours after my baby was born. I hope you are better soon. Sounds horrific.

I've had a retained placenta, found on scan at 5 weeks pp. I had the operation, straightforward and quick, home same day and recovered very quickly.

@NH86 Hi there,

Just wondering what the outcome of your situation was? How are you doing?

Im going through exactly the same at the moment and currently awaiting referral.
Im 6 weeks post partum and they have just found retained placenta on a scan, 2 weeks after a bleed.
Im guessing I will be put under anaesthetic and go through a D&C but im not keen.
Did you pass the retained placenta without intervention?
Sorry to ask a while later but just stumbled across this thread.

@Flutterby8
Hi I'm doing really well despite no contact from the post natal ward or hospital since my scan confirming the placenta is still there.
I've tried contacting twice to be told they'll send a message to the doctor and they'll contact me.
I haven't had anymore bleeds since and generally feel ok down there.
I had the implanon (contraceptive rod) fitted and usually my periods stop. GP has said she'll chase up what's going to happen next with the RPOC.
I'll update this post when I know more.
Fingers crossed it all works out for you and make sure you get direct contact info for your doctor at post natal

It was never removed or removed itself then
Thats terrible that you haven't heard from anyone but glad you're doing well!
Would you mind me asking, except for the bigger bleed, did you continue bleeding for a long time following birth and did it stop eventually? Did you have cramps or anything?
I'm just trying to put into perspective what may happen with me.
I'm gutted I have retained products given I had a room full of people during the birth because if haemorrhage, multiple people checked and they were all happy and all missed the problem.

@NH86 also, sorry to ask, did they give any indication as to how big the retained bit of tissue was?
Just wondering if it wasnt big have they chosen to leave it as you werent 'unwell' so to speak?

Not as far as I'm aware. I have had two full periods before my implanon and although more bitty (sorry tmi) than usual, nothing obvious.
I was told that if there was heavy bleeding, cramping or another clot lost to return to post natal.
The first scan showed placenta of 4cm, the second sonographer didn't tell me what the size was just that she'd write a report and a doctor would contact me with the next course of action.

I'm really surprised the hospital didn't do more but I guess if they thought a D&C would cause an issue then it was more beneficial to not have it.
I assume your body may have shed some of the placenta when you have had your periods hence you haven't really had any ongoing issues.
Touching wood, my bleeding has eased up in the last week. I haven't had more cramps which I see as a blessing. I don't think my periods will return yet though as I am breast feeding, although topping up with formula too as my milk never fully came in. Which I now know can be linked to retained products.
From the scan I was told the product was about 2cms. Sonographer asked for an urgent referral though so I'm just playing the waiting game now.
Thank you for sharing your story with me, it has helped put my mind at rest a bit

I've had it twice and the op to remove twice the last time a small piece remained but not attached just in there my period was brutal I had labour pains even felt like pushing ffs (I had no idea there was anything left in) then a piece of cord fell out and the pain stopped bleeding eased everything settled down

I would be concerned you have had the implant that stops periods when you need to have a period

@Flutterby8 They initially said the surgery could not be done pre 6weeks as the womb is still sensitive and could tear like wet paper from the instruments. I assume they meant the vacuum thing?! I think because I'm showing no other symptoms for infection or sepsis they're letting me ride it out.
I'm due to see my GP soon so will ask if she can pull any strings to find out what is going on.
Ah no worries, believe me I spent hours searching the web trying to figure it all out. Sounds like you had a tough time during labour too. Sending hugs!

@Theunamedcat I've had two periods since birth and heavy bleeding initially after birth. My GP fitted my implanon and she's aware of my birthing history. She didn't seem concerned but I'll check at my next app.

