Placenta previa-hospitalised till delivery = fear+frustration

[jesswhite25]

Hi all, I'm new to this site but it's been recommended as a good support network so thought I'd give posting a whirl as feeling quite alone at the mo.

I'm 33 wks tomorrow. Was diagnosed with complete pp at 30 wks after 2 bleeds (one small, one medium). Spent a week in hospital after 2nd bleed but was finally allowed home! A week and half on, another medium bleed happened yesterday so back in hospital again and although the consultant hasnt confirmed it (she isn't on the ward till tomorrow, grrrr), her deputy consultant and the midwives have ssid they're 99% sure I'll be in here till cesarean at 38 weeks, if I make it that far. Also, they don't think the placenta will move now.

Have almost reconciled myself with this because I know its for the best to be here in case I have a big bleed and need emergency cesarean. Have a portable DVD player and books on the go etc but am still finding it hard to imagine being here for 5 weeks...

Am also incredibly frightened that at any moment I can bleed majorly and baby will have to come prematurely with emergency c section :-(

Has anyone out there been through this and successfully out of the other side? Any successful stories would really help at the moment. Or is anyone in the same boat?

Sorry for the essay but thanks in advance for any advice!

I have not been through this but wanted to show support. You are in the best place, and whilst emergency c sec would be scary, your baby is most definitely viable already, and although would be in neonatal, would be fine.

I'm sure you are going through a stressful and terrifying time, but just think, 5 weeks and you will have your beautiful, healthy baby in your arms. Good luck, get plenty of rest xx

I also haven't been through this but want to offer some hand holding support just take each day as it comes try not to get overwhelmed thinking its going to be 5 weeks. Make the most of the rest you'll be glad of it once baby arrives
Hope all goes well x

Hi I've been where you are now, though in slightly different circumstances. I was hospitalised for weeks before the Birth of my ds I had a different medical issue but my son was delivered at 24 weeks by emergency c section they had him out in less than 4 minutes when my placenta ruptured. (Im Not scaring you as mine was a different situation! But just want to reassure that even if they do need to deliver the drs are amazing!) he's now a happy healthy baby.
I got through it by breaking up my time, eg only two hours til breakfast, two hours til scan, then lunch, two hours Until blood transfusion etc. I found if I thought of it in terms of days/weeks I struggled. Also crappy magazines are your friend, don't resist them you can allow your brain to turn to jelly for a few weeks!
X

I had pp discovered at 30 weeks. Thankfully no bleeds and although they wanted me to stay in till 39 weeks I said no. So I was signed off work. And was checking knickers at every point. Baby was born by planned csection 39 weeks and weighed 3.65kg (8lbs 1). V healthy. I had baby 2 2.5 years later vbac.

Good luck and don't worry too much about the bed rest thing. It's the best for you. If you are near the hospital you may be allowed to go home? I was 30 min away from hospital. Oh also they should give you some steroid injection for baby's lungs...!

Not placenta praevia, but I had several significant bleeds from 29 weeks which meant I was hospitalised from that point (bar making it home for 4 days the first week). I was facing potentially 11 weeks on the ward, and the thought of that was unbearable. But as a pp said, you get into a routine. Mine was: wake up, have a shower and get dressed, watch the news, go for breakfast, be monitored, watch daytime tv until the drs rounds, read something, go for lunch, do some knitting, twiddle thumbs until 3pm when I might get a visitor, which would see me through until DH would leave at 8pm. Then more TV, pre bed monitoring and go to bed.

I'd just got to the point where I had resigned myself to being stuck in there and was getting used to it, when my uterus decided it had had enough and I started getting contractions - that was 31+3 and I went into labour 2 days later. DS was completely fine, needed a little help with breathing the first night, but then just needed to learn to feed and get bigger.

I would expect if they suspect you may go into labour prematurely, they will give you steroid injections to help develop baby's lungs. Even if born right now, they have a very good prognosis, so try not to fret. Talk to your midwives about it - if it is a risk, you could ask to go and visit the neonatal ward in advance and familiarise yourself.

Wishing you all the best

I didn't have pp but spent 3 months on bed rest in hospital. You will be ok. I know it sounds awful but it is the safest place for you. Most of the other "longtimers" who were in hospital when I was had pp. One girl in particular had hard time and was very resentful about being in hospital. In the end she had a massive bleed but because she was in hospital both her and baby were ok. I saw her afterwards and she was very shocked at how things happened so quickly and I think felt quite differently about her experience. You do get into a routine and I was glad to be in the safest place possible ( although I had previously had a stillborn baby and so for me it was easy to keep my mind focused on the long term goal of healthy baby rather than think too much about the short term inconvenience ).

