I am NOT a mom, I am a survivor. But, I did not survive uneffected. I was told that I cried constantly for my first year. I could only eat bananas and soy milk. I was sickly and started school ayear after all of my friends. I was promoted mid terms to catch up to my age group. The worst possible thing that could have happened. I never was able to catch up. If it had not been for the policy of social promotion, I would not have graduated with my friends. I did not catch up educationally until I was 30. I did graduate college with honors. 

My social skills were minimal during my public and high scool years. I was stupid,fat and socially rejected.

I was always sick. Multiple ear and throat infections kept me out of public school many days. I was so under weight that I was mistaken for a concentration camp survivor. When I had my tonsils out I became obese. A life long curse.

Why am I telling you about this? Because, in my efforts to understand myself I was unable to find any studies of PP survivors. No studies to see if there were any special needs to be taken care of so the child could grow up into a mature and happy adult.

Even at this late date in my life I would be interested in having such information. Anybody out there able to help me?

ED

Thanks any suggestions will help. My doctor at this point is not really concerned but I trust him he is a specialist. I have put myself on rest. I go again for another ultrasound next month.

Thanks Robin

due date: July 31 2000 

 

I was diagnosed with complete previa at 20 weeks, I am now 25 weeks. I'm scared out of my mind. I have a-lot of pressure and pain in pelvic area,is this due to placenta previa? I've had spotting and dr. says there is only a 20% chance of it moving,i should feel hopefull but I was hoping that it would have a bigger chance of moving up. I'm waiting for the big bleed, I look everytime I go to the bathroom. I'm scared and cry a lot, please anybody with this or have had it in the past e-mail me. This site has been very helpful. The good thing is I get ultra sounds every 4 weeks. Anybody e-mail me, I really hope everything turns out ok.

due date: was 08/24/00 

 

Well I got pregnant unplanned Nov. 14th and found out soon after on Dec 24th. I had a great first trimester. No sickness at all I really wasn't even that tired. But then one day I starting spotting. I was sent back and forth to parinatal doctors and my own obgyn. They did not know what to tell me I starting having ultrasounds every week the bleeding was pretty bad. My placenta was fine until my 17th week. I went in for my weekly ultrasound and they diagnosed me with partial placenta previa. Told me to go about my daily buisness that this was no problem it happened to women everyday. Well four days later I woke up and there was blood everywhere I was rushed to the hosp. But it was too late. March 18th I delivered a baby boy. I named him Dawson Lee and I guess that God had different plans for me.. Though I don't know just yet what they are but maybe one day I will. I am not going to try again anytime soon. But it's nice to know that there are other women who are going through this. Nobody in my family had ever heard of it. I felt kind of weak or fragile at first. But now I know its just an everyday thing and for what ever reason there are different plans for me.

due date: 09-13-00 

 

I was told when i was 20weeks along that i was a full PP.When i asked what it meant and what should i do,my dr just said no sex but other than that no restrictions.And since last week i have been cramping,and when i went back they told me that there is nothing wrong as long as i am not bleeding.Can anyone please give me a little more insight on this,i work full time and have 2 other children 6yrs and one 20mth. what should i watch for?What should i not be doing? Should I get another doc?Any info or advice you have would be great. THANK YOU ANGELA

story: Luke is now 5 months old and is doing ok, I had placenta previa 4, the worst position, and spent 1 week in hospital then 2 weeks at home over the xmas holidays and then after a bleed, I went back in for 6 weeks (which included new year). I managed to get to 39 weeks, and an elected section. The opperation was not very nice, they put me to sleep and I had to have morphine and 3 units of blood. I had had a Section with my first child and was awake, which if anyone has a choice is the best. 

Luke was only 6lb 6oz which sounds ok, but Sam, My first had been 10lbs a vast difference. 

Then my really troulble began Luke had problems, 2 hernias and a curved spine. eventually we have found out he has a chromosome problem (ring 21) I dont believe that the two things are connected 

As a family we are fine and I am meeting some lovely people as we seem to be living at the hospital. 

