Info/advison on TTC after stillbirth & c-section

[frsttimemama]

Okay, just looking for some info/advice at the moment. My husband and I lost our baby on June 25. We were induced at 39 weeks. After having Cervidil, Cytotec, and finally Pitocin, my water broke (contractions were a bit uncomfortable, but not really painful). There was blood, and I had an emergency C-section. I was okay (we were both bleeding), and he wasn't able to hang on. He had a velamentous cord insertion that went undetected. It's rare. We were devastated, and while we are still sad and know that while no child will ever replace our little guy, we definitely still want to be parents and as soon as possible. When I go back to the doctor for a 4 week follow up, I'm going to let her know that I don't want to go on any birth control. We want to have a baby as soon as we can. I know that some people may feel that we aren't done grieving, etc., but truly, we are okay. We were fortunate enough to have a few weeks off together and tons of family and friend support. We also were able to have a beautiful celebration of life ceremony to honor him, and that was so helpful for us. Have any of you every gotten pregnant soon after a C-section? Any problems? Before I got pregnant with our little guy, we were told that they thought I had PCOS and that I may never have kids.. I'm hoping that we won't have any problems, but I'm incredibly nervous. As far as the C-section, I really feel pretty good. A tad sore yet and still get a little tired by the end of the day, but really, it was much better than I expected, which is good because any subsequent children will be delivered via planned C-section as a mutual decision between my doctor and myself. Any advice, suggestions, or anything??

 

[fashionlover]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I cannot imagine what you are going through but will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I am awaiting a planned c section due to a velamentous cord insertion that has been detected. Luckily, mine is not running along my cervix so am allowed to carry my daughter until next week 38.6. I am still very afraid. When I first found out about my placenta being abnormal I joined this organization https://ivpf.org The lady that started it lost her son to the same thing. Here is her direct email as well for any questions [email protected] She is very sweet and extremely helpful with any questions you might have.

Prayers for your sweet baby and your journey to get pregnant again.

 

[frsttimemama]

Thank you. I appreciate that. I will be thinking of and praying for you and your baby as well! If it makes you feel any better at all, our little guy was completely normal and fine right up until my water broke, so I'm sure everything will work out well for you. Even my C-section wasn't so bad, although I was sore, I was fortunate enough to have a very supportive and helpful hubby. For us, it was a freak accident. We had so many ultrasounds (like 16!) that we often wonder how it wasn't noticed as I was considered high risk with this pregnancy d/t my blood pressure which turned out completely fine. They even looked at the cord to check the blood flow.. but we know that he is in a better place, and he is okay and safe and watching over us. For that we are thankful. We are ready to start trying again as soon as my body gets back to normal from this pregnancy. We also know that our doctor and all of the hospital staff did everything right and nothing wrong. We plan to use the same doctor and hospital if we are blessed enough to have another baby. We are just ready to be parents to somebody other than our dog!

 

[frsttimemama]

I do have to say though, I will never again "assume" that just because we make it to the end of a pregnancy and go to the hospital expecting to have a healthy baby that he or she will be coming home with us until we are in the truck heading home. I know that sounds cynical, BUT ... I can't help it. I can only hope and pray for the best.

 

[fashionlover]

I do have to say though, I will never again "assume" that just because we make it to the end of a pregnancy and go to the hospital expecting to have a healthy baby that he or she will be coming home with us until we are in the truck heading home. I know that sounds cynical, BUT ... I can't help it. I can only hope and pray for the best.

I totally understand. I think that is one of the scariest and worst things about being pregnant is that you really never know if your baby is safe. If you don't mind me asking...what did they say actually happened to cause your son to pass away? Actual labor??

 

[frsttimemama]

I agree. I always said I couldn't wait til he was out of there so I could see him and know that he was safe; the sad part is that getting out is what caused the problem. I don't mind at all. They said that it was the velamentous cord insertion. I was just starting to have regular contractions where they wanted them to be when my water broke on it's own. When my water broke, that is what caused the problem for him and for myself as well, as the placenta started to separate at that time, too. It all happened so quickly! Our son still had a normal heartbeat in the labor & delivery room even after my water broke (they put one of those monitors on his head), but in the couple of minutes between the time from going from there to the operating room and prepping for the C-section (I had general anesthesia because I had not had an epidural yet because it wasn't hurting anymore than some period cramps and I was only 1 cm dilated when they checked a while earlier when they started the Pitocin), I guess he was not able to hold on any longer. The way it was explained to me, he bled out and he wasn't getting any oxygen any longer either. They were not able to revive him although they tried for about 20 minutes. My doctor said that had they known, they would have done a C-section and never induced me.

 

[fashionlover]

oh my that is so scary. Im so sorry you had to go through that.

 

[frsttimemama]

It's okay. Maybe it will raise awareness so that it doesn't happen to someone else. My doctor had never seen it in all the years she's been a doctor, just once while she was in school so I know it opened her eyes to it a little more.

 

[fashionlover]

That is a good way to look at it. I am really glad my doctor detected mine, as I have never in my prenatal research heard of VP or VCI. Truly hoping your next pregnancy is smooth and worry free.

 

[hopefulfor1st]

Is that the double cord thing?

 

[frsttimemama]

I never had either, and I did a lot of researching... I found a statistic that it occurs in just1.1% of single baby pregnancies and 8.7% of twin pregnancies. I can't remember where I read that though..

No, it has to do with where and how the cord is connected to the placenta and the amniotic sac.