I taught myself to knit because I was confined to bed and I read loads and loads of books and magazines. Good luck. You will get there and this time will seem to have been short in the end.

Thanks all so much. That's just made me a bit teary you all being so nice considering you've never met me, bloomin pregnancy hormones hey!

You're all right- it's obviously for the best so I just need to hang in there really don't I.

Teaandhobs/pocketsndsweet - god you both had 3 months in, wowsers. That gives me strength because 5wks is so short in comparison I guess. You're right about breaking up the day, I prob just need to get into a little routine. I'm a French teacher but have always wanted to learn Spanish but never had the time...so may get myself a cd&book to learn the basics.

And yep, takeaway I had the steroids last time I was in so that's all been taken care of. And yes if baby is premature I guess at least I'm getting to later stage of pregnancy now.

Thanks all, very much. All mine and bumps fingers and toes crossed hey xx

Oh I wasn't in all that time in the end! That's just how long it would have been if I made it to term. DS arrived 3 weeks after I was admitted to hospital.
If you've already had the steroids, that's great! And language CDs sound like a great idea don't beat yourself up if you don't always feel like doing it though.
Have you got friends who can come and visit you? You can always talk to us of course! And mumsnet in general is great for whileing away the hours

I think learning Spanish sounds like an awesome idea. If I had had Mumsnet that would have helped too. Good luck jesswhite25. Oh and it's so cliche but get as much sleep as you can :)

Ah sorry teaandhobnobs, misread that duration! Yeah I may have to get more involved on here since I have the Internet on my phone (bugger the cost if it runs over my allowed usage, this is a one off!). My Mum is coming most nights for an hour, hubby in everyday after work and sonetines for a bit on his lunch break + have a couple of girlie friends who will come once a week during the day as they're on mat leave...so it should help to break up the weeks.

And yes pocketandsweet, other people have said to enjoy the sleep time while I can....!

Thanks guys, think mumsnet might be my new fave thing to do from now on :-)

Poor you :(

Well... I was the other end of the spectrum... !

I was perfectly well and fine during my pregnancy (stay with me here) and was even out doing gardening at 35 weeks....

I had an elective section scheduled for 38 weeks and had sex the night before. No bleeds, nothing. Perfect. Chose to have a section due to long labour with dd 9 years earlier.

Expected to be very straightforward.

Ermmm actually was a major panic. I had undiagnosed total placenta previa! No one had picked up on it, despite having 4 scans, last one a day before. I lost 2.5 litres of blood, had every consultant in the hospital there with me just about and two anaesthetists.

But... moral of the story... I was fine. They looked after me brilliantly in a very scary, unprepared situation. I had two blood transfusions afterwards and spent time in the recovery room but I went home in 3 days and recovered... very well!

You are in the best place and they will be well prepared.Try not to worry, hard I know. I had no clue whatsoever and I'm still here :) ... it will be ok.

Hey, just to say I had this. Sounds like a pretty similar situation, to be honest. The main problem was actually the waiting and boredom. I was constantly anxious, so knew that hospital was the right place to be as I was being regularly monitored....but as there wasn't really anything to do, I was just thinking about it all the time.

I really couldn't concentrate on anything.....for four weeks. Couldn't relax really, and so was chronically bored.

But it all worked out really well and I was definitely in the right place.

Worth saying that I'm on my second pregnancy now and at 20 weeks I was told that the same thing had probably happened again, but actually as the baby's grown, my placenta has moved up a bit. So I shall be attempting a normal birth. Gulp.

G'luck!

I had placenta previa percreta. (The one where the placenta grows through the womb and attaches to whatever else it can find). I was hospitalised from 23 weeks to 33 weeks, when I had a massive bleed & emergency cs. Ds2 was born safely, spent 2 weeks in SCBU and came home on Christmas Eve. He is now 5, and you'd never ever know that he had a bit of a rocky start.

I had a general anaesthetic, vertical incision, hysterectomy, huge transfusion. Took me a couple of months to feel properly well again. So not fun, but, you know, nothing like as bad as it sounds. And its nice to win the "Top Trumps for Worst Birth" at postnatal groups .

