Placenta Previa Causes, Signs, Symptoms, Treatment

At my 13 week scan I was told I had placenta previa by the ultrasound tech, but not to worry as in 9 out of 10 cases it moves. The next week (now 14 weeks) I had an appointment with my regular OB who performed another ultrasound but she said in her honest opinion that the placenta seems to be centered on the cervix and it's more likely 95% chance it won't move. She went on to say that I need to prepare myself for having a c-section. My question is has anyone had a complete and centered on the cervix placenta but it's still moved to allow a vaginal birth?
I know getting baby here safely is the number 1 property but I'm just so devastated with the idea of a c-section.

Not an english speaker, apologies for any grammatical mistake in advance.
I was disgnosed with placenta previa grade 3, on 31 week and was told about the complications. Two days later, light bleeding started and I went to doctor. My ob/gyn send me home with strict instruction of being on complete bed rest. I wasnt allowed to move, travel or do any work.
At 34 weeks heavy bleeding started in the night and i went to my doctor but was referred to 'emergency'. There, they diagnosed and i was put on 24 hours observation.
i was told that if everything will be fine then they will wait for 2 more weeks for c section or if not then there will be emergency c section on the same day.
we had no other option but to listen to out doctors since they had better understanding of the situation. we were terrified..my husband was worried about my and our baby's health and everything was going fast..we didnt even had time to think.
next day, that told us that my baby and i are safe and will run tests again for 24 hours to see if they can wait or not. next day, they ran tests and found out that amniotic fluid is half and its best for us to undergo c section on same day. I was worried, we wanted to wait but we dont want to take a risk or chance. My doctor told us that there is less risk and more benifit if we go for c-section on same day. Each day comes with more risk.
After almost an hour of pondering we decided to go for same day c-section.
Some hours later, I m finally able to see my little baby boy. He is so small and spent a week in NICU.
We get back to home last Sunday and now the 'parenthood begins'

Hi everyone, I'm here becuase I have no place else to turn, I am 22 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. I was diagnosed with complete Placenta previa at 20 weeks and at 21 weeks was told by my Specialist I had about a 10 percent chance of it moving. I am SO scared, I have a 2 year old that I had to have at 37 weeks due to cholestasis but a vaginal birth, the idea of having a c section is terrifying as I can't imagine being awake. I also can't help but be so scared right now especially with the holidays thinking about how I hope this isn't my son's last Christmas with me as my fear of dying is overwhelming, stupid probably but I'm just not done being his mommy yet. Does anyone have any stories of their placenta never moving and needing a c section? Any comments would help and are appreciated I'm so scared of bleeding out and not making it to hospital in time or something going wrong during surgery. Thank you in advance

I had my first baby after spontaneous preterm labor. We still don't know why I went into labor and my doctor never tried to stop it so my son came at 34 weeks. We conceived our second when my son was 3 months while waiting on an appt for a new doctor so I could get birth control after the shit show that was my son's birth and the horrible experience with my doctor. We knew things would be a little more monitored and risky with this baby bc of not having a year gap between babies but at my anatomy scan they saw I had complete placenta previa. I am now considered definitely high risk and can't do pretty much anything but light housework until my 28 week ultrasound bc of the chance of me tearing the placenta. I just hit 23 weeks and my brain went "one more week till viability, 5 more weeks till my next scan, 11 more weeks till when my son came, and 14 more weeks till full term." I spend every day counting down in my head how much longer I have until certain things as if it helps my anxiety but it really doesn't. Baby didn't move at all from 11pm-1pm the next day and my brain immediately went "the baby is dead and it's all your fault". My husband tries to understand but he doesn't get why I'm so nervous about everything or paranoid about babies movements.

