25 weeks, large fibroid & consultant scaring me :(

[camembertlovernomore]

I am 25 weeks pregnant with my first and had an appointment with a consultant for my heart murmur. He said everything looks fine from that perspective but when he looked at my notes from the 20 week scan he said that my fibroid was quite large and this will make me more at risk of having pph.

When I was scanned the sonographer said it was nothing to worry about and now he has scared me a bit saying I will need to be monitored closely, have an extra scan at 34 weeks and might need a c section.

Is this right or is he being overly cautious? I started googling pph and I never knew how dangerous it can be - anyone given birth naturally with a fibroid and not had pph?

Its probably my hormones but I really had my heart set on a natural water birth and worrying that this fibroid will cause problems with fertility in the future which I read can be an issue - trying not to freak myself out too much but really worried

Watching with interest. I have several fibroids, not too large or near my cervix though. Picked up at my 12 and 20 week scans and was told they were probably nothing to worry about.

Moved house at 21 weeks and found myself in the care of a new trust. New trust insisted I see a consultant about the fibroids, the consultant told me I need to give birth in a hospital hooked up to a drip and was at risk of PPH.

I am now choosing to have a home birth "against medical advice," which is what I feel is best for me at this point.

Please don't confuse your ability to google with your consultant obstetricians 5 years at medical school and 10 years of post graduate training. They are warning you of the risks so you can make an informed decision about what is best for you and the baby.
It is not about scaring you, it is about offering you the care that the evidence and guidelines suggest should be offered to you.
Please don't see it as failure on your part if you don't get the birth you planned for. Rejoice in the fact that you live in a country where advances in medicine make birth safer for all women.

wow mmmuffins they are being very strict with you then - have they mentioned the likelihood of pph or just a heightened risk?

tweenageagnst sorry but I think your post is a bit patronising. Of course if they say a c section is whats best then I will have one but it's not the birth I have been planning for the past few months!

Have you had any personal experience with fibroids or pph? What are the likelihood of pph happening?

I had 3 fibroids when I had my first DC. Not especially large or in a tricky place. I did have pph and a bad tear, but I didn't have to go to theatre and all was resolved without any ongoing problems.

In my second pregnancy I had a deteriorating fibroid which hurt like billy-o, but no other issues. However, I had to have a CS for other reasons so the question of the impact on labour and birth didn't arise.

Just keep monitoring, hold out for not taking any decision on birth type until about 36-8 weeks.

thank you myfavourite that's really reassuring. Glad all went well for you :)

cam I was just told there was a heightened risk of PPH, no statistics were given to me.

Yes I have. I have seen 2 women bleed out and die. One of them had refused a c-section because she wanted to give birth naturally. So my POV might be a little coloured by that.
I have cared for many others that have ended up in intensive care because of PPH. PPH is responsible for about 25% of maternal deaths worldwide.

I don't have fibroids but because I have had 5 other children (had to with my last as well) I had to go on a drip for 4 hours afterward baby is born as I was higher risk for pph.
I wouldn't hesitate for one second to have it.
I would ask your consultant exactly why there is more risk from having pph because of your fibroids, and all your options.

I had 2 fibroids that grew with my first pregnancy, but I was advised that their location was ok to have a vaginal birth and started off in the pool in the midwife centre. No extra scans for me and no PPH occurred but it was all over my notes and mentioned so I know the medics were aware of them.
In the haze of a new child I forgot about them. Now pregnant a second time and so relieved that the baby was alive I forgot to ask at the first scan what had happened to them! Will definitely write it down so I can find out if the buggers are still there during my second scan. Given I had some pretty horrible bleeding during my periods I suspect they are still there somewhere...
So its good you are aware and you are getting that extra scan at 34 weeks - but in the meantime best to step away from Dr Google and see what happens to its growth and position before making any firm labour plans...

Saying that pph is the cause of 25%'of maternal deaths worldwide is irrelevent. In the developing world they don't have drugs, don't have blood transfusions, don't even have IV fluids to give to people, staff don't practice what to do in the event of a pph.

So total opposite to UK. Here the pph rate runs at an average of approx 10% of women giving birth will have a pph. 99.9% of those cases are managed extremely well. On a large maternity unit a pph is a daily occurrence. Staff know what they're doing.

In a way the OP is in a better place if she has a pph as it's known she's high risk. The people who take you by suprise as they were low risk and then have an unexpected pph are the ones perhaps more likely to have a severe pph.

If your fibroid is still large at term your Dr may recommend that you are cannulated for deluvery so if you have a pph they can get fluids/blood in quickly. They will cross match your blood if they think it's necessary so there will be bags of blood ready for you if needed.

Why on earth mmmuffins would you chose to defy your obstetrician's advice and put both you and your baby at high risk of pph?
I too had the horrifying experience of seeing two mothers dying of pph in a hospital setting.

Wow tweenangst what's with the scaremongering? I came on here to get some advice and to hopefully to feel less scared. I understand this is a sensitive issue for you but please think twice before posting things like that thanks to you I'm now more scared than before!

Thanks for everyone else responding as per my previous post of course I will listen to what the consultant thinks is best for me and baby I just wanted to get some reassurance and wanted to know others experiences.