| Christy's Story | |
| due date:
10/4/01 (born 10/12/01) I want to share my story because I came to this website for comfort when I was diagnosed with PP. I was diagnosed with Marginal PP at 16 weeks during the course of a normal ultrasound. My doctor was not very concerned. He told me that up to 20% of pregnant women have marginal previa during the early stages of their pregnancy and it generally resolves itself before delivery. The chances of going full term with it were less than 1%. They were going to do follow up ultrasounds every 1-2 months just to keep an eye on it. At 27 weeks, I woke up one morning to find a lot of blood. I was out of town at the time and scared to death. I went to the emergency room and when I told them I had been diagnosed with marginal PP, they weren't too concerned. They did another ultrasound, confirmed the PP diagnosis and told me to head home (2-3 hour drive) and see my regular OBGYN. I saw my regular OBGYN the next day and she thought the PP looked complete (not marginal). I was very upset. They put me on bedrest, gave me steroid shots (two shots 24 hours apart), and was told to prepare for an early delivery and c-section. Since they had thought my PP was marginal before and now it looked complete (it isn't supposed to get worse), they wanted me to see a Maternal/Fetal Specialist. The Specialist did another ultrasound and concluded that the placenta was covering the opening, but hadn't attached on the other side, so he called it partial. He kept me on bedrest for 6 weeks. After that time, they did a recheck and the placenta had moved! I was able to resume a normal lifestyle (as normal as you get at 33 weeks pregnant) and went on to deliver the baby a week PAST my due date! All that praying that the baby wouldn't be early, and I forgot to ask that the baby not be late! :) Seriously, I know not everyone has such a positive outcome, but some people do and I want you to know those stories too. I had a friend who had the exact same problem as I did. She was on bedrest for complete PP from 28 to 34 weeks, and then it resolved itself and she went on to have a normal pregnancy and delivery. Keep praying and take care of yourself! |
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| Jennifer's Story | |
| due date: 5/2/03 At our 20 week ultrasound the technician gave us nothing but good news. Then, three days later I was at my Dr.'s appointment and the midwife who saw me that day takes one look at the sonogram results and says, "Sorry Luv, you have complete placenta previa, no fun!" So she tells me no more sex for the rest of the pregnancy, that they would schedule a c-section about three weeks before my due date and if I should start bleeding to call them immediately and come straight to the hospital. That was about it. I was stunned and didn't know what to do so I got on line and read up on what the heck placenta previa was. I felt so unequipped to explain this to my wonderful lover of a husband so I printed out some medical explanations I found and we sat down together when he got home and went over them. Then I asked around (fortunately there is a wonderful list serve for parents in our community and many people responded to my email inquiry). We got a new doctor recommended at a superior hospital with a great neo-natal unit and we scheduled an appointment. The new practice was wonderfully supportive, totally on the ball, got us complete forms to be pre-registered in the new hospital and even sent word to my insurance company who (unknown to me) has a 24hr hotline for pregnant women to ask registered nurses questions. I didn't have any bleeding and after the first week or two began to have some peace that we had our ducks in place and just had to trust that God would look out for us. We got cell phones for Christmas too. Today, we went to our new lab for a 26 week ultrasound and low and behold they could find no evidence of previa - not even partial or marginal. It was incredible and I'm still in a bit of shock because a few hoursago we were geared for one scenario and now we have to go to lamaze or other birthing classes because we'd been told it was such a long shot for us to have a natural birth. Anyway, I'm very thankful, many people prayed (little kids too), I've been seeing a chiropractor regularly and did some acupuncture for general good health but I can't explain why I've been spoiled rotten and can now enjoy my husband for a few more months till we are breastfeeding. It was quite a ride for us but I think we have grown in character from this experience. Please know that no matter what the medical establishment thinks, I am convinced they could very well be wrong. Blessings to all of you! Jennifer |
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| Keta's Story | |
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| Jen's Story | |