This story is very long with probably too many details but I wanted to make sure I told my story about dealing with placenta previa, as I’ve not seen a story about anyone dealing with it thru delivery.
Some of this story gets a bit gory, proceed with caution.
A little background: My due date for this pregnancy was 1/29/2018. I was found to have GD at 13 weeks, then a complete placenta previa at 20 weeks, during our gender scan. My OB office is the type where they have five doctors who rotate between there and the hospital and two PCAs who are at the office 100% of the time; you generally rotate through all of them in an effort to know or at least have met the doctor who delivers your baby.
When I found out I had placenta previa, I didn’t know what it was, the doctor I met with who told me about it was fairly vague, just told me that, starting at that point I would be on pelvic rest and that, when I was to come back in 4 weeks for another ultrasound, we’d check to see if it had moved. He explained that previas, when detected early like this often move out of the way, but if it hadn’t moved by 34 weeks, I’d schedule a c-section because a natural birth wouldn’t be possible. He also mentioned that if I were to start bleeding or spotting, to head to the hospital. I had to get an ultrasound at 24 weeks because my baby didn’t cooperate during the gender scan and they weren’t able to see his face and were only able to see 3 of the 4 heart chambers.
Fast forward; 24-week scan went great, still have the complete previa. The PCA gave me the same message if I were to start bleeding, go to the hospital. Due to the GD, I was scheduled for extra ultrasounds toward the end of my pregnancy these would also allow us to keep an eye on the previa, therefore I received another ultrasound at 28 and then 30 weeks. The PCA I saw after my 30 week US walked in the door and told me that we were going to go ahead and schedule my c-section, plain as that! We’ll get it on the books early and if my placenta decided to cooperate, no big deal, we’ll cancel it and I can go about having a natural birth. And, oh yeah, if I’m to start bleeding, go to the hospital. For timeline sake, this took place the week of American Thanksgiving or the week of November 20th.
The message of, if you start bleeding, go to the hospital, seemed to be everyone’s’ version of goodbye to me. Of course, I had already read up a bit about placenta previa on the internet, I thought I knew what it was, after all, it’s the placenta sitting at the bottom of my uterus blocking the exit route for baby. If I were to bleed, how bad would it really be? Probably some spotting, maybe a bit like a period, no big deal!
I woke up to pee the morning of December 17 at 33 weeks, 6 days, around 6:30, got back in bed and felt that feeling you get when you get a surge of mucus down below, similar to the feeling of starting your period. I should note that I sleep naked, during pregnancy, I would put a shirt between my legs because sleeping on my side at 1,000 degrees would make me sweat and be very uncomfortable in my nether region, so having a shirt there would prevent this extreme sweaty uncomfortableness. Anyway, I was annoyed that I just gooed mucus all over, I get back out of bed, walk the 3 steps to my bathroom, get to the toilet, sit down, wipe, look at the toilet paper and it’s dark-colored – shit. (I have a night light in the bathroom, therefore I don’t turn on lights and blind myself, hence it being dark colored and not red). I walk over to my bed wake my husband and say to him, “I’m bleeding”, to which his ultra groggy response was, “from where?”, unsure of exactly how to respond to this, I simply point at my crotch and reply, “uhhhh, there….?” I’m the type of person who is annoyingly overly calm about EVERYTHING in life, I will note this here. My husband flies out of bed, starts getting dressed as I thumb through my clothes, trying to find a pair of old lady panties so I can wear a maxi-pad to the hospital. He’s basically dressed before I have my underwear on. I tell him to go feed the dogs while I finish getting dressed, he’s annoyed by this but complies. Soon enough we’re getting in the car and headed to the hospital. Because of this sub, I knew to call my OBs 24hr line and let them know that I was headed to L&D, if it weren’t for you fine folks, I would have never known and I would have just shown up unannounced and that wouldn’t have been great.
In the 15 minute drive from my house to the hospital, I’d just about filled a regular maxi-pad with blood.
We get to L&D Triage, the nurse has me strip and put on a gown, they hook up my belly to the monitors to watch the baby, hook me up to the blood pressure machine and monitor that, take all my info, everything is very calm and methodical. The doctor shows up, she gloves up, puts her hand up there to find several blood clots and notes that I’m slightly dilated, maybe about 1cm. She swabbed me to see if there was any amniotic fluid present, there wasn’t. She then instructs the nurses to, not only hook me up to the normal IV but also put an IV lock in my other hand, in case I’ll need blood later, due to the amount of blood I’ve already lost. This made me realize how serious of a situation I was in. They also took 6 vials of blood for various tests. The doctor then orders steroids to make the baby finish his lungs faster. At this point, I know I’m not going home. We move from triage to L&D to get ultrasounds and some other testing. The baby passed every test with flying colors. After the US and other testing was complete, we moved from L&D to antepartum, things have really died down at this point and everyone starts to realize it’s not urgent. By 5 pm I’d stopped bleeding. I spent 3 days in the hospital. The doctor who let me go home was the same doctor scheduled to do my c-section on Jan 4, I also had a pre-op appt with him the Friday after leaving the hospital (Dec. 22). While giving me my discharge instructions, he told me, “You will bleed again. Just come back”, and that I’m not on bed rest, just to take it easy and don’t strain myself. At our appt with him on the 22nd, he explained why I bled, basically the placenta grows into the lining of the uterus, it roots itself in, kind of like grass does in a lawn, as the uterus starts to get ready to push a baby out, it moves, I would start to dilate, and with my placenta being on the bottom the dilation and moving causes blood vessels to rupture as they're torn off of the uteran wall, causing my bleed. Then, of course, tells me that if I start to bleed again, return to the hospital.
It’s now December 28, around 1:15 am, I get up to pee, sit on the toilet and before I even push to pee I hear fluid hit the bowl… shit. Wipe and there’s blood. Stand up to wake my husband and blood gushes from me, down my legs, onto the floor of my bathroom. Shit. This is bad. I take a step, gush. I get to the doorway of the bathroom to the bedroom and call out to wake my husband, and of course, he doesn’t wake. I take a few steps to the edge of my bed, lean way over to his side to wake him up and tell him “we gotta go”, his response was “are you bleeding again?”, “yeah. It’s worse this time. Way worse.”, then I gush onto the tan carpet in my bedroom. This time around he is very calm, even when seeing all the blood on the carpet and in the bathroom, it looked like a murder scene. I put underwear on, two of the giant maxi-pads that I stole from the hospital the week before, black pants, and grabbed an old towel to put on the seat of the car. It just kept gushing and it was the most worried I’ve probably ever been in my life. I’m not sure if my water broke, I never found out, so I’m not sure if it was all blood or some amniotic fluid.
We get to the hospital and rather than a nurse meeting us at the door to triage, the desk attendant opened the triage door and had us just walk back and meet the nurse in the hallway. They have me change into a gown, I kept my underwear on until I sat on the bed, so I wouldn’t get blood everywhere, slid them off and kept them by my feet. Both maxi-pads were more than full the underwear were completely saturated, my pants were completely saturated and I notice that my legs and feet are covered in blood from the bathroom incident. I showed the nurse, because they asked both times how heavy I’m bleeding, and it’s easier to show a picture than tell a picture. They hook my belly up to monitors and the baby is doing just fine, and oh, I’m having contractions at a rate of every 2 minutes, did I feel them? No. Not sure why that is. This whole process never hurt.
The doctor came in, I don’t remember our exact conversation, I asked her if she wanted to see my underwear, the nurse had me save it for her and her response was, “No. The nurse described it well enough, I don’t need to see it”. She also told me that she had no need to put me thru a pelvic exam either because her team is assembling, once they’re assembled we’re having a baby. Unlike the last time I was in, where people would say, 'maybe you’ll have a baby today!', and it was always paired with smiles and happy tones, this was not. She was very serious. Granted this is a doctor that I know does not sugar coat things, which is one of the reasons I really like her, and one of the reasons so many people do not. That being said, she’s always friendly and smiles, except for this time.
The next set of events seemed to happen very fast, more nurses came in, at some point I received an IV in one hand and the IV lock in the other, in case I needed blood, blood was drawn and sent to the lab, I received a nice and much-needed washcloth bath to get all the blood off my legs and feet, I received a catheter, my hair net was put on, and my husband put his scrubs on. Once I was prepped the doctor came back in to go over the procedure, most of the conversation seemed normal, and then we got to the not-so-fun portion of our conversation, she told me that due to having a complete previa and where she needed to cut to get the baby out, that I would be at a higher risk for a severe hemorrhage to occur and that I now needed to let her know if I want to live or have my uterus removed, if that were to happen, I chose to live, to which she replied, that she would try to save my life, if it comes down to it, but she wanted to make sure I knew there were no guarantees. She also explained that my risk of hemorrhage was increased due to the rupture I was currently experiencing. At the time, this conversation didn’t seem as serious as it really was, the seriousness of it didn’t completely set in until a couple of days later after I had time to think about it.
Next, the anesthesiologist came in, started to talk to me about a spinal and then told me that I wasn’t going to receive a spinal, that due to the high likelihood that I would need blood, I would be put under. You can’t reverse a spinal and you can’t be put under with a spinal or it’s harder to be put under, I can’t quite remember. He explained that I would have tubes in my throat, so I might have a scratchy voice for a couple of days, then the nurse gave me something sour to drink that was supposed to help neutralize my stomach acid. The anesthesiologist then asked one of the nurses how long it was going to be before blood would be ready for me, she didn’t know because the 6 vials of blood they drew from me had been sent to the lab only a short time before he came in. He didn’t like that she didn’t know and in a respectful way demanded that she get ahold of the blood bank to find out how long it would be. They informed her that it would be ‘about 45 minutes’, at this point, I think the anesthesiologist had to try very hard to contain his rage as he exclaimed to her that we didn’t have 45 minutes, that we need blood before the operation starts, that this is a priority 1, and finally did he need to call down to the blood bank and explain it to them or was she able to.
Shortly after the anesthesiologist left I was wheeled back to the operating room, the nurses instructed my husband to wait in this lowly solitary pink chair in the darkened hallway while they got me prepped and that once I was under he would be allowed to come in. I moved from the stretcher to the operating table, put my arms out onto the extender things that they probably strapped my arms to after I was under, the anesthesiologist poked his head barely into my view to let me know he was putting antibiotic into my IV, then they put oxygen on me, which felt suffocating, like there wasn’t any air coming thru the mask, after a couple minutes, he poke his head back into my view and let me know that he was now putting the meds in that would put me out, not to worry because the meds he selected would make me have nice thoughts before and during sleep.
A couple things that I found out later was that, as my husband sat in the hallway, he saw a man running at full speed with a bag of blood into my operating room, this really freaked him out. Later, while I was being operated on, he said that it looked like someone, all of a sudden, took a bucket of blood and threw it on the floor, he could tell that "definitely wasn’t supposed to happen" and that a nurse quickly ran to grab several towels to put down so the doctors could stand on towels instead of in blood. Then, once our son was born, the nurses asked him to come over and see him and take pictures, and he told them, “no. I need to make sure she’s okay.” To which the nurses assured him everything was fine and they finally convinced him to go over to the baby.
The next thing I know I’m waking up in recovery, my husband is sitting next to me holding our son, he tells me that he fed him, he was SO proud about that, as he’d never fed a baby before. The nurse asked if I was ready for some skin to skin, then they plopped my mostly naked baby on my chest.
Calvin Baird was born at 35 weeks, 3 days at 6lbs 7oz and never needed a trip to NICU. I survived the operation with my life and my uterus, however, I have zero plans of having another child, as this was scary enough for my husband and myself, not to mention there is so much that isn’t known about placenta previa that I don’t want to take my chances with it again. We left the hospital on the third day. Tomorrow Calvin turns 2 weeks old and has his second weigh-in with the pediatrician.