My time in hospital having Luke definitely opened my eyes and If I can help any one out there at all with my experiences please contact me, and If you are just about to spend a long time in hospital it does go faster than you think .

Joanne Richardson

********************

Update (9/1/00)

Luke is now 5 months old and is doing ok, I had placenta previa 4, the worst position, and spent 1 week in hospital then 2 weeks at home over the xmas holidays and then after a bleed, I went back in for 6 weeks (which included new year). I managed to get to 39 weeks, and an elected section. The operation was not very nice, they put me to sleep and I had to havemorphine and 3 units of blood. I had had a Section with my first child and was awake, which if anyone has a choice is the best. Luke was only 6lb 6oz which sounds ok, but Sam, my first had been 10lbs a vast difference. Then my really troulble began Luke had problems, 2 hernias and a curved spine. eventually we have found out he has a chromosome problem (ring 21) I don't believe that the two things are connected

As a family we are fine and I am meeting some lovely people as we seem to be living at the hospital. My time in hospital having Luke definatly opened my eyes and if I can help any one out there at all with my experiences please contact me, and if you are just about to spend a long time in hospital it does go faster than you think .

My story begins with a bleed at 16 wks rushing to the hospital fearing the 

worst....a miscarriage. My fiance rushed me to the hospital with our then 7 mth old son. The doc said it could be spontaneous abortion or just bleeding. They never took an ultrasoud because I wasn't 20 wks yet. So life goes on...no more bleeding. 

 

My next doctors appointment the doctor listened to the baby's heartbeat and 

affirmed that our baby was still doing well and scheduled us for and ultrasound in 4 wks. Four wks had past and were at our ultra sound my fiance and soon to be mother-in-law ( my mom attended my 1st son ) were taking turns being in the room. 

 

At the end of the ultrasound the attendant told me where the placenta was and the cervix, my mother-in-law asked the attendant if the placenta was supposed to be 

there and she said that we need to ask our doctor, and that she couldn't tell us 

what was going on. Panic set in and I kept asking if the baby was o.k. and the 

attendant kept assuring me that the baby was o.k. then she broke down and said that the placenta shouldn't be there and that I need to limit myself and not do any 

strenuous activity, and that I need to talk to my doctor as soon as I can. the next 

week we talked to a doc. (Not my regular doc.) and he didn't seem too concerned. He told me to restrain from having sex, douching, and heavy lifting. 

 

Our next doc appt. We saw my doc and he told me the same thing the other doc had told us, so I kept working and doing my normal routine. On May 23 I passed some clots and went the the hosp. I was having mild contractions for an hour, they then stopped and sent me home. The next day I passed another clot. My doc then told me he referred me to a bigger hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit just in case I deliver before 36 wks. because the hosp. we go to in our town was not equipped with a NICU. 

 

So a week later we go to this hosp.....3 hours away from home...where my Mother lives thank god...and have an extensive ultrasound confirming that I have marginal placenta previa. We then talked to the head of the Antenatal Diagnostic Center, and she consulted us on what were our plans. We all then agreed it would be in my unborn babys and my best interests if we stayed near the hosp. till I delivered our until my placenta moves up. So I moved into my moms with my son and my fiance went home to work. My appts were every week. My fiance came up on my next docs appt. 

 

On June 1st 2000 at 2:00 we made it to the hosp. I get out of our car and walk to the back by our trunk and GUSH....Gush...Gush. I thought my water broke, my fiance took one look at me and he turned white..told me to sit and ran into the hosp to get help. I finally look down at what used to be my gray shorts...now they were red. I knew something like this was bound to happen but it was still unexpected. I freaked out for a minute while people are running towards me asking me questions like ...oh my god are you o.k? and then someone that worked at the hosp. radioed in for some to come with a gerney to wheel me to L&D. Then I calmed down and started to tell everyone that I am 31 wks and I have marginal placenta previa. Someone there knew what that was. I then remember getting into a hosp. gerney and being wheeled through the hospital to L7D. We reached L&D and they started by plugging me with IV's in both hands then a steroid (beta-methazone) shot in my leg..while all this is going on they're probing to see if the baby was doing ok. Hooking me up to the stress monitor and contraction monitor. So far so good. Then they started me on Mag-Sulfate. I stopped bleeding started contracting...I'm asking for my fiance and he can't come back just in case they have to do a c-section. I knew he was going out of his mind. Then they wheeled me from the O.R. to a room and kept me there for 

