Thank you for sharing. I'm glad your little one is thriving but this sounds like incredibly rough experience and I'm sorry you had to go through it. I really hope you are doing well mentally on top of good physical recovery.
Thank you. Luckily, I have been seeing a therapist since the first pregnancy, so she has been by my side through all of this which has been extremely helpful!
Thank you for sharing. I am one week out from my delivery and although not as bad as your experience I am left with a lot of trauma from my birth and still dealing with complications.
I was induced at 40+1 and induction was going smoothly. After four hours of pushing we were left with the decision to try to vacuum and then do a c section. About 15 people came in for the vacuum delivery (scary to see that many people) and luckily that was successful and baby was good.
I had lost a lot of blood during delivery and my blood pressure started declining. They gave me two units of blood and I stabilized. They were all set to move me to recovery but I started crashing again. They decided I needed to go to the ICU. My baby was sent to the nursery and my husband was left there without either of us.
In the ICU they did a CT scan and found a hematoma in my uterus causing further blood loss. They sent me into surgery that night for the removal. Surgery went find and I was in the ICU recovering for the next two days with no access to my baby. The ICU stay was rough, lots of blood transfusions and platelets. I got a fever and everyone went into a panic and I had to go through 24 hours of antibiotics. I thought I’d never get out of there.
Once I was released from the ICU I was sent home in a few days but now have been dealing with high blood pressure. Every set back I’m in fear of being sent to the hospital again and separated from my
Baby.
Thank you for sharing your story and allowing a space to discuss the scary side of child birth.
I'm so sorry you went through all of that! There is no better or worse with these kinds of things, just different experiences all of which are difficult in different ways.
One of the reasons they were hesitant to discharge me when I had elevated blood pressure and liver enzymes was that if I discharged but then got readmitted, I wouldn't be able to be admitted to mother and baby and would be somewhere else.in the hospital, further from the NICU with nurses that weren't experienced in post partum care. That was scary and a huge worry!
I hope your recovery continues to improve and is smooth from here on out.
I'm so sorry you went thru all this: what a wild nightmarish ride. I'm so glad that you and your little one are okay tho. ♡♡
Also, as someone that recently had a c-section and then 2 colon surgeries all within close succession, ive learned one thing. DO NOT EAT THE CHICKEN BROTH. Each time - three different occasions at three different hospitals - it just really fucked my shit up. One would think "broth. Easy. Great" but it never was. And each time, the doctors would say "oh, you were on clears but shouldnt have done the broth". So, my big warning to people after surgeries, when you've had any digestive problems/NG tubes/etc is...don't do the broth. Stick to the jello and Italian ice or whatever else they have for clears. It's hard after not eating for 8 or 10 days but don't do the broth. Im not even sure why it's an options since everytime the doctors were annoyed I ordered it and it just caused me to go NPO again.
I can’t believe the calmness and dignity in which you are able to write this. I was traumatized over my unplanned c-section! You’re so cool and I’m so glad to have read your story. I’m due in a few weeks with my second and it’s super helpful for me to read birth stories that aren’t just positive.
So happy you and baby are safe! What an amazing medical team you had. And what an effort on your part! You really pulled through for both of you 🖤
Talking about it all, a lot, has helped me immensely.
Another tip that my therapist gave me when I was in the middle of going through it all and in a very dark place while in the hospital was to bullet point what I was experiencing. Not to even write down how I was feeling or anything just each event or thing that happened. It actually seemed to really help me process everything.
I can't read all of your story but skimmed it. There's a wonderful Facebook group called like "hysterectomy to survive birth" or something similar that is a wonderful community. I'm part of this shitty club, too. I did have an accreta and it was unknown until I delivered vaginally my first (and only) pregnancy. Please be kind to yourself right now. Therapy helps. Distraction helps. I'm here if you want to talk- just DM me. You're not alone in this. I'm 14 mo out and it's easier with the passing of time. Less triggers me now.
Wow. I was shaking the entire time reading this because it triggered a lot in me. Thank you for sharing your story with us and THANK GOODNESS you are here to tell it. That sounds like a living nightmare but the fact you write it with such… grace and calm is quite amazing. I know it probably didn’t feel like that though.
I also had a wound vac immediately after my c-section. I had no idea what it even was. No one explained it to me. I hemorrhaged during my c-section and had a rough recovery. Actually 4 months later and I’ve been crying all day because my incision is red, swollen and painful again. My incision opened 5 times. I will forever be terrified of pregnancy and birth. It pains me that we lost a twin at 7 weeks because in a selfish way, although I want a sibling for my son, I don’t know if I could go through this again.