Hi All!
My wife has a complete placenta previa which hasn’t moved. This Sunday will mark 30 weeks and we have been in the hospital since last weekend due to a second bleed. I have two questions to any mother who experienced this. What are the chances of the placenta moving in the third trimester? Also, what are the chances this could happen again? This is our first baby and the doctors said she has a higher risk if she got pregnant again which really freaks us out. We are grateful the baby is still in the oven but being in the hospital this long and possible longer is miserable.

I had an ultrasound today at 29 weeks and my placenta hasn’t budged. It’s not a complete previa but it is riiiight up against my cervix. Doctor says I have a 50/50 chance of it moving and will go back again in five weeks when we’ll make the final call. I’m already big, so my gut says it won’t move.
Has anyone had any experience with this? How early did you deliver? Complications? What’s the recovery like? Any other words of wisdom?
If I’m being honest, I don’t even care anymore if I need a c-section, my recovery from my first was so horrible I think this could be a step up (long, vaginal delivery with vacuum, third degree tear).
I just want a happy baby.

Hi all,
I wanted to take a moment to share the experience that my wife and I had with placenta previa, since I wasn't able to find many similar stories during my obsessive research during her pregnancy.
My wife was officially diagnosed with placenta previa at 20 weeks. At the time, the doctor assured us that most cases of previa would move and told us that there was nothing to worry about at this point. My wife wasn't put on any restrictions other than no vigorous workouts (walking was fine).
At the 28-week ultrasound, we were unfortunately told that the placenta still had not moved (complete previa). The doctors told us that there was still a chance, but seemed more disheartened after reading the results. She still was not placed on any additional restrictions, but this is when we started researching and getting pretty on edge about what could potentially happen as a result of the condition.
We went to our 32-week ultrasound and received the same news. At this point, we were told that we shouldn't go to our friends' wedding, since it was over an hour from the hospital. The doctors didn't want us to be on the road in an unknown area and experience a sudden bleed. We scheduled our c-section for 37 weeks during this appointment, but also set up a final ultrasound at 35 weeks to make sure that we were absolutely unable to attend the wedding.
We restricted all of our travel to within an hour of the hospital just in case my wife experienced a sudden bleed and had to be rushed to triage. At our 35-week appointment, we received the same news. The c-section was on and we just had to get through these final two weeks.
My wife had experienced no bleeds or spotting leading up to this point at all. By the time the 37 week c-section rolled around, we headed into the hospital and were told how previa can make this operation much higher risk due to the potential for more bleeding. The doctors were taking all precautions necessary, like having blood on-hand, dual IVs, etc. They explained that I would need to leave the room if my wife began experiencing significant blood loss during the operation.
Thankfully, as of yesterday afternoon, we delivered our new baby boy via c-section with no complications whatsoever! My wife experienced no bleeding throughout the entire pregnancy and no complications as a result of her condition. In fact, she experienced less bleeding during her c-section than most women experience during normal vaginal deliveries.
I wanted to share our story because most experiences that I read talked only about the bad things that could happen as a result of placenta previa. We consider ourselves incredibly lucky and wanted to share our story to let others know that this condition isn't something you should worry yourself sick over!
Please feel free to ask any questions at all and we'd be happy to share more. I hope that others have experiences that go just as smoothly as ours!

Hey all!
I lurk here quite often. I'm 20 weeks with my first pregnancy (IVF). Today I got diagnosed with a complete previa -- apparently the placenta is covering the os and overlapping by 2.9cm.
I will have a repeat ultrasound at 28 weeks to check location, and so far I'm not on any activity restriction, although I'm opting for no intercourse to be safest. I used to be an L+D nurse so I know the weight of this diagnosis and it freaks me out. I know there's a chance it'll move, based on anecdotal reports here (I searched), and research studies as well. My doctor gave me a more grim outlook, telling me that since it's completely covering the cervix and not just partial/low-lying, that there's a good chance it won't move.
I'm panicking, knowing all of the possibilities/likelihoods. Bleeding, off work, bed rest, home care/hospital admission, likely early delivery, potential for hemorrhage/hysterectomy.
If you had a complete previa, can you share with me how it went? Thanks.

Hello all you beautiful pregnant people! I'm hoping for some solicited advice here, since I need advice but the unsolicited variety is driving me absolutely nuts.
I was diagnosed with complete placenta previa at my 20 week ultrasound. My mom had previa with me and i was delivered early after hemorrhaging at 34 weeks. Docs were concerned, I was put on pelvic rest, no travel, ultrasounds every 6-8 weeks etc. Mentally, I've been preparing for a c-section for the past 18 weeks and I'm pretty comfortable with it by now.
Fast forward to week 38 (today) - amazingly, my placenta has been moving away from my cervix over the past weeks with no bleeding, so I've been on close watch to see if I can be cleared for labor. Unfortunately today's (final) ultrasound was inconclusive. It's moved to a 1.5cm clearance of the cervix. Technically, the placenta needs to be 2cm away to be given the green light, BUT my doctor is comfortable with me potentially laboring - on close observation - because 2cm is a relatively arbitrary number and she thinks there is a chance that I wont bleed at all.
So she's giving us the option to wait to labor should we want to. Obviously if I start to bleed excessively at any point, we move into an emergency c-section. So that's the risk. What do you guys think I should do? Clearly a planned c-section is faaaaar better than an emergency c-section. But a natural labor would be preferential to a c-section, if only because it means I have more choice with any future pregnancies... (although god help me, at 38 weeks I'm not inclined to do this again anytime soon!)
The other variable to consider is that both of my sisters never went into labor with either of their pregnancies and had to be induced, which eventually lead to emergency c-sections anyway. Although I don't know how much that should factor into my decision.
Any wisdom nuggets most appreciated. XO

I recently found out at my 20 week ultrasound that I have complete placenta previa and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with it? I'm going to my follow up ultrasound to check on it to see if shows any signs of moving on December 11th, I'll be around 24 weeks at the time. Due to the placement of my placenta my doctor informed me that there is little chance of it moving, especially as I progress through my pregnancy.
I was told that I have to stop almost all physical activity, which is really limiting considering I just got a new job and I used to go on 30 minute walks every evening, but it is for the sake of a healthy bouncing boy. I also had to switch from a midwife to a gynecologist, as things are looking my doctor says I should be fine and things should progress nicely and I'll have a c-section by 37 weeks.
Have any of you had experience with placenta previa? It just seems like so much to take in and I had to share a little rant, nonetheless I'm excited to meet my little bundle of joy and I'm just overjoyed with the fact that he'll be coming in a few short months.

