Positive stories of a smooth next pregnancy following a placental abruption please!

[SamoyedFan123]

Hi ladies

Just that really. My first pregnancy (twins) ended at 34 weeks with a complete placental abruption. Luckily we had been kept in hospital overnight due to some odd blood test results the day before, otherwise all three of us would have died. As it was I had an extremely traumatic crash cesarean and 4.5l blood loss. My twins are now happy, healthy 19 month olds and I'm almost 14 weeks pregnant with a singleton. Originally I wasn't worried about a repeat of that experience as I had put it down to that being a twin pregnancy /one of those things, etc. As time goes on I'm getting increasingly anxious about the possibility of another PA, and this time the chances of me accidentally being in hospital at the right time are remote! The midwife hasn't been much help, just says I need to discuss with the consultant, but I won't see him until 22 weeks so hoping to hear some positive stories here that might make the next 8 weeks less stressful. Thank you.

Me ☺️

Placental abruption at 34 weeks with DD2. Crash section etc.

Normal pregnancy (with standard scanning, nothing extra) with DD3 but regular appointments from 28 weeks. Elective section at 39 weeks without complication. I was very anxious from about 34 weeks though and tried not to overdo it.

All the best for your pregnancy. 💐

Me

7 years later, in mid-forties with gestational diabetes (again). Elective Caesarian a week early, no problems.

This is wonderful to hear ladies, thank you for taking the time to reply 😊 I'm very much hoping for a natural birth this time but i cross that bridge when I come to it 🤞

@SamoyedFan123

Haven't got experience with placental abruption, but just wanted to ask you how you coped with a 4.5 litre blood loss?

I lost 2.1 litres of blood during delivery (forceps) and felt like a zombie for weeks despite blood transfusion and iron tablets.

@hotpotlover apparently I copied really well! I had a transfusion obviously, and was pretty much out of it for the first 24 hours, but the next day the doctors were totally amazed at my blood work and how quickly it had recovered, they said apart from needing iron it was like nothing had happened. My main issues after were immense pain from contractions (because I never had a labour and the drugs they use to shrink your uterus down after an EMCS didn't work so I had 4 days of contractions afterwards on top of the pain from the surgery), and horrific flashbacks which turned out to be PTSD.

[quote SamoyedFan123]@hotpotlover apparently I copied really well! I had a transfusion obviously, and was pretty much out of it for the first 24 hours, but the next day the doctors were totally amazed at my blood work and how quickly it had recovered, they said apart from needing iron it was like nothing had happened. My main issues after were immense pain from contractions (because I never had a labour and the drugs they use to shrink your uterus down after an EMCS didn't work so I had 4 days of contractions afterwards on top of the pain from the surgery), and horrific flashbacks which turned out to be PTSD.[/quote]
Glad you're all ok OP, sounds like a terrifying experience to say the least! Did you have any sort of symptoms? Or was the PA picked purely by the blood test?

@laura2109 yes it was absolutely terrifying, hence the PTSD 😭 No symptoms of PA in advance other than a few hours of very mild contractions. I was convinced something was wrong but the midwives put the monitors on and decided it was braxton hicks (I've since been told by the consultant who looked at the trace that it was most likely early labour). Pa's aren't picked up by blood tests - the first clue was a popping sensation and gushing hot liquid which I thought was my waters going. When I looked down I realised it was actually blood pouring out of me like a hosepipe. From that point it was less than 5 minutes before I was under GA and less than 20 before my twins were delivered. Those 5 minutes were the most traumatic experience of my life.

I'll add that the blood test was not predictive of the PA - it showed a sudden drop in platelets and rise in bile acids (of been suffering with obstetric cholestasis for a while). Neither are conditions that you would normally be kept in hospital overnight for, and to this day the consultant has no idea why he ordered me kept in - just a bunch that saved our lives 😊

Hunch* not bunch!

@SamoyedFan123

I'll add that the blood test was not predictive of the PA - it showed a sudden drop in platelets and rise in bile acids (of been suffering with obstetric cholestasis for a while). Neither are conditions that you would normally be kept in hospital overnight for, and to this day the consultant has no idea why he ordered me kept in - just a bunch that saved our lives 😊

Thanks for replying!