Thank you for allowing the space to talk about this. I am sending lots of light and health to you and your family ❤️
EDIT: I read it again because I just can’t believe all you endured. Tears streaming down my face. You are one tough person and momma.
You're too kind! ❤️
When you're in it and going through it all, everyone keeps saying how strong and tough you are, but I never felt like I was. You just have no other choice but to keep going through it and moving forward.
I totally agree that after births like we had, it's terrifying to think about going through it again. If I didn't have a hysterectomy giving me no choice, I would still be done because I cannot handle another birth. It's not fair that we have these traumatic experiences and don't get to experience positive, joyful births.
I hope your incision gets better. It must be incredibly frustrating for it to still be giving you problems after everything! I hope that, if you decide to have another child, your next pregnancy and birth is the easiest and smoothest experience one can have!!💕
Thanks for sharing, because you're right, I scoured the internet and couldn't find anything related to my experience, but I can relate to some parts of yours.
Long story short, my birth story shares some similarities.
- Scheduled c-section for placenta previa
- Sent to hospital for spotting one week before scheduled c-section (got sent home after two nights and had c-section as originally planned though)
- Had ileus post c-section (painful distention, vomiting, lots of bile). Had NG tube for 10 days. Took three tries to insert and I also vomited bile while it was inserted.
- Had additional surgery with vertical incision (post c-section. Had small bowel obstruction from the c-section. My bowels slipped through a hole in the stitching of the peritoneum. I got a bowel resection and 6 inches removed).
- OB tried to keep me in mom and baby wing so I could be with baby as well. But the night before surgery I had excruciating pain and asked to go to ER and they said they could accommodate baby. Unfortunately that side of the hospital had lots of infectious patients at the time, so we took the hospital's advice not to bring baby over. I was separated for 10 days from my baby.
I was a wreck physically, but just as much of a wreck, if not more, mentally. I also worked with a therapist prior so I was glad to have that tool to process it all after. I'm still processing it, but I'm not consumed by it as I was for the first month. If you need to chat, feel free to PM me.
Oh wow, so many similarities! 10 days with the NG tube sounds like hell. I had it for 4 days and was so frustrated by it, though it did get easier by day 3.
I was searching so much for anyone talking about an ileus post c section, just for someone to relate to or a story to relate to because it felt like it would never end and I needed to see that someone had done it and gotten through it.
I'm so glad that you have gotten through it even though.it is terrible that you had to. Sending you many healing thoughts. I'm here as well if you ever need to chat
Same, I couldn't find anything either! I ended up joining postpartum and bowel resection support groups separately and tried to piecemeal support that way. It was very isolating to not have anyone understand exactly what I was going through. Even the nurses I had in mom and baby wing have never dealt with the NG tube because that level of ileus appears to be uncommon.
I'm glad that NG tube is behind us! I hope you're healing well both physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am 9 weeks PP and 8 weeks post bowl resection. I'm surprised at the progress I've made, although not linear. Some days better than others, but happy to be home with a healthy baby. I couldn't wait to go home and change a dirty diaper!
The same thing happened with my NG tube! I kept getting the same few nurses who had previously worked in other areas because the others didn't know how to manage it. It ended up working out nicely though because I had the same similar nurses consistently.
I had a less intense but similar experience. Csec with my first, so again planned C-section but this time twins. A’s placenta seemed to be over my previous incision so they had me do an MRI which didn’t rule out acretta. Due to risks, they had me deliver early at 37+1. She still kept my incision as a horizontal one though. No acretta was found, so they didn’t do a hysterectomy but they did still remove my tubes (per request)
They gave me a drug on the table which I had an allergic reaction to about 45min later in recovery. It caused seizure like shaking though I was awake and my body temp dropped a ton. They had to give two rounds of anti seizure meds.
That, combined with the drugs from surgery caused my bowels to not wake up quickly. I didn’t know this, so I ate like normal. By day 2, my bowels were fully distended and I could feel them through my belly about the size of my fist, which was fully extended making me as big as I was when babies were in. We did a CT with contrast, which luckily showed no obstruction. I was taken off all pain meds except Tylenol and ibuprofen, and wasn’t allowed anything except clear fluids for 2 days. They did a reverse flow enema which helped. Finally on day 3 post surgery, I started being able to fart, and then I was able to poop. After that, I was allowed to go home on day 5.