It's taken me a bit to get over the trauma I experienced during my daughter's birth last Tuesday, so sorry for the delay in posting her birth story! We're both happy and healthy and elated to be home. Baby Tax at the end :)
I already knew we were having why my OB lovingly referred to as a "B.A.K" (big ass kid) as she'd been measuring 3 weeks ahead since 28 weeks.
At 39 weeks, I thought I might have a full moon baby. I was already 2 cm (since 38 weeks), started having lots of contractions but nothing consistent. I'd been doing ALL the labor things (RRLT, sex, dates, pineapples, walking, you name it!). At 10pm that night, everything stopped. Boooo....
At my 40 week checkup, we started talking about what the next week would look like as my OB says "nothing good happens after 41 weeks". I know others think differently, but this was for my case specifically. I had a marginal previa that barely moved the entire pregnancy and a big baby that could really get too big to be birthed naturally.
Still no contractions or anything as of 41 weeks, so I had a biophysical scan at my checkup. It showed the placenta holding up well (which was a great sign for induction) and a baby estimated at 9 lbs, 9 oz. That's one big baby! I was measuring a "loose 2", but not quite a 3. As much as I didn't want it, I was scheduled for an induction at 5 am the next morning.
We walked foorreevverrrr the night before (Halloween!) to see if we could get her to come on her own. No dice! This wasn't how I envisioned any of it going, but I was accepting our fate. I just wanted us both to leave the hospital happy and healthy.
We arrived at the hospital on Tuesday morning after eating a glorious breakfast at Waffle House. We got settled into our room and, in a daze, it was go-time. They hooked me up to the pitocin and contractions started very soon after.
This is where the crazy started. Juliana wasn't a fan of the pitocin. Her heart rate dipped dramatically (and stayed down for almost two minutes) with contractions. It went from the 130s down to the 70s. They immediately gave me some oxygen and started flipping me from side to side to get her heart rate back up. It got back to the 130s and they decided to stop the pitocin and give my doc a call. He suggested starting with a much lower dosage.
Pitocin back on at the lower dose... and I was really feeling the contractions. Another OB from my doc's office made her rounds and came to break my water at 9 am. It was the STRANGEST sensation! Dialated to a 3 at this point.
Unfortunately, the stress of that first heart rate dip caused her to poop... so now we were dealing with meconium potentially posing a threat to my little babe. Great!
I was able to labor a bit in the shower (the hospital had showers with 8 shower heads... it was GLORIOUS!) after that as I was thoroughly grossed out by having to sit in poop/amniotic fluid while I labored more. They inserted a saline catheter to pump fluids in to hopefully get rid of the meconium by the time I birthed her.
The contractions were getting incredibly rough by this point, so I went ahead with the epidural (as planned). INSTANT relief. Whew! I was able to sleep for about 30 minutes after that. Such nice, nice sleep.
I was abruptly awoken by several nurses quickly turning me from side to side and putting oxygen on my face. They told me her heart rate kept dipping dangerously low and that they were stopping the pitocin. This happened once before my nap as well.
About a minute after they stabilized her heart beat, my OB came in and told me that we basically had several strikes against us... first, she's not handling the contractions well and hear heart rate keeps dipping. Second, the meconium. Third, she's already a big baby. and Fourth... I was only dialated to a 4 and not really progressing. This was 7 hours into labor at this point.
I trust my doctor, wholeheartedly, and agree with his opinion. He said we needed to get into the OR immediately and perform a c-section. That if we don't, there's a chance she might not make it. I agreed to the c-section... and within 3 minutes, I was in the OR watching what felt like 15 people get prepped. It was a whirlwind.
I didn't really have any time to mentally prepare for the c-section because it was an emergency. I'm not sure if things would have been different had I. My body started shaking violently on the table. They gave me oxygen and placed this blanket over my arms, chest, and neck that pumped hot air in to keep me warm. I kept looking up at the monitor and my heart was racing. They say it's called Tachycardia.. where your heart beat gets over 180. It wouldn't come down and the people attending to it kept saying things that were very concerning. My jaw locked, and though my fiance was there telling me all sorts of things about how it's going to be alright and that I'm doing a great job, I couldn't respond.
I kept feeling her kick inside of me, these massive kicks with force behind them I hadn't felt before. At one point, I instantly stopped shaking and thought I'd died. I think I asked the anesthesiologist if I died. Then, the shaking started again.
As they pulled her out, one of the women in the OR had to get on top of my chest to push her down. I felt this massive kick from my baby. It was an awful, awful feeling and I continue to have flashbacks of this moment.
I finally heard her cry. It was the most incredible and sweet sound. Tears were streaming down my face, even though I couldn't see her. They wouldn't give her to me right away because of the condition I was in and the reaction I was having to the surgery.
They handed her to my fiance and the first thing I heard him say to her was... "Hi, beautiful..." And my whole world was complete.
He got to hold her for about 30 minutes while they tended to the rest of the surgery, and right before they wheeled me out, apparently they gave her to me. I don't remember the first time I held her very clearly.
They wheeled me to another space outside of the OR where I was able to breast feed for about an hour with her skin on skin. My heart rate returned to normal and I stopped shaking. I was so thankful. Out of it, but thankful.
So... basically... nothing went according to plan... and things were insanely traumatic for me. I'm coming to terms with it and feel almost at peace - though sobbing writing this really doesn't seem like it, haha!
My little Juliana is absolutely adorable and I'm so lucky to have her. :) And, of course, here's your baby tax ;)

Here is my previous post: click me!
To sum, at 22-24 weeks we started noticing a bunch of problems via ultrasound (all noted in the title). I was sent to a high-risk ob, who then sent me to another hospital for a second opinion. They suggested an amniocentesis and microarray test (looks at chromosomes and the tiny genes for translocations, duplications, or deletions--common in syndromes). They also sent us for a fetal MRI at a children's hospital.
I'm almost 26 weeks now and we still have no real answers. We know it is not a trisomy or common infection (so no down syndrome, trisomy 13, 18, or toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, or parvo).
At our amnio a week ago, the doctor noticed that his kidneys were enlarged and echogenic (bright). Still within normal limits, but big. At the fetal MRI they confirmed his kidneys were enlarged. I got a phone call from our genetic counselor last night and she said that there was a small chance that this was a problem called Finnish nephrotic syndrome, where the kidneys don't work right.
And it would be lethal to baby. Kidney transplants for newborns are very rare and babies don't do well on dialysis. This is just a possibility so we are trying to stay calm.
She also told us the amnio tested our alphafetalprotein (AFP levels) and that ours came back at 18!!! Incredibly high. I don't even know what to think about that--it does indicate kidney problems because he isn't filtering it out like he should. It can also indicate other problems like neural tube defects (though we haven't seen any on ultrasound of MRI).
These have been the worst few weeks of my life. We went from believing we had a healthy baby boy to wondering if we would be bringing a baby home. I still have complete previa and I spent three days in the hospital last week for bleeding.
We are waiting on the micro array results, which will help us find if he has a gene problem--in the wrong spot, duplicated, or deleted. And there are so many we don't know what kind of life he would be facing. Obviously we can't terminate right now because what if it isn't anything serious? And I'm almost 26 weeks. If it is a lethal condition then our hospital would do a compassionate induction and provide end of life care for our boy. If it is a problem that isn't lethal, however, just gives him low quality of life, then we would have to decide to keep him or to terminate at one of the few clinics in the US that provide late-term abortions for fetal abnormalities. These can cost up to $40 thousand.
I'm so lost right now. We don't know what to feel or what to do. We are stuck waiting in this awful gray area of "something is wrong." And every time I feel my baby boy move it breaks my heart because he doesn't know something is wrong.
I wish we had done more in depth genetic testing earlier on. Maybe it would have helped. I wish that the US didn't have these stupid laws about abortion because if we have to look into that not only is it dangerous (protesters and violence, not to mention I'm scared because it would have to be a c-section for my previa) but we would be bankrupt. Please don't judge me for this topic--it is what I believe may be best for our family depending on our results.
Does anyone know any support groups or websites for people in our position? Waiting to find out? I've scoured reddit but don't see many posts about living with chromosomal abnormalities.