The hospital beforehand is hard. You need the internet! Have you got a laptop / dvd player / ipod / ipad etc? I had a rota of friends visiting during the day (so they didn't overlap and 'waste' a visit. And dh used to bring takeaway sometimes in the evening. If there's a restaurant close to the hospital you might be able to go out? I took up cross-stitch, and hand-made all my Christmas cards that year. And did all the Christmas shopping on the internet, and Tesco food deliveries for dh and our 2 older dc.

Have you got older children?

Sorry, just re-read your posts. The major bleed thing is dramatic, but it doesn't hurt at all. You can lose the first couple of pints without feeling any effects, too. And you do get to press the emergency panic button (little things!). They will look after you, and it will all happen so fast you won't have time to worry.

You're already 33 weeks so your baby can come any time now and be perfectly fine. Those teeny tiny premature babies you see on the news are 20-something weekers.

I had this with ds1. I had the scan at 34 weeks and told I needed to stay in until they could give me a cs at 38 weeks. Until then I'd had no problems/bleeds at all. I was totally unprepared - had just assumed the placenta would've moved. Tried persuading the consultant to let me stay at home if someone was with me at all times but he wouldn't have it and said if i'd seen a woman bleed with pp I wouldn't want to stay at home. I thought he was just scaremongering me into staying. He wasn't! Anyway........... I sent dh to stock up on books to read, puzzle books, and cross-stitch supplies , got myself into a little routine to help pass the time, and persuaded the midwives to let me go out for a walk round the hospital/to the shop as long as i let them know i was going etc. At 36 weeks i had a small bleed and appreciated why i was there a bit more.

Try not to worry about a major bleed. It's a bit of a cliche but you are in the right place if it happens and will be well looked after. At 37 weeks I had a massive bleed, The hospital/consultants/midwives were brilliant. From the start of the bleed to ds1 being delivered was only about 20 minutes. If i had been at home I wouldn't even have made it to hospital in that time. I lost alot of blood and it took a while to recover. BUT.. ds1 was absolutely fine and so was I after a while, (and am about to have dc3!)

In the end I found the worst thing was coming home, and having to start fending for myself again + look after a new baby. I think i became a bit institutionalised, being constantly looked after, having all my meals brought to me at set times etc. Dh and I got home and sat down, looked at ds1 asleep in the car seat, looked at each other and said. "What tf do we do now"

Hi there. I had to reply to you because I have also been in your position nearly 5yrs ago with dc1. I was told at 20wks that placenta was completely covering my cervix..the emergency exit was blocked as they so gracefully put it! (call it stage 4 placenta praevia.) YOU ARE IN THE BEST PLACE HONEY!!!! I spent 3wks in hospital and it was a very hot July and I was hot, scared and felt unsure of what was going to happen. I was told that it is more common than you think. I was also told to stay in hospital because you only really have 10mins of heavy bleeding time before it can get dangerous. I only had one bleed and luckily I was in hospital. It covered the whole floor by my bed as I was trying to nip to the loo middle of night!! It stopped but as I was 38wks they decided to bring C-section op forward. I'm sure you will also have a general anaesthetic. My husband stayed outside theatre but they brought baby through to him soon after she was born. I must admit it was 2 days before I remember seeing my baby as I was so doped up. I bled a lot during the op as they had to cut through my placenta to get baby.
I stayed in for a week after as my bowel nearly stopped post-op (reaction to the medication.) But I believe the recovery time after is same as any other C-section.
Keep busy, I'm sure there are plenty of other mums in there to chat to. My hubby brought in food and the nurses kept in fridge!! Rest whilst you can. All the best. They will look after you. Try not to worry. xx

Hi all, thanks for the posts today. It all really helps.

Faireylea I can't believe they missed it and it happened that traumatically. Gosh.

The moral of yours and other people's stories though is that it always seems to work itself out in the end with your babies arriving successfully, albeit under less than ideal circumstances/too early.

Yes I have Internet on my phone, portable DVD player, kindle etc. As Glup ssid I think, it's the anxiety that's a killer. The constant waiting for the big bleed or stressing over small things, like earlier when I had some minor twinges, panicking because thought it might lead to major pain and placenta bursting...it died down after 5 mins cos was probably braxton hicks but had to lie down, breathe deeply and tell myself to calm down!

My one fear is that like Berthathebogcleaner, I could end up
needing a hysterectomy. This is 1st baby and would love a number 2 but husband keeps telling me that is rare and that we'll deal with that further down the line.