3 1/2 days till I was off the Mag-Sulfate. Man that stuff is nasty. Then they kept 

me in bed in the Nursing Ward for 11 more days. I almost went out of my mind. 

 

Then on June 15th the doc said I was free to go back to my mom's. The orders are strict bedrest with bathroom privledges. Now it's June 26th and I'm still at my mom's without my son and fiance to help me through this, bored out of my mind. My fiance is going out of his mind as well...poor guy had to move us to another apartment, that we've been planning for for 3 mths, and take care of our son. I can honestly say that God is watching out for us though. We have so much support from our church and both of our families. We are so lucky...and I am so Lucky to have such a wonderful caring fiance to help me through this. I will keep you all posted on what's the next step. 

 

Thank You...April 

 

******************** 

Update (9/1/00) 

 

Well here's the conclusion to my story.... On the night of June 29th all was going well. Not too much of a stressful day. My fiance and son left that morning to go home. At 1:00 in the morning of the 30th (my fiance's b-day)I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep as my mom entered the room to check on me. All of a sudden I felt like I was gushing again, so I told my mom to check to see. My mom then said yes you are I'll call for an ambulance then the flood gates opened. I started to bleed like I've never bled before. By the time the ambulance got there I was starting to black out and was getting really hot. I seemed to take forever. I was going through the check list reminding my mom of the hospital bag and trying to get everything said just in case I did pass out. The crew got there and started to ask me questions and more questions and it seemed like the questions were errelevant to saving my life and my baby's life. Finally they got me on 

the ambulance and headed for the hospital. Now I don't remember much about the hospital but being wheeled into the ER talking to a doc then I was in the OR up at Labor and Delivery. My doc was there and started an ultrasound and then he started yelling at everyone. I couldn't make out what it was that he was yelling, then they poured watr on me and scrubed me with an iodine wash, then a mask came over my face and I saw some guy and then I was waking up in a 

recovery room and wasn't pregnant anymore. I saw my mom and she didn't look very happy, I then paniced...My Baby? He was fine at first they didn't think he was going to make it, but he was doing better. Thank God! The docs came in and kept looking at my blood pressure and other stats, and told me that I would have to be transfused two pints of blood. My dad had gone to my house to get my fiance to bring him to the hosp. and they were on their way down. When they did finally arrive my fiance went to see our son (Trevoe Riley) and came back crying...he was on a machine that breathed for him, had an IV in his head and both arms and had bruises all over him from blood draws. The little guy just looked really bad. I was trying to stay positive...why would god let us make it this far and give up...No Way was anything bad going to happen. Well our little boy was in the NICU for 2 wks and now is home on a Brady-cardia-Apnea monitor for his prematurity (he will out grow this). All is going well. I'm glad and fortunate for both of us to be alive. Please don't take this condition lightly. Thank You, April

I am an ex-pp mum, and new to the net!!! I wish I'd had access to this 10 

months ago. I live in the U.K. with my husband, and three boys. I began bleeding 11 weeks into my third pregnancy, and was told that it was 'nothing to worry' about. At 16 weeks I bled for several days at a time, and spent about 4 weeks on & off in hospital. The Doctor mention during one of my scans that she thought I might have PP, but wasn't 100% sure and that the 20 week scan would confirm it properly. We went for the 20 week scan, and pp grade 4 was diagnosed. I began to bleed heavily during the scan and was admitted again. 

