--- In placentaabruption@yahoogroups.com, CrystalGoddess29@... wrote:
>Hi Gigi,

Thanks for sharing your story. i always thank God that we now live in
an age where PAs can be 'stopped' and women with a PA can be saved and
their wee babies too. I know there are women and babies who have lost
their lives to PA and this is a suffering i find too much to bear. I
have lost 2 babies to miscarriage and the loss is unbelievable, and no
matter what people say about time healing wounds etc etc, no time can
take the edge of that sense of grief. It really is too much and i can
barely begin to think of my 2 babies although i pray we'll meet in
another world.

I have had 2 PAs and like you, i found them both terrifying and
spontaneous. i think this is the most scary aspect, that they can
occur at any time and that they do not give any warning signals (well,
not always). My first PA was called a moderate one, where i began to
bleed out of the blue. When they did a scan (33 weeks) they couldn't
see a blood clot or anything on the placenta and I spent the weekend
in hospital and then another week at home, and then baby was born at
35 weeks. i suddenly began to bleed again, not heavily, but any blood
is bad, so we called an ambulance and i went into labour about 12
hours later. because the baby was fine, they let me have a natural
delivery, which was excruiating as because she was prem i was allowed
no epidural, no pain relief and had to have a ventouse!! Yikes! BUT,
all in all, I felt very blessed as i dreaded having a section more
than anything. I felt very in the dark about PA and didn't do much
research on it at all. I even had 2 more babies born in the water,
completley 'beautiful' births. With the 5th (last) baby, we'd moved
and i wanted a home birth,and although they reluctantly agreed, the
midwives were concerned. BUT not because I'd had a PA but because it
was my 5th baby (7th pregnancy) and they kept on at me about
post-partem bleeding etc etc. i did feel alot of unease but i am a
natural worrier and kept praying all would be fine. My PA was
mentioned a bit, but i was not classed as a high risk pregnancy, and
should never have been allowed to play with the idea of home-birthing!
i did agree to a scan at 36 weeks and my placenta looked fine...but we
all know PA can 'hide', which is what it did. I woke up at 5am when i
was 38weeks preggie, and saw a spot of blood on my nighie. i didn't
think anything of it as I thought it was a show, I'd never had one so
i thought this must be it. i went upstairs and felt very crampy and my
tum felt 'tight'. i thought I'd sit on the toilet and see what was
going on, and when i sat down,,,,,whoooooooosh, I began bleeding like
crazy. It felt as if i was doing a wee, but blood. i screamed to high
heaven, woke my sleeping husband saying 'dial 999, NOW'. He thought I
was having the baby, but i knew straightaway what it was. He suggested
the midwife (men) and i screamed 'NOOOOOO< 999,now', so he did. the
paramedic arrived in 5mins and the ambulance in 10. My other children
all saw me being taken away and it was the most distresing time of my
life. I even had post-traumatic stress disorder for many months after.
My husband had to stay with the children, being alone in the ambulance
was agony. I arrived at the hospital. there was no heartbeat, i was
thrown into the operating table, I was spoken to so beautifully by
this chinese nurse and the anethetist. He explained we had no time
atall and had to get baby out. I had to drink a pill to not make me
sick, and then the gas mask went over my face. I can't explain the
feeling, but i wouldn't wish it upon the devil himself. I woke up, and
saw a nurse. I asked 'is my baby alive'...she smiled and said 'yes'.
It was the best word I'd heard... he'd been born and had to be
recusitated for 1min and 15secs. He is absolutley well now, thank God.
A miracle, truly. I feel so immensely blessed that he is alive. A full
PA is so severe that the baby has 10mins to live, mine happened in the
ambulance.(he is now 2yrs old,btw.)

I truly think that you are doing the right thing, and resting fully.
There is no reason (except the obvious ones) as to why women have PAs.
Both of mine i fell in to none of the categories atall. i am only
35yrs now. It is a shocking experience as it can happen so quickly
with no warning.

At my 6wk check, i was asked to go back to the hospital and see the
consultant. She said to me that we were lucky. She also said she felt
i had been overlooked in my care a bit, in the fact that ever since my
first PA all my subsequent pregnancies should have been 'high risk'.
She said the only thing they would have offered me though, is an
aspirin a day and monthly scans.....

Hope you aren't too freaked by my story. i will think of you and Tori,

Love,

Lucia
>
> In a message dated 12/28/2006 10:03:31 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> luciadecruz@... writes:
>
> Well hi Gigi,
>
> Thank you for replying, I was beginning to wonder whether this group
> was defunct which would be a great shame! Is this your first baby? You
> are very blessed that your PA was partial and you were able to address
> it. How do the Drs in the US treat ladies with PA? is there anyhting
> they can take/do to try and stop it occuring??
>
> i have had 2 PAs and am so terribly scared to have a new baby although
> my heart is crying out for one. i am seeing a private Dr soon to ask
> what my risks are and what they would do to help me. the last baby was
> a full PA at 38weeks old, it is only by the grace of God that he is
> alive and I thank Him every day for Patrick. I was also bleesed that
> it was 38 and not 28 weeks.
>
> the interent does not tell one that much aboput it and I don't want to
> be told 'be gratfeul for the children you have and forget another
> pregnancy' until I have found out all my options!!
>
> Love,
>
> Lucia
>
>
>
>
> Hi Lucia,
> This is actually my third child. My first two were
completely
> uneventful, just the normal discomforts but I was a lot younger
than too! I'm
> 41 and my girls are 18 and 13. I actually had no warning at all. Very
> frightening! terrifying in fact! I stood up and felt a gush, I
thought my water had
> broke. I really had no idea what an abruption was. I lost a lot of
blood. I
> was airlifted to a hospital with a nicu that could care for a 28
week baby.
> They told me I would likely have an emergency c section. Thankfully
the
> abruption was partial and baby (Her name is Tori) was never in
distress. I spent a
> month in that hospital on strict bed rest, I missed thanksgiving
and my
> daughters 18th birthday. I insisted on coming home because was
completely stable
> with no new bleeds the entire time I was there. I've been home
almost a month
> now and my biggest problem is pre term labor. Basically I've been
in labor for
> a month. I go to the hospital once or twice a week in labor and
they stop it
> with IVs and shots. I had been on procardia every 4 hours around
the clock
> to stop contractions. That ran out and now that I am 36 weeks I'm
not taking
> it anymore.
> I found a few sights about abruption, I can post them or
email them to
> you if you like. Two months on bed rest and nothing to do... I did
a lot of
> surfing!
> As I understand it, there really isn't much one can do to
prevent an
> abruption from occuring. I read about all sorts of things that can
increase the
> risk of having one. Women over 35, smoking, drug use. high blood
pressure.
> But the truth is, it can happen to anyone, with or without warning.
Some women
> experience pain and then in my case, no pain what so ever. My only
risk
> factor is being 41.
> I have never lost a child. I can't even begin to imagine the
pain. All
> I can compare it to is the fear I felt when the abruption happened.
I thought
> I was losing her and very well could have. I've read some older
posts of
> woman who lost babies through abruption and my heart just breaks
for them. I
> literally couldn't read anymore. I am so sorry for any loss you have
suffered. I
> get annoyed with people who say well everything happens for a
reason. True
> or not, it really isn't something anyone wants to hear when coping
with the
> loss of a child.
> As far as another pregnancy, I think I'm done. More so because
of my
> age than anything else. If I found myself pregnant again shortly
after this one
> is born, I would have it, risks and all. Follow your heart.
>
> Wishing you all the best!
>
Gigi
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>