TTC after Stillbirth and manual removal of retained placenta

[Purplebloom52]

Hi!
In January 2022 our DS was born sleeping at 27 weeks. It was a complete shock as 20 week scan was absolutely fine and post mortem couldn't identify any issues, which was really difficult to come to terms with.
L&D was pretty smooth, but then I had to get my placenta manually removed as the cord snapped when the midwife tried to remove it and it came away quite piecemeal (sorry for the TMI), but even that went pretty smoothly considering.

As crappy as the whole experience was I know things could have been a whole lot worse / traumatic.

Moving forward my DH and I both agree we would like to start trying again, I'm certainly not a 'spring chicken' so wanted to start trying again as soon as we possibly can.

With DD and DS we conceived pretty quickly under 4 months. We have been trying so far for about 4 months now and I know it can take up to two years to get pregnant, but there is an irrational fear at the back of my mind making me feel like it wont happen again for us and that the manual removal may have caused some damage which may lead to secondary infertility! (Thanks Dr Google.. 🙄)

Also my periods have been weirdly light the past couple of months and last week for the first time in my life I spotted a little the week after the apps predicted I ovulated. I googled implantation bleeding like I was researching for a PHD - but alas the negatives on dpo10 and 11 kind of dashed those hopes.

I wondered if anyone had any positive stories regarding conceiving after still birth and/or manual removal of placenta and how long you were trying for. I know everyone is different but was interested in knowing generally what to anticipate.

Thank you in advance for any comments (and if you got to the end of the post - you are a awesome 😊) xox

Hi there! I am so sorry about your stillbirth. What did you call your little angel baby? I had a stillbirth last August at 36+6 and we called our baby girl Felicity. I have recently found out I am expecting again. We actually weren't trying and I just "count my days" and it seems I ovulated late. I don't really have words of wisdom - have your periods been normal since manual removal of placenta? I hope everything works out and you find yourself pregnant soon. I felt a bit robbed and like my arms have been empty for the last year. I expected to be insanely anxious if I were to be pregnant again but so far am just honouring this pregnancy as a new pregnancy and trying to be as positive as I can be💗 sending such warm and gentle hugs x

Sorry I just read the bit about your periods! I actually had some random periods myself - extremely heavy but some months my cycle was 34 days and some months 26... I work away and shift work so I was blaming that.

My daughter was stillborn at 29 weeks and I also had the retained Placenta removed by hand. I got pregnant 10 months later but had a miscarriage. Then 5 months later I got pregnant again and had a beautiful daughter. I was 42 when I had her. I have Factor V Lieden (a blood disorder which causes clotting) which contributed to the Stillbirth. But I was very well monitored in my subsequent pregnancies. I have always had troublesome Periods and had a Laperoscopy for both Endometriosis and Fibroids. I was very anxious with my successful pregnancy and didn't really "enjoy" it as I was so worried but it all turned out well.
Stay positive and try to relax. And good luck.

I don’t have any experience of stillbirth, and i’m so very sorry for your loss.

I had retained manual removal of placenta, with dd1 which was not wholly successful and the retained placenta gave me sepsis 3 weeks later with massive haemorrhaging. Total clusterfuck. No problems conceiving dd2 a few years later. Good luck.

So sorry for you loss.

I had manual placenta removal with my daughter 3 years ago and conceived easily with my now 3 week old daughter, unfortunately I needed manual placenta removal again this time but it was a lot less traumatic as I'd been through it before I insisted they took me straight to theatre for a spinal.

@Clarita191 thank you for responding and I am so sorry for your loss, i felt every single word. Its such an unexpected and awful thing. Each month is a reminder of my little boy we lost. We called him Ezekiel - which unknowingly to us when his name popped into my mind a week or so before we found out he passed - means Strength. Which is exactly what we have needed these pass couple of months.

Its so beautiful the grace with which you have taken your new pregnancy as I have always thought the same that I would be so incredibly anxious. But like you have said it is necessary to honour it as a new pregnancy and I hope as you journey through this season it will be a beautiful and calm one and at the end your arms will be filled with love.