Hi there!
I think many of you have experiences with partial placenta previa or complete, etc..
thankfully mine has moved to 3cm so i'm all clear! However, I wonder how high the changes are of having the umbilical chord wrap around babys neck and be a danger? when i look at the pics (https://pregnantteens.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/placentaprevia2.jpg) with head down, it seems like the chances would be much higher with a low lying placenta...

Hi everyone!
I am currently 11 weeks 5 days with our first! But two days ago I started bleeding heavily at work. After rushing to the ER and the ultrasound showing the little one perfectly fine and still kicking around in there, they diagnosed me with Placenta Previa. They ordered me on bed rest until I see my OB for further instruction.
I know most cases of PP have a good chance of correcting themselves by moving higher into the uterus. I've also read on this subreddit many success stories, but it seems that I've read mostly stories where PP was found during an ultrasound... not found because of the bleeding like I had.
Does anyone have any experience with PP and bleeding early in their pregnancy? Are the chances still good that it may correct itself later on?
They didn't tell me whether or not I have partial or complete PP, but I'm assuming it's probably complete considering the amount of bleeding I had? The OB is supposed to tell me more, but I'm having issues being in between OB's at the moment... Great timing, I know!
Just looking for some peace of mind from any of you who may have gone through placenta previa also!
Thanks!

So I went in today for a follow up ultrasound to monitor my partial placenta previa and to see the doctor. My office rotates doctors and this was my last new doctor to meet. The ultrasound tech was great and we got to see little girl's face for the first time (previously covered by hands). Unfortunately she said the placenta had moved but a small part was still covering the cervix. Bummer, but not totally unexpected. She said there was still a possibility for more moment and a small chance of avoiding a c-section. OK, so far not great news, but not horrible and - as usual- all the nurses were really nice.
Then I moved over to see the doctor. He was 45 minutes late (I was the first appointment of the day), and I listened while he wrapped up a personal call in the hall outside the room I was in. He walked in and said "So you're the complete previa. When is your due date? We will schedule your c-section today." A little abrupt (and in a heavy accent so a bit hard to take in at first), but he threw out some dates and said pick one and I did. He then got out the goo to listen to the heartbeat, but I had some questions and despite his rush I wanted them answered.
I asked about the discrepancy with what the tech told me and what he'd said and he started a diatribe about how I could bleed out and die or kill my baby if I went into preterm labor. Then launched into how he didn't "give a shit" if I had travel plans or other plan they would have to change or I was basically killing my child. This was a bit scary and I started to cry (dammit!).
I then asked about a whooping cough booster for myself several nurses in the office and at thr hospital had suggested I ask about. He snapped that all vaccines were done by the pediatrician and this was not the time. He then raced out of the room....this is where, still sniffling, I chased him down the hall for my last question about a prescription for a breast pump. I did get the prescription so that is something.
I am so pissed at that doctor, and mad that I cried, confused about the ultrasound and what I was told, and bummed because after all the IVF hoops to get here I really wanted to deliver naturally. I still cannot believe the doctor swore at me and treated me the way he did. I called the office and left a message for my regular doctor to call me back as I still need my questions answered and would like to never again have to see the doctor I was scheduled with today.
TLDR: Placenta previa=C-section 8/15. The doctor who told me was a dick. Feeling like a bit of a mothering failure because no stage of pregnancy can be accomplished without medical intervention (yes, stupid I know and I'll get over it).
Thank you all for reading my rant.