Me too! Full abruption at 35.5. Was also in the hospital already due to on going regular bleeding. Had a couple of episodes of large blood losses previously. I also had a crash caesarean and lost just over 4L of blood. DS has absolutely fine and none the wiser.
4 years later and I’m now 36w. From the get go I’ve had lots more support from midwife and consultants due to PTSD and anxiety. Found out my placenta was low at 20w which was one of the worse things I could have been told but thankfully at my 34w scan it’s completely moved so now I’m able to try for a normal birth.
Have you spoken to your midwife about your flashbacks/PTSD? Mine was great and pushed me forward for more CBT. Maybe that’s an option for you if you feel it may help

@Youvegotafriendinme thank you so much for sharing your story, this sounds very similar to mine except I'm only two years on. The midwife did mention some extra support but at the time I was feeling okay about things, it's as the weeks go on I'm getting more and more anxious to be honest. I've got my 16 weeks appointment soon so I'll definitely bring it up at that, but unsure what help will be available due to covid. It's reassuring to hear that you've got past the point where you had your abruption and that all is well. I hope the remainder of your pregnancy continues to go smoothly and that the birth goes well. Like you I very much want a natural birth this time if possible.

@Youvegotafriendinme sorry I also meant to say that I was treated at the time by the perinatal mental health team for PTSD and it was very helpful, although I would still get the flashbacks I could cope with them very well. The past week or so I've found myself sitting crying and shaking all over again a few times while having a flashback, almost without even realising it, just like it was at the beginning 😭 need to find a way to put it out of my mind as I don't want to go on like that for another 5 months or so.

Refer yourself to your local MIND clinic and they will contact you, assess you and make a decision. Being pregnant, your more vulnerable so will be seen/spoken to quicker. I had CBT when DS was around 8 months old after not being able to get through the day without flash backs. I also went from not being bothered about him to worryingly protective over him in a matter of days. The CBT did wonders for me and made a massive difference. When I found out I was pregnant I instantly started getting flashbacks again and severe anxiety so when I had my 8 week booking appointment I told the midwife and she said to self refer to MIND. I was able to see someone in person and had another 8 sessions which again massively helped me. There’s other options if CBT isn’t something you feel would work for you but they speak through your options before on the phone.
Putting it out of your mind, isn’t as easy as you say when you’ve gone through something like that so don’t feel like that’s what you should be doing but getting the right help will give you the tools to cope when it happens and also to work through and understand what happened

@Youvegotafriendinme thank you xxx. I didn't have CBT - trying to remember what the therapy I had was called - it was to do with rapid eye movements but I can't recall the name. It seemed to be quite effective but clearly the trauma remains in the background waiting for a trigger...

@SamoyedFan123 I had a placental abruption in April and am struggling with the after effects and already panicking about future pregnancies. I wondered how you are doing now? I really hope everything went ok this time around.

@Tig2010 sorry to hear that you had a PA too - hope you and baby are okay and didn't suffer too many after effects. My baby was born via a successful induction and VBAC just over 4 weeks ago which was exactly what I was hoping for. No sign of PA despite having a very large baby and huge placenta (hence the induction). The only issue I had really was that I was constantly in and out of hospital from 25 weeks on for monitoring and scans because I didn't feel movements properly. I put this partially down to my anterior placenta and partially down to nerve damage from the crash c section and all the internal stitching.

@SamoyedFan123 I’m so glad you’re both safe and well! How do you feel

@SamoyedFan123 sorry, pressed send too soon! How do you feel for having had a non-traumatic birth (for want of a better phrase). I wonder a lot about what it must be like! I had a PA at 35 weeks two days after I started bleeding a little and then my waters broke. I guess we were very lucky that the abruption happened after I’d been admitted. I’ve never been so scared, and couldn’t sleep for two nights afterwards because I was terrified that I wouldn’t wake up. Looking back, I was not in a good mental headspace. Do you mind me asking if you have any recommendations for coping with the idea of future pregnancies. I know it’s too soon to be thinking about trying again of course, but I do find it really hard to not think about whether I could do it again. I would really love to have more children but the thought of it happening again, esp knowing we were so lucky to be in hospital when it happened and that PA are hard to diagnose, makes me break out in cold sweats.

@SamoyedFan123 should also mention that the little baba is well and an absolute joy. He was in SCBU for 10 days mainly because we had issues feeding and he had jaundice, but he never had to go on oxygen. I often feel guilty that I still think a lot about the birth rather than just being grateful that he’s ok.

@Tig2010 so glad you are both okay. If you've read the rest of my thread above you will see that our situations were fairly similar. I also suffered with a lot of guilt over the way my babies were born and was very angry with my body. The two things that helped me were a debrief with my consultant, who was able to reassure me about future pregnancies, although he couldn't answer all of the questions I had about the abruption, and also I had therapy for PTSD following the delivery which helped with the flashbacks, guilt and obtrusive thoughts. I am very glad I had a VBAC this time, although it was slightly traumatic - twelve hours on the drop with no epidural because I'm terrified of them, two hours of pushing and two very nasty tears that are still healing over 4 weeks later - I am definitely done having babies now!
If you haven't been offered a debrief or counselling you should be and to request these from your hospitals perinatal MH team up to one year after your delivery.