Previous post partum haemorrhage

[kittiecat]

Sooo prob nuts thinking about this as not even pregnant yet but just wanted to know of anyone's experiences of natural birth after a previous post partum haemorrhage. With my son's birth I lost 1.5 litres of blood straight after and needed a blood transfusion. The whole thing was especially traumatic for my husband to watch. I'd worked in hospitals before and had every faith in the doctors whereas my husband just saw all the blood and me shaking and he thought he was going to lose me. So when we talked about having another child he has asked me whether I'd consider asking for an elective c section as he doesn't want me to go through that again.

So to any of you who've had more children after a pph, what were your experiences? Was it better second time around? Did it happen again? Or did you opt for a c section. Really appreciate any responses. Thanks!

 

[kittykatasa]

Hi kinda simular i had a pph and lost 1600 but didn't end up needing a transfusion jus barely missed it. I don't know if it down to me missing the iron tablets i was on as I did miss alot out. The next 2 births were normal loss but i did religiously take the iron tablets without fail as asked for them from the start instead of 20 weeks normally. So weather that made a difference i don't know but think ir did. I personally wouldnt have a section because of it. But its your personal choice.

 

[kittiecat]

Hi kinda simular i had a pph and lost 1600 but didn't end up needing a transfusion jus barely missed it. I don't know if it down to me missing the iron tablets i was on as I did miss alot out. The next 2 births were normal loss but i did religiously take the iron tablets without fail as asked for them from the start instead of 20 weeks normally. So weather that made a difference i don't know but think ir did. I personally wouldnt have a section because of it. But its your personal choice.

Thanks! I personally don’t want a section. My sons birth wasn’t great and had to stay in hospital 3 days but from what I understand the recovery from a section isn’t a walk in the park either! I never fully understood why mine happened either. I’d ended up with an epidural after a long induction and then I needed the syntocin drip cause everything slowed down so I wonder if that played a part which is what the OB said but then a midwife said it was due to my 2nd degree tear so I don’t really know what to think!

 

[superbecks]

Hi kinda simular i had a pph and lost 1600 but didn't end up needing a transfusion jus barely missed it. I don't know if it down to me missing the iron tablets i was on as I did miss alot out. The next 2 births were normal loss but i did religiously take the iron tablets without fail as asked for them from the start instead of 20 weeks normally. So weather that made a difference i don't know but think ir did. I personally wouldnt have a section because of it. But its your personal choice.

Thanks! I personally don’t want a section. My sons birth wasn’t great and had to stay in hospital 3 days but from what I understand the recovery from a section isn’t a walk in the park either! I never fully understood why mine happened either. I’d ended up with an epidural after a long induction and then I needed the syntocin drip cause everything slowed down so I wonder if that played a part which is what the OB said but then a midwife said it was due to my 2nd degree tear so I don’t really know what to think

There is still the risk of a PPH with a section. Lots of women who have a PPH first time don't have one the second time. I had one with my first daughter and minimal blood loss second time round.

 

[xarlenex]

When the time comes and you fall pregnant again discuss with your midwife your previous pregnancy and labour, if all other blood tests etc were normal then it is likely due to the induction. Labor induction comes with a much higher associated risk of PPH than spontaneous labour, so second time around maybe you could try allowing the pregnancy an extra few days for your body to go into labour itself? I've always been very anti induction and my previous pregnancy made it to 41+3, after which point I would have gone into hospital daily for some monitoring, if there were ever signs of deterioration in my placenta then I would have taken the induction obviously. I'm currently 39+2 and will do the same again if need be, I personally consider the risks of going a few extra days over with monitor much less than the risks of induction. Obviously there are situations when an induction is the best option for mum and baby for many reasons, but I feel some of our midwives and doctors are so quick to jump to it and not always fully explain the risks.

 

[xarlenex]

Here's a good article explaining the connection

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/how-inductions-increase-the-risk-of-haemorrhage/