I finally feel like I'm ready to detail a lot of what has happened to me. Most people don't believe me, cause, yanno, a lot of bad stuff happening to one person doesn't really happen. Hahaha.
My therapist has told me often that abusers travel in packs. An "active" abuser will surround themselves with enablers/complicit abusers, and an enablecomplicit abuser will attach themselves to active abusers. This is very relevant for understanding what happened to me.
I was born in 1985 to two high school kids. My EMom was barely 18, and my NDad was 17. At the time, I was the first grandchild on both sides, and the center of the universe for three generations of my family. I was the GC. A year and a half later, they had my brother, a screaming, colic-y mess (according to my mom, actually diagnosed colic, the doctor prescribed a sedative so my brother would stop screaming and my mom could get some sleep). My brother became the SG.
This continued for 3 years, NDad paying attention to me, skipping his college classes to play with me and ignore my brother because he screamed all the time, until my NDad ran off with my babysitter, a few days after she turned 18. (Not super squick, she's only 3 years younger than him.)
My parents filed for divorce, and my father immediately resented having to pay child support for my brother and I, and refused to do it. He told everyone who would listen that my mom had cheated on him, and she had had children to 'trap' him. Because my dad wasn't paying child support, my mom couldn't afford rent on the house they'd lived in any longer, and we would have to move. So my mom sat down with the landlord, M, to see if he'd let her out of the lease.
At the time, I was told that M was very kind, and had made my mother a very nice offer to let the three of us move in with him at a reduced rent, so he could rent out the house to someone who could pay full price. I had seen his house a few times before, he had a huge pool and many bedrooms, but only one child, a daughter, R, a year older than me. I was 5 when we finally moved in with him, and getting ready to start kindergarten.
Every day, for the weeks leading up to our move, my mother would stress how kind M was being, and how we would be homeless without his help, and we should do whatever M asks of us because he's being so kind. M's daughter, R, was a bully, but I never spoke against her because M was "keeping us off the streets".
For my brother's fourth birthday, right before Kindergarten would start for me, and just after we moved in, M bought him a Nintendo. My brother hyperfocused on it, and would spend HOURS playing the thing, ignoring the rest of the world. This is exactly what M wanted, because while my mother was at work, and my brother, C, was playing Nintendo, M would take me up to his bedroom, and repeatedly force himself into every orifice he could. (I still have ongoing medical issues because of it). Any time I tried to bring it up with my mother, she'd interrupt as soon as I said M's name, and tell me, "He lets us live here, without him we would be homeless. You should remember that." then she'd send me on my way. This abuse continued for 2 years.
During that time, my E/CA/N?Mom met NStepDad. NStepDad had been in the Air Force for years, and had tons of money saved up, which my mom found very attractive. Especially once my NDad decided that he could get more sympathy if he had custody of us, and sued my mother for custody. I remember when we were brought down to a government office, C and I, my mother and Soon to be Stepdad stood by the door, and I was told in no uncertain terms that if I told the Judge that I didn't want to continue living with my mother, I would be thrown out, and homeless. To this day, "Homeless" is still a huge trigger word for me, as it was used to keep me complicit in much abuse.
They sat my brother and I (Ages 7 and 5 at the time) down in a room with a glass window, and the judge sat in there with us. My Mom and NStepdad stood on the other side of the window, watching us. I was terrified, and said what I had been coached to say.
My NDad lost the custody suit, and immediately blamed C and I for telling the judge we wanted to stay with our mother. However, the Judge did say my mother needed to "move out and get her own place" and that living in a commune style environment (by this time multiple other people had moved in as well, but they were all gone during the work day, except M, which is when he would rape me) was not conducive to proper rearing of children. So my mother moved to the next town over, where she worked, with NStepdad and C and I in tow. The day before we were to leave, M got me alone, and started carving at my labia and vagina with a knife, because he said that I "belonged to him" and he wanted to make sure that I was "ruined for the rest of my life".
I knew something was -wrong- with NStepdad, even from a young age. When my mother wasn't around, and C acted out, NStepDad would beat him black and blue. When mom saw the bruises, she would ask C what he had done to upset NStepDad. So we remained silent about it. And C started beating me up for not standing up for him when mom wasn't home.
Finally, NStepDad decided to propose to my mom. He did this by cornering C and I and asking if we were Okay with him marrying my mom. Just to really paint the picture, a 6'5" ex-military guy cornered a 7 year old who had recently gotten out of a sexually abusive situation at the hands of an older man, and a 6 year old who said ex-military guy was still actively abusing, in a dark room, and demanded we give him permission to marry our mother. We both meekly said yes. Later, he proposed to my mother, and she took us aside privately to ask if we were okay with it. This is the first time I realized my mother was exhibiting "bad" behavior. She asked, and I told her flat out, "No." I explained how he hit C all the time, and how he made me feel afraid. She immediately flew into a tirade about how she deserved to be happy, and we weren't going to keep her from being happy, and we had better learn to like NStepdad. They were married 3 months later.
NDad, not to be outdone, married NStepmom the following year. While NDad still thought I was perfect, his beautiful GC that hung the moon. NStepmom was less so. My therapist believes that she had this fantasy in her head that she was NDad's "first love" and C and I were proof that wasn't the case. We were unfortunate evidence that she was never my dad's "only".
Years passed, and the physical abuse and Screaming from NStepDad got worse. The whole house had to be set up to cater to him. No overhead lights, only lamps that directed light at the ceiling. Bookshelves full of books that were absolutely inappropriate for children. No one was allowed to use the bathroom in the morning (we only had 1) because NStepdad liked to start his day by taking up the bathroom for an hour and a half, which meant I didn't get to use the facilities until I arrived at school. I once had an accident at 8 on a snow day because I couldn't hold it any more, and was beaten severely for it.
Meanwhile, when at visitation with my NDad, he would force me into this role as the beautiful dutiful daughter. I was expected to learn instruments and to sing, and he was teaching me to mix his favorite alcoholic beverages so he didn't have to get up. Meanwhile, NStepmom would scream at me for leaving a mess in the kitchen while I was still walking the drink to NDad. The only thing they ever fought about was me. NDad had noticed a change in my behavior, and decided that I was 'troubled', but insisted it was because of my mother. He kept taunting living with him as a better alternative, but said I'd have to push for it.
When I was 8, my NStepmother announced to the world that she was pregnant. Not long after my 9th birthday, she gave birth to my baby sister, M. M was a blond haired blue-eyed princess, who giggled and laughed at everyone. And just like that, she was the GC, and I was the SG as well as my brother, C. Very quickly, any differences between us became resolved. C was the first person I told what had happened with M. He told me about trying to go find me, but being stopped by M's daughter, R. We agreed that NStepdad was a monster, and NStepmom was a b*tch.
Just after GCSis was born, I started to inexplicably put on weight. My mother ignored it, but NStepmom flew into a rage. She would constantly limit my food intake at NDad's house, and NDad didn't give a shit because he was busy showing off and playing with GCSis. Finally, after a lot of pressure, NStepMom convinced my mother to take me to a doctor. The doctor told my mother that I was starting puberty, and weight gain was normal. I started my period a week before my 10th birthday, and my mother told EVERYONE. My mom's "talk" was to buy a book about how to have the talk with your daughter, and just give me the book. I read it cover to cover. My NDad bought me a much more sanitized book about young women and their "changing bodies" that basically talked about how shameful everything happening was. I am still amused that they both decided the book route was better than the talk route.
After I started menstruating, I was ostracized. I was only allowed the super bulky pads, and my mom would insist on seeing them to make sure i wasn't "wasting" them, by throwing them out when they werent' completely full of blood. NStepDad took away my paltry 2$ allowance because they had to buy me menstrual supplies. NStepMom told me tampons were for whores, and she wouldn't be surprised if I wanted them because I was a whore like my mother. She said this to a 10 year old.