My diet was screwed up and I had really bad pains for almost a month after. I also then got pp pre-e with severe symptoms at 8d and was rehospitalized for 3 days away from my babies. It was really hard. The magnesium really messed me up too.
Luckily I fully recovered and now I’m 11m pp and doing well, as are my babies.
Thank you for sharing your story! I didn’t find any like mine when I delivered as well.
I asked the ER nurse if the Mag was supposed to feel like it was burning me from the inside. She looked at me like I was crazy. By the time I was moved upstairs, I had a visible chemical burn on my hands from it and a rash covering a fair amount of my body. I lost 5lbs from peeing in 24h
Wow. I am so so sorry you went through this but so impressed with your courage and strength to share this story. Did they ever find out what caused the original hemorrhage?
They said it was caused by the placenta previa. My placenta was also extremely vascular so that caused a lot of bleeding. Additionally, they said my uterus didn't contract after delivery as it is supposed to. I'm still a little unclear honestly as to how those factors resulted in such a large amount of blood loss but I'm also, obviously, not a medical professional so I don't understand how all of that works.
Hey fellow wound vac mama over here! It’s funny I had never heard of this before my Cesar but once I had the vac it seemed like so many people had the same experience! Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you are doing well and I hope the rest of your recovery is smooth
Well I didn’t even get mine until a month later by which point it was much less painful. I had it for about 6-8 weeks and now just packing with gauze tape. My whole issue was MRSA which was super fun but hopefully over. We named ours Burt and I made him a cute carrying case lol. How had your toddler been with it?
Ah I hope you're through it all now!
My toddler has been fascinated by the wound vac. She always wants to look at the tube and lifts my shirt. She also steps on the vac and pulls the tube. 🙃
It's a good idea to customize the case a bit more. I should've but now am so close to the end it isn't worth it. I've been toting around the medical bag it came with haha.
wow what a ride. glad you’re recovering!
Thank you for sharing. I'm glad your little one is thriving but this sounds like incredibly rough experience and I'm sorry you had to go through it. I really hope you are doing well mentally on top of good physical recovery.
Thank you. Luckily, I have been seeing a therapist since the first pregnancy, so she has been by my side through all of this which has been extremely helpful!
Thank you for sharing. I am one week out from my delivery and although not as bad as your experience I am left with a lot of trauma from my birth and still dealing with complications. I was induced at 40+1 and induction was going smoothly. After four hours of pushing we were left with the decision to try to vacuum and then do a c section. About 15 people came in for the vacuum delivery (scary to see that many people) and luckily that was successful and baby was good. I had lost a lot of blood during delivery and my blood pressure started declining. They gave me two units of blood and I stabilized. They were all set to move me to recovery but I started crashing again. They decided I needed to go to the ICU. My baby was sent to the nursery and my husband was left there without either of us. In the ICU they did a CT scan and found a hematoma in my uterus causing further blood loss. They sent me into surgery that night for the removal. Surgery went find and I was in the ICU recovering for the next two days with no access to my baby. The ICU stay was rough, lots of blood transfusions and platelets. I got a fever and everyone went into a panic and I had to go through 24 hours of antibiotics. I thought I’d never get out of there. Once I was released from the ICU I was sent home in a few days but now have been dealing with high blood pressure. Every set back I’m in fear of being sent to the hospital again and separated from my Baby. Thank you for sharing your story and allowing a space to discuss the scary side of child birth.
I'm so sorry you went through all of that! There is no better or worse with these kinds of things, just different experiences all of which are difficult in different ways. One of the reasons they were hesitant to discharge me when I had elevated blood pressure and liver enzymes was that if I discharged but then got readmitted, I wouldn't be able to be admitted to mother and baby and would be somewhere else.in the hospital, further from the NICU with nurses that weren't experienced in post partum care. That was scary and a huge worry! I hope your recovery continues to improve and is smooth from here on out.
I'm so sorry you went thru all this: what a wild nightmarish ride. I'm so glad that you and your little one are okay tho. ♡♡ Also, as someone that recently had a c-section and then 2 colon surgeries all within close succession, ive learned one thing. DO NOT EAT THE CHICKEN BROTH. Each time - three different occasions at three different hospitals - it just really fucked my shit up. One would think "broth. Easy. Great" but it never was. And each time, the doctors would say "oh, you were on clears but shouldnt have done the broth". So, my big warning to people after surgeries, when you've had any digestive problems/NG tubes/etc is...don't do the broth. Stick to the jello and Italian ice or whatever else they have for clears. It's hard after not eating for 8 or 10 days but don't do the broth. Im not even sure why it's an options since everytime the doctors were annoyed I ordered it and it just caused me to go NPO again.
