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Placenta Previa--True Life High Risk Pregnancy Story

Updated on July 7, 2012
Janine Huldie profile image

Janine is a published author in Only Trollops Shave Above the Knees, and appears on The Huffington Post and at Confessions of A Mommyaholic.

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5 Months Pregnant and It All Began...

July 19, 2010---A day I will never forget as long as live. It started out like any other day, but by the end of that day things would never be the same.

I woke up that morning and began the day like any other day. I got my baby, Emma out of the crib. She had just turned a year old two days prior and we had had a huge 1st birthday party to celebrate of course. Once I got her up and fed her breakfast, my husband, Kevin and I started to straighten up her nursery a bit, putting away some of the clothes and toys she had gotten at her party, while she was playing in her crib.

Once we were finished with straightening up, I headed to take a shower. I used the bathroom first and when I wiped I was bleeding. Well, had I not been 5 months pregnant at the time, this would not have been so unnerving. But I was indeed pregnant with our second, who we had found out earlier just the week before this was another little girl. Up to this point the pregnancy had been a textbook pregnancy and pretty much straight forward as far as pregnancies go, but now I was spotting and did not know why.

The first thing I did was to phone my doctor. He had me come into his office immediately and checked me out internally. Once I got to the doctor the bleeding and spotting subsided and it was of course like it had never happened. My doctor was great checking me out though, but still I felt like I had dreamed what I saw with my very own two eyes earlier that morning. After he was done looking at me internally, I was told all appeared to be well and just to take it a bit easy and not to be as active as I was that past weekend with the party or that morning with cleaning.

Well, a few days actually went by and I saw no other signs of bleeding or spotting. It was Thursday of that same week, again when I wiped after using the toilet and again I found blood. So again I called the doctor and went in to be checked yet again. Still all seemed fine after being looked at internally, but the doctor was a little more concerned that I had happened twice now. He let me leave and told me yet again to call him if I saw anymore.

Another week went by and I seemed to be fine and not spotting anymore. It was Thursday, July 22 2010 and I was going on a week of not having any bleeding issues when of course I saw more blood. This time when I went to see my doctor he was so concerned that I was told to go home, pack a bag and check myself into the hospital. I, of course, panicked and started to cry. I had never been in the hospital except to deliver Emma and I had never even left Emma overnight not once since we brought her home a year earlier. So I was just a hormonal mess to say the least.

Well, still I did exactly as I was told, but was miserable. I went to the hospital and was checked in to stay for an undecided amount of time. They did a sonogram (my baby girl looked perfectly healthy, weighing in at just a little over a 1 pound), took blood, monitored me with an NST (Fetal Non-Stress test for me and the baby) and pretty much poked and proded me to make sure all was well.

My doctor put his foot down and told me even though I no longer appeared to be spotting, he didn't like that it kept recurring and was making me stay overnight. I truly have a wonderful doctor though and was given his private (family) pager number if I needed him day or night for anything during my hospital stay. I should have felt like a queen, but I was just a mess and felt what I think most mother's feel once they have two children physically and that is torn between my two children. I felt awful that I wouldn't be there for Emma overnight and yet was so worried about my unborn baby girl, wanting so badly to keep her safe as well.


Some of the things I missed while on bed rest and Me at 39 weeks pregnant...

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Hospital Stay, Bedrest and High Risk Pregnancy...

Well, I did my overnight stay. I remember speaking to my doctor at around 8:30 that following morning and was told that if all seemed ok he would probably release me that night, but did not know what would be in store for my release. I did end up staying that day in the hospital, where again all sorts of tests and internal checks were done on me. At 6pm that night I was released to my husband's care, but told I was on bed rest until further notice.

Why was I put on bed rest, you may ask. Well, it turned out my bleeding was what is known as Placental Abruption. The placenta is a structure that develops in the uterus during pregnancy to nourish the growing baby. If the placenta peels away from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery — either partially or completely — it's known as placental abruption. Placental abruption can deprive the baby of oxygen and nutrients and cause heavy bleeding in the mother. Placental abruption often happens suddenly. Left untreated, placental abruption puts both mother and baby in jeopardy.

Simply put, the placenta is the lifeline for the baby during pregnancy and if I did not go on bed rest, I could lose our baby girl. I ended up being on bed rest for about a month or so after all was said and done. I have to tell you being on bed rest in the middle of the summer during a heat wave is not the most fun thing one can do. I also had to wear compression stockings like those that your grandmother possibly wore for varicose veins to help not have blood clots form from being sedentary. All-in-all I felt awfully unattractive by this point, but then again who was seeing me in my bedroom while I was on bed rest!

