Complete Placenta Previa lying very low

[CTMcG]

Hi all,

Posting here in hope that people can share their real life stories on their experiences with PP. At my 20 week scan (I was only 18+5 at last week at it), I found out I have complete placenta previa and although stats show 9 out of 10 times, it will correct itself, MW wasn’t convinced as its lying ‘very, very low’ and ‘completely covering’ my cervix.

Just want some real life stories as there is some scary info on Dr Google. This is my first pregnancy and so far I have had no bleeding at all but the fact that I could start having bleeding soon and be in hospital for most of the 2nd half of this pregnancy is terrifying.

I don’t feel prepared (baby is due 24th April so I was leaving everything until the New Year) and I am on a probationary period in my work until the start of March as I only started at the start of September and don’t know where that leaves me work wise if I was to be on bed rest before then.

I know that there are stories out there that even complete PP resolved itself and all was fine but I can’t stop worrying about it

When I was told this on Friday my thought was ‘no point worrying about it until the rescan at 32 weeks’ but I can’t control the fear I have woke up to this morning. I wasn’t told to take it easy, avoid sex etc but is there stuff I could be doing to try and prevent heavy bleeding?

Take it easy. No sex. And nothing that might ‘irritate’ the uterus or cause what might be harmless contractions in a non PP pregnancy. So I would stay off hugely spicy food etc. So stay hydrated, and eat well.

I had PP it didnt move but I never bled. I had a CSection at 38 weeks. Towards the end they wanted to keep me in hospital but agreed to let me stay home as I was only 10 mins away. The PP meant the baby sat right under my ribs which was very painful but not serious. Hope all goes well.

I had CPP. It was completely covering, 15 episodes of bleeding, 11 of those being overnight hospital stays. Told it wouldn't move at all due to it being an extra lobe covering the cervix with my main placenta being high.

Went for a scan at 32 weeks to rule out something called Vasa Previa and its moved 17mm away so not far enough away for a definite vaginal delivery but it's on the way

I took it very easy, stopped working due to a physical job at 20 weeks, no sex/complete pelvic rest but still bled due to where the placenta was. I've actually had another bleed this morning at 33 weeks despite it having moved somewhat. Some women just bleed is what I was told but it's important to get anything more than spotting checked out. After 24 week, any bleed was an overnight stay for 24hrs

@LuchiMangsho DH is on a sex ban from now god love him! Hate spicy food so thank goodness for that!

@Makinglists i am 15mins away from closest hospital but they arent doing delivery atm so where i am giving birth is about 30-40mins away so no doubt i will be kept in if worst comes to worst!

@Missmonkeypenny thank you! You sound like you have had quite the journey with it! I have a desk job which is fully remote wfh as does dh so thats good i guess, if any bleeding was to happen we could act fast and get on the road! After Christmas I am going to get as much organised for babys arrival so if anything was to happen, we are ready! 33 weeks - how exciting❤️❤️

You don't have to avoid spicy food ffs 😂 I had complete placenta previa diagnosed at 20 weeks, I was told not to lift anything heavy, no sex/anything penetrative, no antenatal colostrum expressing. I was still fine to do exercise classes with no weights. I continued that and normal life until I had my first tiny bleed at 33 weeks. I was hospitalised on bed rest at 34 weeks after a medium bleed, baby born at 34+2 after a much bigger one. There's no rhyme or reason to placenta previa bleeds, the doctor told me they are causless, patternless and painless. I was actually resting all 3 times I had a bleed so enforcing rest does absolutely nothing, if it's going to happen it'll happen.

@Garman thank you for sharing your experience! I think there being no rhyme or reason is what scares me most but I guess all I can do is take it easy and be prepared when i do have a bleed, i know to get myself to the hospital!

What did the MW/specialist say? I had a complete Placenta Praevia but was told that at that point, there were no meaningful concerns except that in the unlikely event I had any bleeding, I should come straight in. I subsequently flew at 30 weeks but was told no flying after 32 weeks.

I had panic googled but it became clear that there are different types and levels and while mine was covering the cervix completely, it wasn't one they were hugely worried about.

Mine also moved at 32 weeks.

@Triffid1 thats so reassuring to hear!! My immediate response to finding out was ‘it moves in most cases though doesnt it?’ Her response was, yes but yours is very very low. So she personally didnt give me hope it would move. The other MW when going through my notes after said it wasnt a cause for concern until 32 weeks but dont ignore any bleeding beforehand. My notes say its completely covering OS x

Hi @CTMcG, thank you for starting this thread.

I came back home yesterday afternoon after being admitted to hospital on Saturday morning for a bleeding. I am 30weeks and I have complete PP.

I took it very easy all pregnancy, no sex, no exercise and I work from home, but the bleed still happened out of the blue during the night. I guess is just one of those things…

Due to a previous miscarriage I really panicked when I saw blood and rushed to the hospital fearing the worst, but baby was absolutely fine! I stayed in hospital for 24h for monitoring and they told me that if I bleed again I will have to go back.