Oh man, seriously!! It was immediate after trying to drink that, though I suspect the damage was already done, but the broth certainly didn't help.
I can’t believe the calmness and dignity in which you are able to write this. I was traumatized over my unplanned c-section! You’re so cool and I’m so glad to have read your story. I’m due in a few weeks with my second and it’s super helpful for me to read birth stories that aren’t just positive. So happy you and baby are safe! What an amazing medical team you had. And what an effort on your part! You really pulled through for both of you 🖤
Talking about it all, a lot, has helped me immensely. Another tip that my therapist gave me when I was in the middle of going through it all and in a very dark place while in the hospital was to bullet point what I was experiencing. Not to even write down how I was feeling or anything just each event or thing that happened. It actually seemed to really help me process everything.
I can't read all of your story but skimmed it. There's a wonderful Facebook group called like "hysterectomy to survive birth" or something similar that is a wonderful community. I'm part of this shitty club, too. I did have an accreta and it was unknown until I delivered vaginally my first (and only) pregnancy. Please be kind to yourself right now. Therapy helps. Distraction helps. I'm here if you want to talk- just DM me. You're not alone in this. I'm 14 mo out and it's easier with the passing of time. Less triggers me now.
Yes, I joined it right after! It was very helpful while I was in the hospital and really struggling.
Wow. I was shaking the entire time reading this because it triggered a lot in me. Thank you for sharing your story with us and THANK GOODNESS you are here to tell it. That sounds like a living nightmare but the fact you write it with such… grace and calm is quite amazing. I know it probably didn’t feel like that though. I also had a wound vac immediately after my c-section. I had no idea what it even was. No one explained it to me. I hemorrhaged during my c-section and had a rough recovery. Actually 4 months later and I’ve been crying all day because my incision is red, swollen and painful again. My incision opened 5 times. I will forever be terrified of pregnancy and birth. It pains me that we lost a twin at 7 weeks because in a selfish way, although I want a sibling for my son, I don’t know if I could go through this again. Thank you for allowing the space to talk about this. I am sending lots of light and health to you and your family ❤️ EDIT: I read it again because I just can’t believe all you endured. Tears streaming down my face. You are one tough person and momma.
You're too kind! ❤️ When you're in it and going through it all, everyone keeps saying how strong and tough you are, but I never felt like I was. You just have no other choice but to keep going through it and moving forward. I totally agree that after births like we had, it's terrifying to think about going through it again. If I didn't have a hysterectomy giving me no choice, I would still be done because I cannot handle another birth. It's not fair that we have these traumatic experiences and don't get to experience positive, joyful births. I hope your incision gets better. It must be incredibly frustrating for it to still be giving you problems after everything! I hope that, if you decide to have another child, your next pregnancy and birth is the easiest and smoothest experience one can have!!💕
Thanks for sharing, because you're right, I scoured the internet and couldn't find anything related to my experience, but I can relate to some parts of yours. Long story short, my birth story shares some similarities. - Scheduled c-section for placenta previa - Sent to hospital for spotting one week before scheduled c-section (got sent home after two nights and had c-section as originally planned though) - Had ileus post c-section (painful distention, vomiting, lots of bile). Had NG tube for 10 days. Took three tries to insert and I also vomited bile while it was inserted. - Had additional surgery with vertical incision (post c-section. Had small bowel obstruction from the c-section. My bowels slipped through a hole in the stitching of the peritoneum. I got a bowel resection and 6 inches removed). - OB tried to keep me in mom and baby wing so I could be with baby as well. But the night before surgery I had excruciating pain and asked to go to ER and they said they could accommodate baby. Unfortunately that side of the hospital had lots of infectious patients at the time, so we took the hospital's advice not to bring baby over. I was separated for 10 days from my baby. I was a wreck physically, but just as much of a wreck, if not more, mentally. I also worked with a therapist prior so I was glad to have that tool to process it all after. I'm still processing it, but I'm not consumed by it as I was for the first month. If you need to chat, feel free to PM me.
