''Traumatic'' first birth. Uterus tear. Worried about second!

[hayleycookie]

So my son's labour was induced 2 weeks late, and after being he induced he still took 2 days to appear! After the birth my placenta came out in 8 pieces (due to the midwives pulling too hard) an I was told it tore my uterus wall....I think! I was pretty out of it! I was definitely told it tore something.

Now three years later we are TTC and I've been on the terrible Google and looked up Uterus Tears and have read nothing but awful things! Even including ''maternal death'', ''miscarriage'' and ''still birth''.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it something I should worry about? Last time I lost 1500ml blood and my husband suffered from PTSD! Hoping for a much happier labour this time!

(Possibly worth noting that my son was 10lb 5oz and I was advised any next pregnancy would need to be monitored because of his size)

Can you have a chat with your GP about it? Our GP in a new area saw my son's birth notes and offered to discuss things with me if and when we want to TTC again.

hi hayley. Sorry to hear you had such a rough time. Your story sounds quite similar to mine. I was induced at 42 weeks with DS. After a long and horrible labour my placenta didn't detach and I was rushed to surgery to have the rest removed, a procedure I was told would take 20 mins. I was in theatre for 2 and a half hours, and in recovery for another 2 hours before I could see my baby. I lost a massive amount of blood and had to have a huge transfusion, which the consultant later told me saved my life. 8 weeks later I hemorrhaged again and was rushed to the hospital where they scanned me and found out there was still some of my placenta intact so I had to have another operation to have that removed.

Once I recovered physically I thought I was fine, but about 4 months later I realised I was becoming severely anxious. I didn't want to be called a bad/unfit mother (as a first time parent) and didn't tell anyone until it got out of control. I was eventually diagnosed with PND and OCD. I had CBT and was put on anti-depressants.

When I found out I was pg this time the first thing that went through my head was 'oh shit what if it happens again?'. I spoke to my MW about it at length at my booking appointment, and she referred me straight to consultant led high-risk care. (Sounds scary but it put my mind at ease). I was told they will have blood in the room ready just in case, and will also have extra doctors and drugs on hand should anything similar happen. However, they also told me that although the chance of it happening again is higher, it is still only around 2-10%, meaning there is up to a 98% chance everything will be fine.

Unfortunately for me, all of the reassurance I had has now gone out of the window because it turns out I'm having twins and the work 'RISK' seems to be something I hear on a weekly basis! cue panicking like an idiot again!

Have you had your booking app yet? Maybe you could ask to speak to a consultant to discuss your concerns and go through your options? Given your history I think that would be a very reasonable request.

I would ask to read your labour notes with a consultant, they should be able to tell you exactly what happened.

I did this earlier this year as I couldn't remember much about the labour but my dh was concerned.

consultant explained it all to me, including that I pushed my DS out at 7cm and the doctors helped due to my DS' s heartbeat dropping.
it really helped me to go through it all with the consultant.

Yes, second the go through your notes with someone.

It's more likely a vaginal wall tear. A uterine tear would have involved massive blood loss and a trip to theatre and an operation. They'd most likely have had to have opened you up to repair your uterus.

A vaginal wall tear is very similar to a normal perineal tear but just on the side of your vagina rather than down towards your bum.

Thank you everyone. I'm going to make an appointment with a gp, or midwife as soon as I can. It wasn't a vaginal tear - they were quick to tell me I didn't tear there, and glossed over the whole placenta bit!

I remember them saying I will probably need to be induced this time and monitored because of the blood loss previously. I was silly last time and refused a blood transfusion as I was desperate to get home. I did get PND which I'm pretty sure was because of the birth. Very nervous about ttc this time. Worried I could have trouble carrying at all. Thank you for your advice everyone. I'll be sure to update as soon as I get to speak to someone.

rocker it sounds like we had very similar births! I hope you're coping well with the "risks"! When are you due? I'm assuming they are going to induce you?