partial separation of placenta

[BunnyN]

Had our first scan yesterday, everything was well except she said there is a small separation of the placenta. On the pic it is a small dark area of blood between the placenta and the uterus wall. She said it was nothing to worry about and should heal up but she didn't really give any information, now I'm wishing I had asked more questions. I haven't been able to find lots of information on partial placental abruption in the first tri. Has any one else had this? Were you told to rest? did you get another scan to check if it was healing? and did you have any problems later on? I already had a doctors appointment for later today so I'm hoping he will give me more information but if anyone has experience to share it will help me know what to ask.

 

[karolynca]

for my Dr. which specializes in high risk pregnancies that would mean putting me on bed rest....talk to your Dr. ASAP.

 

[Starry Night]

I had this and was put on bed rest. I was allowed to get up for the bathroom and some small tasks (getting myself a drink) but I was not allowed to do any lifting and had to limit car travel. I was definitely taken off work and was followed with routine ultrasounds.

The good news is my abruption healed at about 26 weeks and I had a healthy, full-term baby. Definitely follow up with your doctor.

 

[Kota]

There is a difference between a 'seperation' of the placenta and an 'abruption' of the placenta, the latter is quite dangerous, the former, not so much. if the blood has pooled underneath the placenta against the uterine wall, then chances are what will happen is as the placenta/baby grows and the placenta moves up along the uterine wall the clot will get closer to the edge and eventually may fall loose and you could experience some blood loss/clotting loss, but your baby would be absolutely fine. It's def worth getting followed up on, but not something you need to automatically stress yourself about right now.
An abruption on the other hand can be quite dangerous and would mean the blood flow and oxygen supply to baby would be limited.

Either way, you need to follow up so you know what to do next.

 

[BunnyN]

I saw the doctor yesterday, he said that it should heal without a problem but has indeed put me on bed rest.

I had this and was put on bed rest. I was allowed to get up for the bathroom and some small tasks (getting myself a drink) but I was not allowed to do any lifting and had to limit car travel. I was definitely taken off work and was followed with routine ultrasounds.

The good news is my abruption healed at about 26 weeks and I had a healthy, full-term baby. Definitely follow up with your doctor.

I'm glad you healed, how long did it take? How long were you on bedrest?

There is a difference between a 'seperation' of the placenta and an 'abruption' of the placenta, the latter is quite dangerous, the former, not so much. if the blood has pooled underneath the placenta against the uterine wall, then chances are what will happen is as the placenta/baby grows and the placenta moves up along the uterine wall the clot will get closer to the edge and eventually may fall loose and you could experience some blood loss/clotting loss, but your baby would be absolutely fine. It's def worth getting followed up on, but not something you need to automatically stress yourself about right now.
An abruption on the other hand can be quite dangerous and would mean the blood flow and oxygen supply to baby would be limited.

Either way, you need to follow up so you know what to do next.

From what I understood the definition of an abruption is a separation of the placenta, although sometimes it's only called that after 20 weeks. A partial abruption can heal without problems but if it is severe or complete the baby can't get oxygen as you say. I thought what I have could be called a 1st trimester partial placental abruption but my knowledge is limited so I am eager to be corrected if you have more information. The good news is that whatever you call it because it is small and in the first tri the placenta should fix itself as you describe. I asked the doctor if the blood would come out and he said my body will just reabsorb it, but I was still wondering if I might loose a clot if the placenta moves away from the area first. You can see in the ultrasound pic that it is near the edge of the placenta where it is thin.

 

[Kota]

Yeah, I guess they are similar things, but a seperation doesn't have to be dangerous if that makes sense, it can just occur due to a placenta abnormality and be fine the whole way through, the only way it would be known about it other then scans is when the placenta is delivered, there would be a huge pool of clotted blood on the maternal side which wouldn't be there in a 'non seperated' placenta.

and I would think that yes, it will be a matter of what comes first, the body reabsorbing the blood or the placenta moving up as the baby/uterus grows. if the placenta moves up and frees it, you're likely to lose a clot of blood, sometimes then known as a sub-chronic heamatoma. These are SCARY, because it's a huge amount of bright red blood suddenly. . but the majority of time, are completely harmless to bub and as long as not accompanied with cramping/pain just need to be checked out, and then take it easy. Hopefully your body will just reabsorb the blood and the placenta will reattach itself to the uterine wall with no other issues.

 

[embo216]

I had this at a private 10 week scan with my son, it had all resolved itself by the 12 week NHS one though. x

 

[BunnyN]

The doctor didn't book me for any extra scans, he said it would be pointless because the separation would probably still be there so the earliest I can have my next scan is in 6 weeks. We are considering a private scan in a couple of weeks though, just for peace of mind, at least I can hopefully see it has not gotten worse, and if it has I can take extra precautions. The fat that yours had gone in 2 weeks embo216 makes me even more keen on this. I know there is a big chance things are still the same so I won't get my hopes up but if it was gone or better it would be a weight off the mind.

 

[elohcin]

With a partial separation this early on, vitamin E can help firmly attach it to the wall. You can take it throughout the pregnancy, but stop in your third trimester, as it works SO well that it can contribute to retained placenta if it is continued for that long.