| Well it all began when I found out I was pregnant at the age of 20. I was happy and scared at the same time. After the shock wore off I was the happiest person ever. At 14 weeks I was feeling great and was now excited. I was at a family function and felt like a had wet my pants so I went up stairs to look. I was bleeding. This was and is every womens fear. My mother and my boyfriend rushed me to the hospital, where like most hospitals these days made me wait half an hour just to see the doctor. He came in and looked at me and he said everything was fine. The baby was okay and it was probably caused from stress. I went on with my life and was getting towards my 27 week mark when one night I was out shopping for of couse baby clothes. I came home went to the bathroom and to my surprise my underwear was covered in blood. Once again they rushed me to the hospital where they admitted me for the night. And once again they said that there was nothing wrong. So the next morning I went home and was told that I needed to basically have bed rest and low activity until I was due (which was now still 13 weeks away. My boyfriend and I were so excited and could not wait to be parents. The next Saturday (September 11, 1999) I was feeling a little weird. I felt so much pressure and had to pee every 10 minutes. We were watching a movie and I coughed and to my surprise thought I wet myself like before. I walked to the bathroom and realized my water had broke. I felt in that instant that my dream of having a family was crushed. We arrived at the hospital at 9:30pm and finally at 11:00 the doctor came to see me. Because the hospital I was at did not have a neo-natal unit I was put on a helicopter all by myself and was flown 2 hours from my home. I was all by myself not knowing what was happening. Finally my family arrived and that's when I found out that they couldn't stop my labour and I was going to have my little boy that night. As the night progress a lot of special doctors came to see me. That told me my worst fear, that my son had a fifty fifty chance at life. Because was so early his eyes were not completing open and his lungs were to premature. At 12:18am September 13, 1999 my son was born weighing only 1lbs. 3oz. He was the most perfect thing in the world. At this point I had to make a decision to keep him on life support or let him go peacefully, both were hard to decide. At 2:29 a.m. my son Michael Shaun passed and to this day I still wonder if I made the right choice. I will never forget the time we had together as I held him in my arms for the first and last time. For a long time after I could deal with life. Your not suppose to beary your children. At that point I choose to go on with my life and remember that it was God's way of telling us that this little boy came to early in life. I still have a very hard time dealing with the whole thing and now being 24 seeing my friends start their families. I will also never forget the love the nurses showed me. They were there for me every step of the way. It was the worst time and the best time in my life! | |
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| Andria's Story | |
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| Shelly's Story | |
| due date: June 06, 2003 In October of 2002, I had a period but it was not normal. SO I decided to take a pregnancy test. THe test came out positive so I scheduled a doctor appointment. Because I was on a drug called clomis to help me get pregnant, my doctor wanted to do an ultrasound as soon as possible to see if there was more then one baby in there. So on October 17, 2002 I had my first ultrasound. There was one baby in there. The doctor told me that everything looked great. And that he would see me once i hit 8 weeks. On the 28th was my doctor appointment. Things went as normal. The next day I started to have some spotting. I called my doctor in a panic and he told me not to stress over it as long as it was just spotting and there was no cramping. Then about a month later I started spotting again and did not stress over it. Until I went ot the bathroom and started gushing blood. I called the doctors office and they told me to go to the hospital right away. When I got to the hospital they told me that it sounded like I was having a miscarriage and there was nothing that they could do about it and I had to wait like everyone else to be seen. When they finally called me to be seen, they did an exam and said they were not sure why I was bleeding and to follow up with my doctor the following day. The next morning I called the doctors office and they told me to come in right away. When I got there they decided to do a vaginal ultrasound. The doctor that was on call (mine had the day off) told me that it look as if I had placenta previa. And put me on strict rules and had me go on bed rest for one week. No exercise, no sex, no lifting over 5 lbs, no walking for long period of times and no standing for long periods. She did not really inform me what Placenta previa was. So I decided to get on line and see what I could find out. I started to get really scared with everything that I was reading. SO for about a week I had more spotting. When I went back to the doctor on December 19, 2002 they did another ultrasound to see how things were going. They told me that the placenta was low and to stay with the rules that the doctor had put me on. I asked more questions to see what Placenta Previa really was. He answered all my questions and told me that they would do another ultrasound in 4 weeks to determine if placenta previa was what I had. So on January 16, 2003 they told me that I had complete placenta previa. They also told me that there are chances that it will move up. I had another ultraosund on February 4, 2003 with a different doctor that does nothing but ultrasounds. He said that the placenta was still real low. When I went to my doctor on February 14, 2003 he informed me that I would have to have a planned c-section. (which I already pretty much known that would be the case) I informed him that I was having some brownish discharge and he told me that it was normal with placenta previa. About a week later I started to have a lot of presure, so I called him to inform him and once again he said it is normal due to the placenta previa. He said that they are going to do another ultrasound once I hit 30 weeks into the pregnanct (which is on 3/28) I will make sure to send you all an update. Wish me the best. |