(Little did I know that this was to become my home for the forseeable future!!!) 

At 24 weeks I was transfered to another hospital with a NICU, as I had started 

having cramping pains and tightening's. I was told that I would have to have a C-section in order to deliver the baby, as the way into the world was blocked by the placenta. I was told the bleeding was 'nothing to worry about' as it was me bleeding and therefore not harming my baby!!! That they would leave baby where he was until, they could not get blood back into me as fast as I was loosing it. 

 

On the eve of my 25th week, I woke at 3am to find myself covered, and was 

transferred down to the delivery suite, I thought at that point that my waters had 

gone as well as the bleeding, but was told that it wasn't possible. I was also experiencing a lot of pain, but was told that I wasn't in labour. So I slept, at 2.20pm my son, Michael, was born into a bed-pan, much to the shock 

of myself and those in the room with me. He weighed in at 1Ib 15oz, the last 7 months have been a real rollercoaster of emotions, not only having to deal with the ordeal of being the parents of a prem baby who spent a large part of time clinging to life, but having to deal with the entrance that he made into the world. 

However Michael is now 7 months old, and weighs in at a whopping 12Ib 6oz, and seems to be doing ok. 

 

The Doctors and every other medical person I've spoken to has been unable to 

explain how I delivered vaginally, which means that I feel lost, I do not know of 

anyone else who has had a pp, so have no-one that I can compare notes with!!!! Has any one else out there had a similar experience?? I'd like to hear from you if you have. 

 

With best wishes 

Debby

I am not a Placenta Previa mother but a Vasa Previa mother. This means that part of the umbilical cord was unprotectedly running over the membranes. I hope it's ok to share my story.Last year, in June, Robert and I decided to let nature rule. We have always wanted children and we thought that the time was right now. We both felt like we were ready, and able to give our child a bright future, surrounded with our love. And of course, we had to share our enthusiasm with everyone. My parents reacted carefully: it might not work out.

We were so happy when we did the pregnancy test in November after we came back from our holiday to Thailand. It was 3.30 in the morning and we woke up because of the jetlag. At 4.00 I called my parents to tell them the happy news. And again they reacted carefully: it could go wrong; Don't get too enthusiastic before the critical first three months are over. 

 

But everything went great, we had a wonderful pregnancy. ! I did not get morning sickness, the checkups by the midwife were terrific (blood pressure, blood- and urine samples, heartbeat of the baby). Because we were not certain of the due date, we had an ultrasound in December. We were thrilled when we found out that I was one more month pregnant than we thought. Everyone said I radiated from happiness and I felt great! The whole pregnancy through I had no complaints at all. Of course I slept less comfortable at the end and walked less flexible but that is normal. 

 

When I got my pregnancy leave, four weeks before the due date I had enough energy left to paint the house (inside) and do a lot of little jobs around the house which had to be done before the baby came. I travelled throughout our country to visit my girlfriends and sister-in-law who had just delivered their babies. On Wednesday May 23 I drove all the way to the south of the Netherlands (2,5 hour drive) to visit my parents. I went shopping with my mum to buy the last baby stuff (clothes, a photo album), and we couldn't stop talking about the baby. The next day we would drive back to Kwintsheul (near The Hague) and she would help me clean our house and bring the baby cradle which she and my dad had made themselves. The whole family was very much involved in my pregnancy. They were actually a little bit pregnant themselves. It would be the first grandchild for my parents and the second one for Robert's father, who had just welcomed his first grandchild 4 weeks ago. We had a beautiful picture in our head of how our child would grow up together with little Julian, the son of Robert';s brother, and how they would play together. But that night, from Wednesday to Thursday, my water broke, at my parents' house. I went to the bathroom at 3.30 in the morning and noticed that I could not control my urine, so I thought. Back in bed I felt fluid flowing down my legs and then I realised that it could be amniotic fluid. My mother and I couldn't sleep anymore and at 6.00 we got up and drove back to Kwintsheul. I phoned Robert out of bed. We were so excited! It had started, we would soon be mum and dad. The midwife came by when we were back in Kwintsheul and she confirmed it to be amniotic fluid. It was clear as water with little dark hair in it: baby hair of our long expected child! 