I had a very similar situation with my son at my 13 week ultrasound, and I was given no restrictions but I was careful and stayed on top of my supplements. Didn't have another scan until 33 weeks but everything was absolutely perfect then.

 

[Starry Night]

I had blood pooling under my placenta as well but the doctor gave me good odds because the blood was moving out and away from the placenta so the risk of more separating was minimal.

I also had a SCH (possible cause of separation) so I was on bed rest from the time of my bfp until about 26 weeks.

 

[BunnyN]

Starry Night- wow, bed rest until 26 weeks, you must have been going crazy!! I have concerns about being on bed rest for too long because it is bad for my asthma and bp but just concentrating on the next week or two for now.

I'm glad to say that in my case the separation and blood clot is also near the edge of the placenta where it is thin so it is effecting a very small part of the placenta proportionally. I think basically the only concern is if it were to get worse. The doctor kept saying that it was nothing to worry about, but he said it a few too many times to be convincing. The fact that he has told me I have to rest completely shows that he has some concerns but I am feeling positive about it now. I asked him questions about what you can see on the ultrasound pic which helped me to understand for myself what is going on and that the damage to the placenta is minimal, the experiences of others has helped me too.

 

[kellie_momof3]

I have had a partial abruption at 19+5 weeks, I was hospitalized for 4 days, until bleeding subsided. I am now at 21+3, I am still having bleeding (a light period ) I lost huge clots a couple days ago, I go for another ultrasound next week to make sure baby is growing and getting what he needs from placenta!! It is a long road and I will be off work till delivery, praying it doesn't happen again and baby will be healthy!!!

 

[Rainbow1021]

Hey

I had the exact same thing happen to me. I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks 3 days. The tech said that my placenta was slightly detached which had caused some bleeding and a hematoma (clot). I also had a cyst on my right ovary. Of course every little cramping I had or pain I would freak out. My dr did not put me on bed rest but I was not to lift anything at all as well as no bending whatsoever. He said that it was very common .I had my 12 week ultrasound a few days ago and my placenta was fine...I had no blood clot and no cyst. Try and relax ...**I know easier said then done** Everything will turn out just fine.

 

[armymama2012]

Hi.
I dont have all the details from my OB yet on my situation but I will tell you what I understand. First, a bit of my history of this pregnancy: 4 weeks ago I had cramping which followed by an hour of brown blood, which was hen followed by 3 hours of red blood with moderate cramping. Only 3-4 tiny clots lost. At my dating scan at 14 weeks they said I had a large patch of blood behind the placenta and that it was bigger than they were expecting. Baby was alive and moving which surprised the doctors. I will learn more on Thursday. Hope i dont have to go on bedrest because I have a 3 year old daughter and a 20 month old son who need my help with things and I am home with them all day on Mondays and Wednesdays but obviously we will do whatever is needed to make sure baby stays healthy.

 

[BunnyN]

Different doctors will advise different things as regard to bedrest. Some say it doesnt make a difference, others say its really important and some say you might as well because it cant hurt. It seems like it might be wise to at least limmit bending and lifting. I know thats so hard with a toddler though!

To update my story: after our 13 week scan showing blood behind the placenta I didnt go on total bedrest as I spent a lot of time sitting up at the computer etc too but I did very little and the doctor advised against climbing stairs, doing housework, bending or lifting. We did a private scan at 16 weeks which showed the patches of blood were much smaller and I started doing more but was still careful about bending and lifting. At 18 weeks they had gone and I went back to normal activity. I didnt have any more problems for the rest of the pregnancy. Our little girl was born healthy. She is now 21 months and we also have a 5 week old boy! There were no problems with the placenta this time.

 

[armymama2012]

Did they allow you to go all the way to full-term? I have read that even with minor separation they usually dont allow you to go past 36 weeks.

 

[BunnyN]

No one mentioned anything about not going to term to me. I think a lot depends on when it happens. If it happens early on once it has healed the risks are pretty small because after about 16 weeks the placenta grows so much that even a big seperation at that point is pretty insignificant once the placenta has grown. Until it heals there is a risk for the baby but not a huge risk for the mum. A seperation in the placenta later on is more serious and can be risky for the mum too because of the posibility of sudden heavy bleeding.

Personally I would be sceptical about the benefits of not going to term for a minor seperation because early induction or CS hold risks too . I'd be worried that the stonger contractions of an induction would actually increase the risks of placental abruption during labour? I'd want to be convinced it was the best option, not just based on some vague statistics or personal opinion of the doctor. But if the seperation is serious I can see that going straight to an early CS can be the best option.

 

[armymama2012]

Yeah, I see your point. I guess mine would have a pretty good chance of healing during the second trimester. I'll see what my doctor says on Thursday. On my ultrasound pictures it looks like there was a separation of about 3/4 of an inch. I dont know if that's what the actual dimensions are inside of me but that's the size of it in my pictures.

 

[armymama2012]

Well my partial placental abruption was caused by a subchoronic hemorrhage of about 6 cm. Doctor said no strenuous exercise or lifting. And sex is limited to 2x a week. Just have to hope that my 20 week ultrasound on the 25th of March will show that it healed. If not, I may be put on bedrest for a few weeks.