The pregnancy after the pregnancy after a stillbirth. What will care be?

[mrsgboring]

Am becoming irrationally convinced I'm pg with DC3 and mildly stressed about it. My first child (DD) was stillborn and then I had a healthy DS 2.5 years ago.

If/when I do get PG will I still get consultant care induction at term and lots of professional concern, or do I go back to being pretty much ordinary?

And how the hell will I cope?

I don't know ... the anetenatal care in the pregnancy after my second trimester loss was amazing - one midwife throughout, saw that midwife & consultant at every appointment, 2 weekly scans, CTG whenever I wanted it, consultant section at 38 weeks, private room etc etc.

The thought of doing it again without that level of support is terrifying.

In the hospital I work in a woman who has had a still birth is classed the same in each subsequent pregnancy. If your first stillbirth was unexplained then you are not more likely to have another one than anyone else. But I can imagine that it must be impossible to think that in your situation without frequent checks and an induction at term. I had a woman who in her third pregnancy (1st sb) had weekly antenatal checks with me the whole pregnancy as well as consultant appointments and scans. Another one who was so worried that we saw her at home every other day the week before her induction. What gestation were you when you lost your dd?

hum, I know someone who had 2 healthy births, a stillbirth at 41 weeks for reasons unlikely to recur, then a 13 week pregnancy, then another full term pregnancy (so technically meeting your criteria).
She was given lots of monitoring and extra scans in the last pregnancy, and was offered induction (which she took up) at 37 or 38 weeks pregnant.

Don't want to scare you, but the baby did get GB Strep at birth, which was very dangerous to him, and she was more likely to get GBS because of the induction. Something to think about.

argh, 13 week miscarriage, not "13 week pregnancy"

Maxbear, thank you for the info. I was 41 weeks when I lost my DD. It was unexplained, so I do take your point that it is unlikely to recur. Though given that it was unexplained, I find it hard to see how anyone can say categorically what the likelihood of recurrence is.

Flack, I tested positive for GBS with DS (was negative with DD) so had IV antibs in labour (and also a course of amoxycillin the week before, grudgingly agreed to by a rather tactless and dense consultant - not my normal one - who couldn't understand why I was worried about baby dying from GBS since that wasn't why my first baby died. But that is by the by. There is no way in the world I would ever wait to go into labour naturally. With DD the day before I lost her I was desperate to be induced because I was (for no real good reason) convinced she'd die if left in much longer. If I couldn't get an induction I would throw myself in front of a bus or attempt to perform my own section.

I can totally see why you feel that no one can say what the likelyhood of recurrence is in the situation you are in (or might soon be in).

Just to reassure you, as you have had one healthy child since you have had a gbs +ve swab, you are extremely unlikely to have a child who is affected by gbs and it is no more likely in someone who is induced. In fact you would be more likely to have time for antibiotics if you were induced. Hope things work out well for you.

Thanks, maxbear. All very encouraging. Still crossing my fingers on the PG front: can't even test till Friday.

From my time as a midwife ( a long time ago now) I would say that once a woman has experienced a stillbirth any future pregnancy will be treated as being in need of extra care and observation - especially if the stillbirth was unexplained.

I think you'll be offered consultant care, extra scans etc if you want these and open access to the maternity unit if you need it for reassurance.