 

When the contractions would not have been started the next morning I would have to go to the hospital where they would artificially provoke the contractions, because otherwise there would be a big chance of infection. That day we were in a party mood. We knew for sure that we would become mum and dad that day or the day afterwards. We had asked my mum if se would like to be there, at the delivery and she was thrilled. Robert went to work that day to finish up the current things and to tell everyone the good news. When the contractions would start I would call him and he would come straight home. 

 

I went to the greenery to buy a fresh pine apple which I ate, because there appears to be something in the heart of the pine apple to start the contractions, so I read. But the contractions did not come that day, or the night that followed. Too bad, because we would have loved to deliver our baby at home. But going to the hospital was extra save, we would have nothing to worry about, there would be a whole team of specialists, so nothing could go wrong. 

 

On Friday morning, May 26, we arrived at the hospital at 8.30. I had to lie down in the middle bed in the middle of a row of three beds and got two belly ties to 

measure the contractions and the heart of the baby. The doctor came to introduce herself. It was a young enthusiastic doctor (named Annemarie) who reassured us: getting into labour in a hospital is great fun! 

 

The heartbeat of our baby was an example of how it should be. When the doctor touched me inside, I appeared to have an opening of 3 cm which was great. They could start with the infuse with oxytocine immediately.Before going into the delivery room I had to go to the bathroom and I noticed a 

little bit blood on the toilet paper. But that was normal after the touching, they 

told me. 

 

The delivery room was very cosy, with a view on the forest. We put on a nice CD to listen to.Then Annemarie came by to insert a pressure meter to measure the intensity of the contractions, and an electrode which they would screw on the babies head to measure the heartbeat of the baby. When she inserted the pressure meter though, a enormous amount of blood came out of me. I was terrifies and tears started to roll from my eyes when I saw the look on Annemarie's face. Milani, now!, I heard her shouting. After a telephone call from the assistant, doctor Milani came in, the gynaecologist. Annemarie still had her arm in me, she didn't dare to pull it out. Solution?, she asked. No, the blood is too thick for 

that, doctor Milani replied. When Annemarie pulled her arm out of me a 

second stream of blood came out. The gynaecologist still put the electrode on our baby's head and we saw the heartbeat decrease. For one moment it looked like it stabilised itself but then rapidly decreased. 

 

I was rushed to the Operation Room were they have delivered Julia with a C-section. This was around 15 minutes after the blood came out for the first time. Our baby came out of my uterus at 10.01 without a heart-beat.. The paediatrician took over and started to clear her longs and heart massage and in the meantime they tried to bring replacing blood into the blood circulation but they failed. After 17 minutes of reanimation they gave up on her.Robert was there, during the reanimation and for ten long minutes he still had hope. The doctors were working on her, it should be all right. He got our Julia in his arms while I was waking up from the anaesthesia. I saw people in green coats all over me who drove me along the corridor to the delivery room. They all looked very sad. How is my baby?, I asked, but no one answered. I asked it again and again. The doctor will be here any minute, one of them replied. And then I knew. I started crying and suddenly I heard Robert crying heart-rending. No!!!, I shouted and Robert put the baby in my arms. It's a girl,, I heard someone say. She was so beautiful! This wonderful little creature, our Julia. Why? How is this possible? Later it appeared to be Vasa Previa and velamentous insertion of the umbilical cord. This was diagnosed during the operation. While inserting the pressure meter they probably have ruptured a vessel which belonged to Julia and which made all of her blood flow away. A little baby has only 300 ml of blood, in contradiction with an adult who has 5 litre. She was perfectly healthy, a beautiful girl of 3625 grams (is a little more than 7 pounds) and 50 cm. She had everything to cope with the world. But it was not meant to be. 