My mom thankfully took care of Emma during the day and Kevin had her in the evening when he got home from work during this time. It was truly an awful feeling to barely be able to see or interact with her. I got to spend about an hour a day with her when she would snuggle in bed with me. It truly wasn't enough for me though and my mommy guilt where Emma was concerned was on overdrive. I know I should have been happy that she did have others who could help take care of her, but a part of me just felt like I was letting her down.

The only time, I was able to leave bed during that time other than to use the bathroom or to take a quick shower was to go to doctor's appointments and I had a ton of them. I was at my regular doctor twice a week for a checkup/sonogram for one visit and then second weekly visit was for an NST from 23 weeks of pregnancy until I gave birth at 39 weeks. When I tell you I felt as though I pretty much lived at my doctor's office, I think I pretty much did. I mean I love my doctor, but I was truly there all the time.

Well, each week that went by my baby grew stronger and healthier, I was just so grateful. At 30 weeks until about 36 weeks, I was allowed off bed rest and was told that I just had to take it easy and not overdo it. Easier said than done, when you have a 1 year old baby at home. At 36 weeks, my internal exams showed I was starting to dilate and was told I was term and to expect a baby at anytime. On November 17, I was contracting pretty heavily all morning long and was told at my checkup that I would probably have the baby by that weekend. Well, that weekend came and went and still no baby. One weekend later and I was still very much pregnant contracting off and on and the baby had dropped, but still the baby was not here. Then, the baby decided that Saturday morning to move onto my sciatic nerve. I couldn't sit or lay down without being in terrible pain and standing was the least offensive position, but still I was exhausted and just plain miserable any way you sliced and diced it.

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Labor and Delivery...

On Monday, my doctor pretty much told me, I was 39 weeks, the baby was thought to be around 8 lbs by now and I was good to good. I would be induced that morning. That evening I got a call, that there was literally no room at the inn! The hospital was overbooked with patients and there wasn't a bed or monitor available for me (most likely this was due to the fact that Thanksgiving was literally that Thursday and everybody was being induced at the same time by local doctors). I was on stand by. I called the next morning at 5:30 am to my doctor who told the situation hadn't changed at this hospital, but he would call me back later in the morning.

It was 7:30 am and I was just getting Emma up for the day, when the phone rang. My doctor told me that the other hospital that he delivered had a bed and a monitor and to get there as soon I could to be induced. My mom watched Emma like she was going to that day anyway and by 8 am we were off to the hospital to make ours a family of four!

By 9 am, I was checked in by my doctor, had my IV started and was dilated to 3 and effaced about 50%. By 10 am, I was contracting nicely all on my own without pitocin without even being started for an induction and the nurses pretty much told me I was in labor all on my own. It I hadn't been here to be induced, I would have ended up at the hospital that day anyway. They did give me a bit of pitocin, but back off very quickly when they realized I was in labor anyway.

My doctor, by the way, had office hours that day until 1:30 pm. After checking me in that morning, he called in regularly, but didn't show back up on the scene until about 2 pm. Right before he got there, he was told they wanted to break my water. He told the nurses not to, because he was afraid I would go that quickly and he wouldn't be there for the delivery. I got an epidural, but the damn thing never really worked and I felt pretty much every contraction. I told the nurse this and she told me that can't be, but had me tell her when I felt the next contraction. Sure enough I told her both when it began and when it ended too. She was going to have the antheseologist come in to top off my epidural, but that never came to pass.

Well, by the time my doctor arrived back at the hospital, I was still about 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced. The nurses broke my water around 2:45, by 3:15, I called the nurse to tell her I needed to push. She thought I was crazy, because not a half hour before I was still in early labor. She had my doctor come in to check and sure enough I was 10 cm dilated and the they could see the baby's head starting to crown!

They set the room up for the delivery and it was probably about 3:30, when I started to push. Within 3 huge pushes, Lily Ann Huldie was born to this world at 3:51 pm on November 23, 2010. She was perfect, weighing 7lbs. 20zs. and measuring 19.5 inches.

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A Happy Ending...

Lily is now on her way to 20 months old and is truly the best little girl. She amazes me everyday of my life. She is such a smart child and just recently started learning how to count to 10 and sing the Alphabet Song. Not a day goes by when I don't thank god for blessing me with her and for keeping her safe during those months in utero when I was high risk. I will never forget being so scared though at 21 weeks of pregnancy and thinking she might not make it or be born healthy. She truly is our miracle and blessing on so many different levels and is our happy ending!


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