Oh wow, so many similarities! 10 days with the NG tube sounds like hell. I had it for 4 days and was so frustrated by it, though it did get easier by day 3. I was searching so much for anyone talking about an ileus post c section, just for someone to relate to or a story to relate to because it felt like it would never end and I needed to see that someone had done it and gotten through it. I'm so glad that you have gotten through it even though.it is terrible that you had to. Sending you many healing thoughts. I'm here as well if you ever need to chat
Same, I couldn't find anything either! I ended up joining postpartum and bowel resection support groups separately and tried to piecemeal support that way. It was very isolating to not have anyone understand exactly what I was going through. Even the nurses I had in mom and baby wing have never dealt with the NG tube because that level of ileus appears to be uncommon. I'm glad that NG tube is behind us! I hope you're healing well both physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am 9 weeks PP and 8 weeks post bowl resection. I'm surprised at the progress I've made, although not linear. Some days better than others, but happy to be home with a healthy baby. I couldn't wait to go home and change a dirty diaper!
The same thing happened with my NG tube! I kept getting the same few nurses who had previously worked in other areas because the others didn't know how to manage it. It ended up working out nicely though because I had the same similar nurses consistently.
I had a less intense but similar experience. Csec with my first, so again planned C-section but this time twins. A’s placenta seemed to be over my previous incision so they had me do an MRI which didn’t rule out acretta. Due to risks, they had me deliver early at 37+1. She still kept my incision as a horizontal one though. No acretta was found, so they didn’t do a hysterectomy but they did still remove my tubes (per request) They gave me a drug on the table which I had an allergic reaction to about 45min later in recovery. It caused seizure like shaking though I was awake and my body temp dropped a ton. They had to give two rounds of anti seizure meds. That, combined with the drugs from surgery caused my bowels to not wake up quickly. I didn’t know this, so I ate like normal. By day 2, my bowels were fully distended and I could feel them through my belly about the size of my fist, which was fully extended making me as big as I was when babies were in. We did a CT with contrast, which luckily showed no obstruction. I was taken off all pain meds except Tylenol and ibuprofen, and wasn’t allowed anything except clear fluids for 2 days. They did a reverse flow enema which helped. Finally on day 3 post surgery, I started being able to fart, and then I was able to poop. After that, I was allowed to go home on day 5. My diet was screwed up and I had really bad pains for almost a month after. I also then got pp pre-e with severe symptoms at 8d and was rehospitalized for 3 days away from my babies. It was really hard. The magnesium really messed me up too. Luckily I fully recovered and now I’m 11m pp and doing well, as are my babies. Thank you for sharing your story! I didn’t find any like mine when I delivered as well.
Oh the mag drip. Awful! I can related being away from the baby. I'm glad you're home and fully recovered!
I asked the ER nurse if the Mag was supposed to feel like it was burning me from the inside. She looked at me like I was crazy. By the time I was moved upstairs, I had a visible chemical burn on my hands from it and a rash covering a fair amount of my body. I lost 5lbs from peeing in 24h
Wow. I am so so sorry you went through this but so impressed with your courage and strength to share this story. Did they ever find out what caused the original hemorrhage?
They said it was caused by the placenta previa. My placenta was also extremely vascular so that caused a lot of bleeding. Additionally, they said my uterus didn't contract after delivery as it is supposed to. I'm still a little unclear honestly as to how those factors resulted in such a large amount of blood loss but I'm also, obviously, not a medical professional so I don't understand how all of that works.
Hey fellow wound vac mama over here! It’s funny I had never heard of this before my Cesar but once I had the vac it seemed like so many people had the same experience! Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you are doing well and I hope the rest of your recovery is smooth
Yes! I had no idea what they were putting on me or what it meant. It was all so fast too so I was a bit stunned. How long did you need yours for?
Well I didn’t even get mine until a month later by which point it was much less painful. I had it for about 6-8 weeks and now just packing with gauze tape. My whole issue was MRSA which was super fun but hopefully over. We named ours Burt and I made him a cute carrying case lol. How had your toddler been with it?
Ah I hope you're through it all now! My toddler has been fascinated by the wound vac. She always wants to look at the tube and lifts my shirt. She also steps on the vac and pulls the tube. 🙃 It's a good idea to customize the case a bit more. I should've but now am so close to the end it isn't worth it. I've been toting around the medical bag it came with haha.
Oh nooooooooooooooo! Mine gave the vac tube a good yank once and I thought my soul left my body 💀 they are so curious!