 

Our whole world collapsed, we had been looking forward to this baby girl so much, she was so welcome. Suddenly your hands are empty and my belly too, while everywhere around us perfectly healthy babies are being born. Why us, why our baby, she had everything going for her. Why did they have to use that stupid pressure meter while the ties around my belly also worked all right? Why didn't they do a check up before, than they would have performed a C-section immediately. 

 

Questions without an answer. 

 

The days which followed in the hospital we stayed together, the three of us. We 

could hold Julia with us for as long as we wanted, cuddle her and love her. That 

was wonderful. Tuesday evening the three of us went home and she slept in her own room. We have buried her on Thursday, Ascension Day. The farewell was beautiful, a very personal divine service by our opposite neighbour, the priest. We choose our own songs (Bright Eyes (Art Garfunkel), Lullaby (Billy Joel) and 2 Dutch songs), our neighbour (she is a florist) had made some beautiful bouquets and she got a beautiful place on the graveyard. Robert has put her in her grave himself. 

 

She will always be our first child, our Julia and we are her proud parents. We have beautiful pictures of her which we love to show to everyone. But life at home, after the hustle and stir of the funeral, is empty and meaningless. Everything brings up memories of her and the life with her as we had desired so much. The days are filled with tears, benumbedness, consternation and looking for distraction. 

 

It will still take a longtime for us to deal with this enormous loss. Life goes on 

around us, while for us, the world seems to stand still, we realise that. And we 

also know that the tough edges of ur sorrow will wear off. And that life will have its new beautiful moments where we can get our strength from, although it is hard to imagine right now. It just takes time. 

 

All our feelings of unbelief, anger, inability we have right now, we want to do 

something with it. We want to prevent that others have to lose their babies the 

same way that we did. Internet taught me that Vasa Previa is a symptom that appears in 1:3000-5000 pregnancies. I would say that is a whole lot! The mortality rate is 50-90%. With a Doppler Ultrasound it can be made visible in advance and a C-section can be made. Besides this we are furious about the pressure meter which was inserted and which seems to have ruptured the vessel of our little girl. In the hospital we went to they seem to use two kinds of pressure meters, one is very thin and flexible while the other one, the one they used, was very stiff, surly and big In the delivery room where I was being brought to they used instruments which could only work with the stiff meter. The doctor who has inserted it (Annemarie) told us afterwards that 

she will never be using that kind of meter again. Too late for us though. 

 

From others we hear that their hospital did not use any inserting material at all. 

They use the belly ties all through the delivery. When they would have used those, Julia would probably have lived. Especially because the 50% of the babies that die because of Vasa Previa, mostly die during the rupture of the membranes and they were already broken in our case. Nature did his job right, it should have gone well. 

 

We feel that the medical science has failed in 2 points. We had 2 chances of 

bringing our baby healthy to the world. On the one side by investigating us before inserting dangerous instruments and on the other side by using the other kind of pressure meter. We do realise that it will not bring our angel back but we cannot put it aside of us. 

 

Later Robert believes he remembers that the obstetrician who has performed the 

Ultrasound in the beginning of our pregnancy told us that the umbilical cord was not in the middle of the placenta, but that was no problem according to her. They should have investigated us further then already. 

 

We recently found out about an academical thesis named: The policy of premature broken membranes ? term by P. Ottervanger. She contradicts the words of the midwife and the hospital, namely that it is preferable to wait for the contractions for 48-72 hours and that the chances of infections are neglectible. When we should have let nature do his way, chances are that Julia would have lived now. Besides this Ottervanger wrote about Prostaglandin as preferable way to provoke the contractions, above oxytocine which involved inserting the pressure meter. Why didn't they use that? Robert has called the hospital and confronted them with this and Annemarie couldn't give him an immediate answer. She did not even know why they used that specific policy. Wednesday, June 28 we have an appointment at the hospital and hopefully she will come up with some answers. 

 

Love Marlou, mother of Julia (*26-5-2000*)