Right, back to my busy schedule of tv watching and a wander down the corridor to stretch my legs! Thanks everyone xxx

Jess, I had a hysterectomy cos the placenta grew through my cervix and they couldn't detach it. It's called placenta accreta or percreta. They'll have looked at your placenta on ultrasound, and if they were concerned would have gone on to do more scans/MRI. If they've not said anything, then they think your placenta has attached normally, albeit too low down.

I had a "normal" previa with ds1. Bled at 34 weeks, went to hospital. Spent 12 hours in a room on the labour ward being told the bleeding would all stop soon and I could stay overnight on the antenatal ward and go home. But I kept getting another tiny trickle of blood. It was very boring, they wouldn't let me eat (I was most grumpy). And then I suddenly went into labour, and they whisked me off to theatre for a cs. I had a spinal though, and saw ds1 as he was born. They took him to NICU and dh went with him, and I got taken to NICU to meet him properly a bit later.

(I had a cs with baby no 1 too, placenta was in right place there but baby was feetfirst).

Anyhow, even with ds2 they were hoping not to do a hysterectomy. I do remember a couple of doctors sitting on the end of my bed having a long talk about how they'd try to save my uterus. I sat there nodding and smiling and wondering if they'd finish before all the good lunch options had gone. And then one of them said "but you must make sure you never get pregnant again". He got an earful. Honestly, what's the point of a womb if you can't use it? I have 3 kids, I love that I don't have periods ...

But there was none of that talk of hysterectomy / no more babies with ds1 and it doesn't sound like you're in that territory either!

I do remember the constant worrying though. I used to go to the loo all the time to check that there was no blood. Lots of distraction is what you need. What books did you love as a child? Any worth a re-read? I went through the whole Swallows & Amazons series in hospital .

I bet that doctor got an earful! Good for you. They obviously weren't handing out sensitivity training as part of his medical degree!

Ah thank you for explaining that and the circumstances around it which are different to mine. That'll teach me for reading posts too quickly. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that :-( But very glad you had your 3 lovely wee ones first.

Yes I'm going to the loo A LOT! My toilet usage has increased further and further into pregnancy so was going lots anyway but now it's ridiculous with the checking for blood trips too!

Have lots of books and DVDs on the go, my learn Spanish pack arrives at the weekend plus I'm working my way through some Simon Mayo confessions podcasts which I save for when down and i need to cheer up. Hadn't thought of childhood books, maybe i should. I loved anything Enid Blyton wrote, god that takes me back!

Thanks for the support. It's needed today as midwife just been in and told me I'm now the only patient on the whole ward so feel quite lonely/I'm the loser who never gets to leave lol!!

x

Really feel for you! I was in hospital for six weeks before DD was born (blood pressure), and DM was in another hospital have major heart problems, so I was worried/bored/scared - and I remember I just couldn't settle to do anything!

DD is now 20 and DM is still having fun at 87 - it seems so long ago - and what I wouldn't give for the chance of that rest period now!!

Enjoy the Spanish! And take care.

Hi Jess.
I'm in the same boat (hence being awake at daft o'clock). I'm 35 weeks and although I haven't had any bleeding yet have been admitted to hospital until a planned section at 37 weeks. I shall mostly be spending my time trying to get my own room as sharing with the two Vicky Pollards in here at the moment is a bit trying. However they both seem to have quietened down a bit so I should really try to get some sleep. I really envy you being the only patient on the ward right now!

God 6 weeks! I bet it seems all worth it now you look at your grown up daughter now?

Devilforasideboard - I'm jealous you're further along so less time in but really feel for you with being on shared ward, esp if with the vicky pollard types:-( I had that a few weeks ago when was in for a week, really loud neighbours on a shared ward and it was really tough going. This time hsve single room but it's opposite a 4 person room so can pop into there to chat to other ladies if i feel like it (when some more are admitted!) What have they said about you getting your own room? My hosp said that they try and give long term-ers their own if possible.

Something about the rooms being dark and people preferring to be in the shared rooms. Not me! They also have to keep enough free for inductions etc but I'm pretty sure there are some free. I wouldn't even mind paying. Vicky #1 started contracting at about 3am and the pair of them have been talking bollocks at each other since about 5 so I've had about 2 hours sleep. Meh! How are you getting on?

Jess - most of the time!

Hope you both have an OK day, with your bumps behaving as they should!