Placenta previa anyone?

[Katrina79]

Hi I have major placenta previa, 31 weeks. Just wondering if anyone is in same situation or been in similar situ. Did you have bleeds? End up in hospital on bed rest? When did you have a c section? I have been told if I have another bleed they would have to admit me for the rest of the pregnancy. Thanks, hope to hear from you xx

I had this about 3 years ago. Had about 8 different bleeds in total, starting from around 24 weeks. Some at home and the later ones whilst in hospital waiting for the 48 hr all clear from previous one.

I ended up staying in 3 different hospitals in my region due to gestation of baby meant my local wasn't the right category for preterm baby care until the later months.
I was admitted after my 5-6th bleed I think and was not allowed to go home after that till baby came. In total must've spent around 2 months in total in hotel NHS. My stays varied from 3 days to about a week then the big stay. You can't leave till approx 48hrs all clear from last bleed that's red.
Coping wise, I found going on mumsnet and searching the archives for related threads saved my sanity and helped enormously about what to expect that might happen and coping strategies for the long stay.

Pack snacks lots, ear plugs and eye mask to aid sleeping. If you can some how wrangle a side room it makes a huge difference or at least a bed by a window. The lack of sleep due to repeated nights on bays with other women who had been induced or waiting to go to labour ward whilst in agony and screeching - really messed with my head after a while. The ear plugs or music on headphones helped block noise.

A emergency c section happened after the last bleed where I had been bleeding very slowly for about a day and wasn't showing signs of slowing down or stopping like previous bleeds. Baby wasn't in distress or anything as was strapped to the monitors as soon as the bleeding kicked off. They just were a bit iffy about me I suppose. We made it 34wks and baby was very good weight and didn't need to leave me.

I'd also suggest getting a kindle for reading or tablet with some kind of Internet connection to keep in touch with outside world. A decent mobile package will also help.
Those magazines get very expensive from the store in the hospital. I was lucky I didn't have the "big bleed" the medics warn you about but as much as i resented that I lost my freedom I knew I was in the best place for both baby and me. The hospital team were fab.

Bring a small padlock for your bag for your valuables if your hospital doesn't have locker things.
Make sure you are packed for short term stay and long term. Get your partner to get familiar with where you put your stuff as you'd need things swapped over for laundry etc when you do the long stay.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.