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| Jacqueline's Story | |
| due date: 09/21/1980 I realize my story was a long time ago, but I hope you will take the time to read it. Here goes. I was 17 years old, pregnant, my boyfriend and I were very much in love, or I thought. Well I got pregnant and into my 2 month, I started bleeding very bad, I was told I had placenta previa, I was in the 12 th grade looking forward to graduating in May, my baby was due September 21, 1980. The doctors told me I may not be able to walk during graduation with my other class mates. I was heartbroken, but anything for my child. I prayed everyday not only for myself but my unborn child. Sometime after that I stoped bleeding, the doctors released me to go back to school, but with strict rules. I graduated in May 1980, I wasn't bleeding at all, so I thought everything was fine. The end of May I started back bleeding, this time worst than the other times, I was admitted into the hospital until either the bleeding stopped or onset of labor. I stayed in the hospital 2 weeks, the bleeding stopped and I was released, 4 days later I went into premature labor, by the time I arrived at the hospital I was in strong labor. My labor was stopped with some kind in medicine that I was given through my IV, 24 hours later the doctors told me they had to discontinue the medicine, I had been on long enough, if my labor starts again I would have to deliver. The medicine was stopped within 10 minutes my labor started, my water broke, and I delivered a 1 lb. 12 oz. little girl. The doctors explained to me that she didn't have a good chance for survival, because she was so little and underdeveloped. She was born June 11, 1980, everyday I visited her at the hospital, the nurses had to force me to leave and go home to rest. She had 2 surgeries, a colostomy, and a shunt was placed in her head, she was being fed through a tube placed in her nose and stomach. The tubes cut off the blood flow to her feet, and 4 of her toes had fallen off. On July 27, a Sunday, I received a call from the hospital, her condition had worsened and they needed to see my asap, I dropped everthing and left. When I arrived at the hospital I knew something was wrong, she just laid there making a move here and there, the doctor told me she had a blood disease and she only had a little time left, I watched her monitor and I knew when her time had come, the doctor asked her father and I to wait in the other room, I knew what the doctor was going say before he even said. When he came out he told us our daughter was gone. The infection was too much for her. I think my heart stopped at the moment. And now it is 23 years later, and I still see it as if it was yesterday. I'm 40 years old now I have 2 boys 21 and 18, and a 8 month grand son. I think about my daughter (LaTrisha Michelle) every day, I remember her birthday, and the day of her death. This is the first time I have wrote any thing about this. I could only ask God why me. I'm sorry if this story is so long, but please bear with me. |
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| Ruth's Story | |
| due date: June 16, 2003 My son, James Patrick, was born at 36 week via scheduled c-section on May 22, 2003. We found out at 20 weeks that I had complete previa. Now, at the time, they said I had a 90% chance of it correcting itself, but the doctors never seemed very confident that would happen. Well, at my 28 week u/s, we found out that the placenta had not moved and we were scheduled for a c-section. When my husband and I first found out I might have PP, we did our research. Even though the drs said not to change my lifestyle too much, we decided not to take any chances and we put me on limited activity (including no sex) right away. I would like to believe that our research into the problem, combined with our resolve to do everything possible to protect both myself and my son, allowed us to get to 36 weeks gestation, which was really important because his lungs were fully mature at that time (a big plus for us). He was born on May 22, 2003 at 11:36am weighing 4lbs 11 oz and 18 inches long. Amazingly enough, I look at him every day and marvel at the fact that although he is small, everything is in working order and he is perfect. So, if you have PP, take care of yourself.....listen to your drs, do your own research and do what is best for all of you. Making it to 36 weeks was so important and made all the difference to us. My son came home with me from the hospital, which was a dream come true. |
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| Jill's Story | |
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