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Placenta Previa is not a tropical island
During my ultrasound earlier this week my husband and I were thrilled to find out that we were having a little girl. In addition to that news we also found out that I have Placenta Previa which despite how the name sounds is not a nice place to visit.
The ultrasound started out as the normal routine. “This is the baby.” “This is the heart.” “This is the brain.” “The baby looks good.” “This is the labia, Congratulations it’s a Girl.” Then the ultrasound technician asked me to strip from the bottom down for a vaginal ultrasound. That is when I knew there was some bad news with our great news. For those of you not familiar with a vaginal ultrasound let me give you a brief word picture. This device looks like a 30 inch long dildo complete with condom and heavily lubed (definitely not the highlight of my appointment).
After being violated by the ultrasound technician I was sent to another room to discuss my results with my OBGYN. My OBGYN was very matter of fact about explaining what Placenta Previa is and what it means for me. Turns out that my placenta is covering my cervix which prevents me from having a vaginal delivery, it also increases my risk of bleeding and preterm labor. At this stage of my pregnancy Placenta Previa means I need to watch for bleeding, call the doctor if bleeding occurs and wait for my next ultrasound at 28 weeks to see if my placenta has moved.
What is Placenta Previa? http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/placenta-previa/DS00588
Placenta previa is an uncommon pregnancy complication that can cause excessive bleeding before or during delivery.
Soon after conception, the placenta begins to form. This circular, flat organ provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby and removes waste products from your baby’s blood. It attaches both to the wall of your uterus and to your baby’s umbilical cord, forming a vital connection between you and your baby.
Early in pregnancy, the placenta may implant in the lower part of the uterus. As the uterus grows, the placenta usually moves up and away from the opening of the uterus (cervix). If it doesn’t, the cervix may be blocked. This is known as placenta previa.
If you have placenta previa, the placenta will detach from the lower part of the uterus as the cervix begins to open in preparation for labor. This can cause severe vaginal bleeding. Thankfully, placenta previa is nearly always detected before a woman or her baby is in significant danger.
Signs and Symptoms
Painless, bright red vaginal bleeding in the second half of pregnancy is the main sign of placenta previa.
Although some women have light bleeding or spotting during the first trimester or early second trimester, bleeding associated with placenta previa usually occurs near the end of the second trimester or the beginning of the third. The amount of bleeding may range from light to heavy. And it may stop, but it nearly always recurs days or weeks later. Some women who have placenta previa experience contractions with bleeding.
Types of placenta previa
There are three specific types of placenta previa:
- Total placenta previa. In total placenta previa, the placenta completely covers the cervix.
- Partial placenta previa. In partial placenta previa, the placenta partly covers the cervix.
- Marginal placenta previa. In marginal placenta previa, the placenta approaches the edge of the cervix.
Low-lying placenta is a term used to describe a placenta that lies low in the uterus but isn’t quite close enough to the cervix to qualify as marginal placenta previa. This condition usually doesn’t cause signs or symptoms during pregnancy, but it may cause bleeding after delivery.
Birth and Hospital Guide
- Yes, get the epidural. It took several tries to get the epidural in correctly but once it was in it was a great relief. My husband said after the epidural it was like a really nice “date” for the two of us. We took a nap, talked and watch some TV together. Maybe the best quality time we’ve had together since the birth of our first child. Be warned you will have to get a catheter to prevent you from peeing all over yourself. Also, getting an epidural doesn’t mean you will be pain-free. It only helps dull the pain.
- Pushing. When its time to push pretend like you are taking an enormous poop. Sounds gross but that is essentially what you need to do AND most likely in addition to giving birth to a beautiful baby you may also give birth to a small poopy. Birth isn’t exactly as beautiful as everyone claims.
- There are several things that will go on after the baby comes out. While the baby is getting cleaned up and measured you will be giving birth to placenta and your doctor will be stitching you up. This is probably a good segment to talk about a few things you can do to help with the impending damage that will occur to your vajayjay.
- Kegle exercises. These are important before and after you have the baby.
- Perineum massage. You can do this starting 6 weeks before baby is due and can also request that the doctor administer during birth. Essentially the doctor will massage the vaginal opening while you are pushing to help relax the muscle and help the skin stretch naturally. I did this with both kids and had very little damage with the first and no stitches for the second.
- To tear or an episiotomy neither choice is appealing. I always talked with my doctors prior to birth to let them know my preference in regards to how I would like my vaginal birth to go. My feelings are that I would rather tear naturally than to have a doctor prematurely cut me but this is something that everyone has an opinion on so I would suggest doing some research, talk it over with your doctor and decide before you go to the hospital what you’d like to do.
- Keep on ice pack on your vajayjay for the first 24 hours after birth.
- If needed ask for some sort of numbing spray for your vajayjay region. Yes, it exists.
- Use a bottle of warm water to spray on your vajayjay when you are using the toilet. These make things a little less painful and it helps reduce the risk of infection.
- Allow the nursing staff to take the baby to allow you to rest. YOU NEED YOUR REST.
- Take the pain killers offered
- Take the laxatives offered
- Use the lactation specialist. They are very helpful!
- The hospital will probably put you in a nursing gown. If possible, snag it for use at home. It is ugly BUT it does the job.
- You will bleed heavily for almost 2 weeks. Plan accordingly.
- Ask the nursing staff to show you how to use the bulb syringe “booger sucker outer”. The baby will be congested for the first few days and this is helpful.
- If you plan to do a circumcision on baby ask to do this before you go home.