Anyway, when I was 12, Nstepdad abused my mother the worst he ever had, and threw her down a flight of stairs while I was out spending the night with a friend. When I came home, I found the house empty, save 11 year old C, who was hiding under his bed sobbing because he was afraid NStepDad was still in the house. I called the police, and eventually found out that an ambulance had arrived earlier and taken my mother to the hospital, and NStepDad had been arrested. Everyone had forgotten that SG C was even in the house at the time. After I hung up the phone with the police, I felt truly angry for the first time in my life. I called NDad, told him I didn't feel safe with NStepDad, and I wanted to come live with him. NDad was overjoyed, because he saw me choosing to live with him as something he could brag about. Often I would hear him talking to people about how he 'saved' me from my mother and NStepDad. Everyone commented because it was a father with custody in the mid-90s.
C didnt' want to come with, he said he couldn't leave Mom alone with NStepDad. He did finally move in with NDad 3 years later, after NStepDad threw him through a wall for "stealing socks" even though the socks were not in C's room and nowhere to be found.
When I was 13, I was given detention for being kissed by a boy. I didn't instigate it (I was still terrified of boys due to past sexual abuse), but it was a Catholic school so to detention I went. When they called my father to let him know what had happened, he flew into a rage that I was turning out "just like my mother", and NStepMom decided to take me to a gynecologist to get me on birth control, so I wouldn't "shame my family by having a baby in high school". (In retrospect this is super amusing because I was born while my parents were in high school.) My NDad would tell me over and over how his life was RUINED by my birth, and he didn't want that for me. So off to the gynecologist I went. Thankfully, they selected a female gynecologist for me, so I was able to submit to the exam with only a modicum of tears and shaking and sobbing. During the exam, the gynecologist became very quiet, and when it was over, she asked me what had happened. I feigned ignorance. She explained that she was a professional, and that a 13 year old girl shouldn't have old scars all over her labia and vagina. I sobbingly confessed everything, but refused to name who had done it to me. The OB called CPS, who showed up and interviewed both my NDad and NStepDad, and tried to get the name out of me. But the terror was too deeply ingrained, and I couldn't even speak M's name. NDad started raging, and saying that it was my fault for being a whore, and living with my mother. NStepDad asked me if I had always been a slut, and made me take off my clothes so he could take nude photos of me. He said "Everyone else has had a piece, I should get some too." I never reported this, because it had been so ingrained in me that I deserved the treatment I was getting. At 13, I honestly believed that I had done something to lead M on, that I was a whore and a slut, and that all I was ever going to be was an object for men to use. For my father to validate himself at being such a stellar human being by taking me in, for my stepfather, M, and all the boys I went to school with to sexually objectify and enjoy. I developed a pretty bad sedative habit, and just slept the days away. When I was 16, I dated the first boy that asked me out, and stayed with him until he tired of me, then moved on. One after another after another, because that's what I was supposed to do, right?
The day I graduated from High school, NDad told me he was throwing me out. That he had failed bringing me up as a parent, and he doesn't "hang onto failure". He made a big show of accepting that he had messed up, then proceeded to explain that it was Mom and NStepDad's fault I was so fucked up. He told me I had 24 hours to pack my things and get out. By this point, C had grown up, and the behaviors my father had originally hated in him, NDad now attributed to him being "A teenage boy" and he was the GC Son, while my sister was the GC Daughter. They both learned to give my father what he wanted. The stereotypical perfect child. My brother was on the football team and had lots of friends at school and liked to tell slightly sexist and racist jokes, which my dad found hilarious. My sister was 9, and wore pretty dresses and watched disney movies all the time and would always hug my father and call him Daddy and bat her eyelashes when she asked him to do things for her. I was different. I kept to myself and read rather than get into conversations. I was not the blond haired blue eyed princess. Not to say I blame either of my siblings. they did what they had to do to survive. Mom and NStepDad had had another child, my LittleBro, but he was NStepDad's GC, so I didn't have to worry about him too much. NStepDad admitted when My LittleBro was a child that he just "wasn't much one for parenting" and so for the most part he avoided him, and let my mom raise him.
After I was thrown out I moved in with my boyfriend, who I would stay with until he tired of me, then crash on a friends couch for a few weeks until I met another guy. I married the guy I was dating at 21. And we were married for 3 years. The last year, I became pregnant with twins, and was placed on bedrest for the last 6 months of the pregnancy because they worried my scarring might cause Placenta Previa or worse. I hated it, and my husband became super distant during this time. A month before the children were born, he told me to give them up for adoption, or we would get a divorce, because he didn't want to be a dad. He sat there and told me how I'd be a horrible mother, and that he would be a horrible father, and to 'get rid of them'. So I filled out the paperwork, and the twins were adopted by a nice older couple. Two days after I had given birth and handed them over, my husband informed me he'd been sleeping with my best friend for the last 6 months, and he was leaving me for her.
I looked into getting my kids back, but the couple that had adopted them was over 45. I figured that I, being only 24, would have another chance to have children, but they wouldn't. So I didn't contest the adoption. The twins are happy and healthy, by the way. The couple gives me updates every year on their birthday.
After my ex dumped me, My father asked me to come home. I did, hoping for some type of reunion where he'd love me and forgive me for all the horrible things I'd done growing up.
No such luck. He wanted a live in maid, but didn't want to pay one. The first thing he did was lecture me on how I'd be a horrible mother, and how he wasn't going to support me getting the twins back. He demanded I get on food stamps to pay my food bills, but didn't want his name associated with it. My NStepMom would scream at me for having food in my room, for talking to people on the landline (I didn't have a cell phone, couldn't afford one). Eventually they cut off the landline to prevent me from calling people outside the house, and limited my internet time to 2 hours a day.
My mother heard about this, and so she came and "saved" me. Just showed up one day, took my few possessions, shoved me in her car, and we drove off. While we were driving, my dad called me and said that he didn't feel like he needed such a toxic person in his life. That's when NC started.
I thought my mom was saving me, but no. My grandmother was very ill, and my grandfather had passed. (As I had no phone or way to contact me, I hadn't heard.) And my family needed someone to take care of my grandma, so my mom Voluntold me. Even though it was a similar situation, worse in some ways, it was better than others. I lived in an RV parked in my grandmother's driveway with no heating or air conditioning, but my grandmother didn't particularly care what I did with my time. I just needed to drive her to the doctor sometimes, and help keep the house clean because she couldn't with her arthritis. I finally got into therapy, and started getting better. I remember at one point, it was the dead of winter, and I called my mother, in tears, because it was freezing but the house was still locked for the night, so I couldn't get in.
We talked for a bit, and I asked her if she'd ever been proud of me. She said, "You're living in an RV parked in my mom's driveway. There's nothing to be proud of."
I broke down at that point, and one of my online friends offered to let me come live with him, no strings attached, no need for sex or anything. Just so I'd have somewhere safe to get my life together.
I told my grandma that I was leaving, and she told me to do what I had to do for me. She got one of my cousins to come help her, and I moved up to Chicago. I moved in with my friend, and at 25 finally got enrolled at college. eventually I started dating the friend I was living with, and we got married 3 years later, when I was 28, almost 29. Sadly, the marriage didn't work out, because immediately after getting married, he assumed I'd just go along with how his family treated him. He had an NMom, and he was the SG, but they weren't NEARLY as bad as my family. I had found, however, I had no tolerance whatsoever for that kind of behavior. I still lash out at it instantly. I told him that we should go to therapy so he can see how this isn't healthy for him. He asked me to please just not make a seen and let the way his parents treated him just "roll off like water on a duck's back". I told him "I spent 24 years being silenced, and 5 finding my voice. Like fuck I'm going to shut up now."
I left and moved out to San Diego, and recently started dating a really wonderful guy who seems to have a relatively normal family. I still talk to my therapist, but it's over the phone, as they're still in the midwest.
So yeah. I've thought about posting this for a long time, but... this is what it was like having a cluster of Ns. I actually originally sought therapy because my family accused ME of being an N, but my therapist often reminds me that I'm not because I show empathy for others.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading!
TL;DR: Shit's fucked, yo.