I literally had the baby had the surgery mine was stuck entirely both times

@Theunamedcat I've been told that by a few women, they've had it removed immediately after birth. I'm not sure if there are different rules/risks if I'm not in active labour or just had a baby.
I lost my clot when baby was a week old and was readmitted back into post natal. I did elect for surgery whilst I was there but the surgeon wanted to try tablets first - which didn't work.
I'd never heard of retained placenta before it happened to me nor could I find much on it so late after birth. The stories I found were during labour and it not releasing.

I had retained placenta after giving birth to my little one 10 weeks ago. I was in hospital for 7 days post birth and had an MRI that confirmed I had a 10cm piece of placenta they weren’t able to remove. Readmitted and scanned at 3 weeks and it was still there but by week 6 it had miraculously gone! My consultant said often it can dissolve or break down by itself so I hope this can happen for you too, OP.

Interesting that they couldnt remove it @FrangipanFlower. Do you know why?
How were you feeling with it? Were you unwell or anything?

So, I had something called placenta accreta which is when the placenta grows into the uterus muscle wall. I was in surgery for two hours manually having it removed after giving birth and they had to stop otherwise I’d have ended up with a hysterectomy. I was very lucky to have not had one to be honest as when I was readmitted with more heavy bleeding three weeks later they said this might have happened if they hadn’t managed to stop it. I was put on antibiotics straight after this and avoided any infection. I felt ill but this was mainly due to the blood loss (4 litres in total) and had to have two transfusions.

Wow, that sounds pretty terrifying to be honest!
I'm glad they acted quickly though and that you're doing well! Lucky that it has managed to disperse by itself as well!

@FrangipanFlower I'm hoping it's completely gone by itself, just waiting for an update if my GP has been sent/told anything.
Glad to hear you're on the mend

@NH86 what happened in the end, are you ok? Also if you don't mind me asking were you breastfeeding just because of when you got your period

Hey, so my little one is 3. I’ve just turned 40. I had a horrendous birth , retained placenta rushed to theatre… 3 blood transfusions and a week stay in hospital…

Im started to think of having another. My partner is not keen as he doesn’t want to take the risk of losing me. We were also ivf so going through all of that again, but we do have frozen blastocysts.

I obviously have big concerns of it happening again, not surviving (I know sounds ridiculous) but they did say I may need to have a caesarean if I went again . Can this still happen if I had a caesarean?

Also are you more prone to issues with placenta if you have had issues before?

Thank you for reading

It was almost 5 years ago when I nearly died from a retained placenta 3 weeks PP (an emergency C-section) due to medical gaslighting. 2 days PP, while I was still in the hospital, I started having symptoms of a uterine infection like chills, nausea, joint aches, and a high body temperature. However, the on-call nurses and doctors kept brushing off my symptoms as part of the normal healing process and said my body temperature was below 100.4°F. They discharged me after 4 days despite my continued symptoms including uterine atony. A few days later, I became extremely sick with a high fever and went to the ER. They diagnosed me with a uterine infection of unknown cause based on my high WBC count. They said they didn't find anything on the ultrasound and admitted me for two days for just an IV antibiotic treatment. They discharged me even though I still had a fever. 3 weeks PP, I blacked out due to a massive hemorrhage in my bathroom. Thankfully, an ambulance arrived within minutes, and I was admitted to an ICU with 40 minutes of critical care time, where I received 7 units of blood transfusion, emergency D&C, and uterine embolization to save my uterus due to a large rotten chunk of undetected placenta they found. Additionally, I had to have one week of inpatient antibiotic treatment due to sepsis. As a consequence, I developed Asherman's syndrome and uterine adenomyosis. I'm scheduled for a hysterectomy soon. Please trust your gut instinct about PP signs of infections and bleeding, and keep advocating for yourself, as in my case, the retained placenta doesn't always show up on ultrasound.

@Sarahtomo how awful for you
I had retained placenta after 7 wks with constant a&e visits with feeling like I was dieing was the only way I could describe
Only had 2 units of blood after 2 lites of blood loss as collapsed at home 2 days after funny birth
2 yrs down the line now but was traumatic as hell