My advice is to not stress about it too much, eat well, take your prenatal vitamins and keep an eye on your iron levels to avoid anaemia. xx

@Greenluce thank you for sharing!! I know, i guess i cant control it but i will take it easy and if and when the time comes, i know to get checked over asap!! Had you any bleeding before 30 weeks? Xx

No, this was my first and hopefully it will be the last 🤞🏻

SYMPATHIES. I had placenta praevia & it made me very anxious BUT all was fine in the end. I wasn't advised to avoid sex or spicy food (I ate a lot of spicy food in fact) but was put on semi bed rest which meant I didn't walk more than 15 minutes a day for ages & wasn't supposed to do yoga. I found it very frustrating but just tried to be calm about it. I did have a small bleed at 32 weeks & spent a week in hospital being monitored but it settled down & they sent me home. (But if I were you I would have a bag packed just in case because I went in thinking I'd be there an hour & ended up needing lots of things brought in including my laptop as I kept working from the hospital! & I would have liked to pack this stuff myself rather than end up with random clothes my partner brought in etc.). While in hospital they did think they might have to do an early c section so gave me an injection to strengthen my baby's lungs, but then I was sent home. I had a c-section at 36 weeks in the end. My baby was quite small & I spent a while in special care but otherwise he was totally healthy & is now about an average sized four year old & hasn't had any issues from being a bit small. And special care would not have been my favourite way to start motherhood but they were amazing at looking after my baby & me, & it was very reassuring to get all the tests there & know everything was OK. Also his size may or may not have been caused by the placenta praevia. I really tried not to google & just to do what the doctors advised & tried to relax as much as I could. I rearranged lots of things so if I was supposed to meet a friend I got them to visit me instead. (This was pre pandemic.) I also rearranged work so I could do it from home. It's not a fun way to be pregnant but in my case it was honestly OK in the end. Take care.

Hello, I had complete PP and had a two big bleeds, on at 32 weeks and one at 36, after which they delievered DD. Baby was completely fine :) I had absolutly no bleeding other than those two sessions, and I believe bleeding becomes more likely the bigger the baby gets.

I was given steriods for baby's lung development and signed off work at 32 weeks. They would have kept me in hosptial as well except I lived 5 mins away.

No sex, no heavy lifting, no antenatal expressing. Pack a hospital bag early, including lots of maternity pads which you might need to get to hospital. We also put a waterproof cover on the bed, which was the right thing to do as both my bleeds were at night.

If it's still covereing the cervix at 32 weeks you will be having a csection, so be prepared for that as well.

Good luck, I know its worrying. Do try and stay away from Google. No one posts the good stuff. I drove myself to insomnia and I would not recommend depriving yourself of more sleep before the baby arrives. Much easier said than done though, I know.

I had it with my twins. It never moved - I was pretty much on bed rest anyway from around 20 weeks but luckily it was lockdown and i was WFH. I had massive bleeds from 28 weeks onwards - in and out of hospital for several days at a time - complete placental abruption at 34 weeks and emergency c section x

The bleeds get progressively worse, they start off small so the placenta gives warnings as my consultant said, it doesn't just suddenly start gushing which is some bit of a comfort at least.

With my second child I had a sudden big bleed at 17 weeks. Had had three miscarriages previously so of course was sure same thing was happening again. Was told it was a complete placenta praevia of a type that didn't look like it would shift. Had another bleed a few weeks later. Took it easyish, still went about my life/to work etc but didn't rush around. It was up and out of the way by 28 weeks and I had him vaginally at 40+8.

Complete PP here and C section at 40 weeks, consultant advised me to get to hospital as soon as I went into labour although I never did.

No major complications apart from I bled a little more then the majority of c sections but they expected that and planned accordingly.

My experience was the same as @Triffid1 - completely covering but all was fine by 32 weeks.

Because of the healthcare system where I am
I had scans every 2-3 weeks, and it hadn't moved at 29 weeks but had completely moved out the way by 31.

Doctor's advice at 20 weeks was as simple as
'If it doesn't move you'll need a c section, come in if there's any bleeding'. Luckily I didn't have any anyway.

I drove myself insane by googling and worrying and I needn't have spared a single second worrying about it! I had a normal delivery at 39 weeks

I have got a question for all the ladies who had bleeding episodes during their third trimester, how long did they last?

Mine started on Saturday morning and I have been told by the consultant it should resolve within a week. What was your experience?

@hibernatingbear
@RenegadeMrs
@4amstarts
@Missmonkeypenny

@Greenluce I think mine was 3 days but I was kept in hospital 5 days to monitor. Good luck & take care. xx

Mine lasted 20 minutes, then 45 minutes, then 12 hours, with csection an hour after that last one.

Thank you to all who have left their experiences, it has helped me alot! Would be lovely to keep this thread going throughout my pregnancy as it feels alot less lonely being in this situation knowing so many of you ladies have and have a healthy baby! Xx

Another question ladies, did you go off on maternity earlier because of placent previa? I was going to work up till 2 weeks before dd (take 2 weeks a/l then start maternity on dd)

If its not moved by 32 weeks, is that too late to start maternity earlier than planned?