Hello! Long time lurker, finally decided to pen down my experience with pregnancy so far, hoping to help or hear back from anyone in remotely similar situation. *Warning - long post with a lot of complications... *
 
I'm 33, moderately obese to begin with. Had no issues with periods or regularity. We decided to ttc on and off since last year. Found out pregnant in June. All the tests, genetic tests, blood tests were normal and everything was going smoothly.
 
Week 10, 12 - Doctor detects few fibroids in cervical and uterus region. Nothing to worry about, let's see how it progresses.
 
Week 15- fibroids, 3 in total are growing. One near top of uterus about 8cm, one on the left about 7cm in diameter and another on the right of uterus wall, about 4cm. No pain.
 
Week 16- went in for extreme pain in lower abdomen, especially while peeing. Possible bladder infection, treated with antibiotics. I had mild discomfort/pain in the fibroid spots, but nothing major.
 
Week 18 - I was just hanging out, doing nothing strenous, out of nowhere I bled, as if a balloon of blood burst between my legs. There were many clots and lot of blood gushing (red, dark red, bright red). Rushed to the ER. Cervix looks closed, measuring 3cm. No explanation for the blood.. low lying placenta. Was given IV fluids and released after half a day of monitoring for blood loss. Was adviced to be on bed rest for 2 weeks. Monitor for placenta previa. I had mild spotting almost daily since then.
 
Week 19.0 - I had a lot of upper abdominal pain, was pretty sure it was because of what I ate. Very similar to gas, I tried water and walking a bit and eventually took gas x. The pain went off immediately.
 
Week 19.2 - went in for anatomy scan and cervix measurement. Placenta has moved back to regular position (yay! No previa) Anatomy scan took longer than planned, baby was not cooperative. They couldn't get all pictures of heart . Fibroids still present and growing steady. Was asked to come back to complete anatomy scan.The cervix measurement however is now 1.8cm. Doctor is quite concerned that something changed in 1 week. I'm immediately admitted to L&D for triage. They are observing periodic contractions, even though I don't feel much. I'm immediately put on indomethacin for 48hrs to stop possible fibroid inflammation which is causing contractions, and in turn cervix to shorten. Also bed rest and daily progesterone suppository.
 
Week 20.1 - Go back to anatomy scan and they are happy with heart pictures now.
 
Week 20.4 - once again, out of no where a balloon of blood bursts, all over my legs and on the floor within few seconds. I go back to hospital, they're seeing contractions and my cervix is now .9mm and 1cm dilated. I'm admitted for 2 days, put back on indomethacin and IV to stop fibroid inflammation for 48hrs. Contractions stop after a day, I'm monitored for another day without medications, all ok.
 
During a routine scan, they notice very high amniotic fluid, suddenly. Normal unit is 11-25, I have 34.. This is putting more pressure on my already delicate cervix situation.. Dr is hoping I have GD, which possibly explains high fluids. I'm in hospital for 2 more days, GD is negative.
 
Doctors suggest possible abnormalities in baby's stomach, kidneys or throat which is causing high fluids. Need Mri to conclude. I'm discharged with complete bed rest. Doctors asked us to be open minded about options and possible outcome..
 
Week 21.2 - Fetal Mri done... it's not conclusive. Kidneys look ok, baby is swallowing fine, but extra skin like tissues found around throat and neck.. doctors are unsure of its impact and what it means...
 
So to summarize I'm currently on bed rest, hoping fibroids don't inflame again and cause contractions for another 18 weeks at the least (!).. even if I hold up that long, nobody is sure if baby is going to turn up ok or will have some issue with breathing which they cannot help if there is extra tissue around neck. The possibility of survival is low, with long term health issues if the baby is born in next 4-10 weeks.
 
Doctors have given us the option to terminate, but we have only 2 weeks to decide as I'll be 24 week mark.
 
We don't feel we have enough information to decide that the chance of survival and decent life is low with current reports.. so continuing on bed rest and wait and watch..
 
Thanks for reading! !

So as a little bit of background, when I found out I was pregnant I started to do all the research I possibly could and decided that with my history of depression I was going to try to have a completely drug free natural birth to give me the best chance of bonding with my baby. This has been the plan and I've been imagining going into labor naturally, showing up at the birth center and going through the whole experience. I found out at the 20 week ultrasound that I had a partial placenta previa, but they pretty much guaranteed me that it should resolve itself by week 28, so I decided not to worry. I had my 28 week ultrasound this week and it hasn't moved very much. I'm still about 1 cm from being able to deliver naturally. They basically told me that since it hasn't moved by this point, there is a good chance that it won't and that I'll have to have a scheduled c-section. My midwife said that there was still a chance that it would move, but since it's getting late it wouldn't be a bad idea to prepare myself for the possibility of a c-section. She gave me a scenario of just how good they could make a c-section experience, but now I'm just feeling pretty crappy about the whole thing. Have any of you ladies gone through something like this? I know that there is still hope, but I'm just worried (and sort of fixating) about not bonding with my baby very well/troubles with breastfeeding and all that after surgery. I'm also starting to feel like I might get ripped off from experiencing one of life's great experiences. I need some positive thoughts! tl;dr I had planned a natural birth, but because of placenta previa might have to have a c-section. I'm looking for some good stories/thoughts to help me out.

Today I had my third trimester ultrasound and we had some good and bad news. First of all, the good news is that our little boy is healthy! He is 4 lbs and 8 oz already and has lots of hair. We are so excited :) The bad news, though, is that I have placenta previa. I've known from the get go with my first ultrasound when it was low, then the second ultrasound it was even lower... but my doctor seemed confident that it would move back up since it has not caused me any problems. I've had no bleeding or cramping whatsoever, so I believed that it had moved. Well, today we found out it is still completely covering my cervix and there isn't much chance of it moving now. I haven't seen my OB yet because my next appointment isn't until Monday, so I don't know what he will say about it. Does anyone else have experience with this? I know I will likely need a c-section, which the idea of that scares me, personally. Even getting an epidural scares me (even though I had one with my first when I was induced). I really wanted to try unmedicated this time around because I just don't like not being able to move my legs. Looks like that plan isn't going to work out, though! Also I wanted to ask, at what point do scheduled c-sections usually happen in a case like this? I've read that it can be as early as 36 weeks, but I can't imagine my OB wanting to do that if I'm not having any problems currently, but I just don't know! Woops, sorry for making this so long! :) Thank you to those who take the time to read this!
TL;DR I have placenta previa but yet to talk to my dr. about it. Anyone have any experience with this?

I've had a roller coaster third trimester. It all started Christmas Eve when I started experiencing contractions (28w2d) and ended up in labor and delivery. They gave me a shot of terbutaline and it instantly worked. Then I was back a few days later and again they gave a shot and it worked. I then was perscribed terbutaline to take orally. It worked up until January 21(32w2d) when I started experiencing contractions every 4 minutes. I was then admitted to the hospital sine I was a complete previa and put on an IV drip with magnesium sulfate. So for 10 days I was on magnesium and some pain medicine for the contractions. The contraction never went away but they were able to get them to spread further apart. We then were scheduled for a csection for February 2. Baby boy liked great and they were going to deliver at 34 weeks for my health. The day before the csection they ordered an ultrasound just to check where everything is. The morning of the surgery the doctor came in and we went over the surgery and what to expect and we were ready to go. A few minutes later my doctor came back in and was like well the placenta has moved and we might not need to deliver today and you might get to go home. She ordered an ultra sound from a maternal specialist to make sure. That ultra sound concluded I still had a placenta previa but it was now a partial instead of complete. So in the end they decided not to deliver but to keep me at the hospital on bed rest for another two weeks or until my body naturally goes into labor. It was crazy day yesterday going from I'm going to be a mom to now I'm still pregnant. One thing I have learned from trying to get pregnant and being pregnant is that you have absolutely no control. I'm just happy now the chance of my little man going to the nicu is much less if even at all. Also I most likely get to bring him home with me. I didn't know how I was going to handle leaving him in the hospital when it was time to go home. So now I just have to stay busy somehow at the hospital. I've already knitted 10 little hats and I've started on a blanket. I'm open to any ideas on how to stay busy. 13 more days!!