@user1471517095 I am incredibly sorry for your loss! But thank you for sharing your story with me - both the highs and lows! The journey isn't easy at all! But I am glad you were blessed with your beautiful daughter at the end of it all xxx

@Equiphant arghh!!! I have heard awful stories about retained placenta! Did u feel at least u was being heard / listened to? As I have heard some women complain about it and are just dismissed. Thankfully mine seemed pretty straightforward - although they were cleaning me out for quite some time 😅

@20viona aww congratulations!! But gosh! Sorry you had to go through a manual removal twice though!

I've never had a stillbirth and am so sorry for your loss.

I did have a retained placenta with my daughter which was quite unpleasant as it was manually removed and torn in the process, leading to a major haemorrhage and emergency surgery. I'm pregnant again now and am insisting on going straight to theatre if the same happens. We conceived really quickly the first time, it took nearly a year this time and like you I goggled the damage a retained placenta can do. I spoke to my GP about my concerns who organised an internal ultrasound to check for any scar tissue or damage that may be preventing conception - there wasn't any luckily, and for me it was reassuring it was a case of just keep trying...

Hello, I don't have any experience of the removal of placenta, but I just wanted to send a huge hug from another mummy of angel baby (my son was stillborn June 2021 at 33 weeks). I wish you every success with your TTC journey 💖

I am so sorry for your loss

I lost my daughter last October at 23+5 (like you, we had a post mortem and there was no reason for it) and ended up with a chunk of retained placenta that was manually removed in December after I haemorrhaged.

It then took until June before I was pregnant again and am currently 18 weeks again so it took 6 months after everything was out of my system for me to get pregnant.

As soon as I had stopped bleeding I religiously tracked my ovulation using the cheap LH tests and found that I was ovulating later than I did prior at days 18-20, even though my cycle was still regularly 27/28 days long, so it might be worth you trying the test strips to find out when you actually ovulate?

I also took red raspberry leaf supplements in the first 2 weeks of my cycle to help build up my lining, and mini aspirin after ovulation until I tested (along with folic acid and vit D) along with eating healthily and loosing the weight I had gained.

(ie, I went a bit crazy with just needing to get pregnant again so that I can get it over with sooner if things go wrong again)

@Anna783426 thank you so much and for sharing your story - gosh sounds incredibly traumatic! :( but congratulations on your currently pregnancy and I hope you do not experience the same thing ever again! I am thinking of doing the same with my GP at least if they can check everything is A ok. I have given myself the year to try and if it doesnt happen before then, then Ill book in with GP - so thank u for sharing this actually x

Thank you so so much @Bubbles021 and im sorry for your loss too ❤️

@Preseli firstly my condolences for your loss and even your experiences after going through the pain of losing your daughter is just wayy too much! Thank you for sharing your story with me as it certainly gives me hope.

Omd my ovulation cycle was the same! Ovulating at 18/20 days too. I have been using strip tests since April but stopped last month as it was getting too much for me so I tried the let me just get on with it and not care approach lol - but now I regret that as I dont even know how many days DPO i really am!

Ooo good shout on the raspberry tea and ive also just restarted my weightloss / getting healthy journey as I think after months of comfort eating and barely moving its time to look after me again x

Thanks again for sharing x

I’m very sorry to hear about your stillbirth. It’s a very painful experience. I had a stillbirth at 25 weeks 16 years ago. I had a retained placenta that was very stubborn and was finally removed once I was under GA. I also lost a huge amount of blood. It was the most frightening time of my life.

But I want to give you hope: it took a few months but I conceived our DD, who is now nearly 16. I was scared of a repeat experience of the retained placenta and blood loss but thank goodness everything went smoothly. I also went on to have another baby three years after my DD. Again, this was thankfully very straightforward.

I hope you too will soon be blessed with a healthy pregnancy and a smooth delivery. I wish you the best of luck. Stay hopeful ☀

Sorry for your loss, I had one earlier than you and had manual removal as I was haemorrhaging. Was told wait a year to try again and let things heal as well as get my blood count back. Had a beautiful little one two years later, and am pregnant with no.2 (well 3 technically) now. Try not to be over panicked and maybe tell yourself you'll let your body just rest and let things happen when they do. Sometimes stress is the biggest inhibitor (easier said than done).

Just realised this is an old post!