I've been through it.. and survived. Here to offer advice should you need it.

Nancy - posted on 05/11/2013

Hi! On march 19 I lost my little girl violet at 19wks.. I had a ruptured membrane, most likely caused by placenta increta which was only found 2 wks after I gave birth during a flow up ultrasound, despite the fact that right after giving birth they did a d&c bc the cord broke off and placebta was stuck. Last week the specialist had me try misoprostol in hopes that it would expel the piece of placenta, which by the way is blocking the canal.. I found out Thursday that it didn't work.. Violet was my first child.. I'm completely lost and scared at the very real possibility that this could hinder any chance of me having a healthy pregnancy in the future.. I go back to the specialist Tuesday to find out what the next step is! Any words of encouragement? Thx! It's nice to know there's a group here did us..

Steph - posted on 11/04/2012

Your story is so similar to mine. I delivered my first 3 children by C-section. My 4th pregnancy failed and resulted in 2 D&Cs. After that I began pregnant again and was diagnosed with placenta previa. I was sent to a specialist to try and determine if I had placenta accreta. At 20 weeks after 3 ultrasounds, they discharged me from care stating they were unable to determine either way but weren't very concerned about accreta. At 36 weeks, I began to hemorrhage and was rushed by ambulance to the nearest hospital that thankfully specialized in uterine tears. I was rushed into surgery and my son was born. Shortly after he was born as they were accessing him, I began to feel very sick. My son was taken away to the neonatal unit and I was unable to see him since I began throwing up at that time. For the next 3 hours, I laid there as they attempted to stop the bleeding. My blood pressure dropped. A central line and a neck catheter were place which I fully remember. They began transfusing me and nearly ran out of blood as I am type specific. I also needed a platelet transfusion. It was incredibly chaotic and I could hear them discussing how they were losing me. Thankfully, they finally agreed to do a hysterectomy (also leaving my ovaries). Finally they put me under as I was in a considerable amount of pain as it felt like my entire body was turning to wood. Hours later after losing 24 units of blood, having my hemoglobin drop to 2, having a hysterectomy, and bladder repair, I was brought up to the ICU. I also woke up with a tube down my throat, and I do agree that that may have been the worst part. Thankfully, both my son and I are thriving. Like your son, you would never guess my beautiful boy was a preemie. I just celebrated my 37th birthday and feel so blessed that I survived. Thank you for sharing your story. I'm glad you survived too!

Leny - posted on 01/12/2011

Stephanie,
How is your bladder function now. Am going thru the same thing, my bladder the experts think might be affected and am only 22 weeks. AM really scared.

Michelle - posted on 04/22/2010

thanks i will keep that i mind as you never know what can happen in the labour room.

Stephanie - posted on 04/22/2010

well that's great news! good luck with the labour. hopefully you get to keep your womb.. if you don't.. don't fret.. there are lots of support groups out there and lots and lots of us young women with no womb any more.., it's great actually! haha.

Michelle - posted on 04/22/2010

Hi Steph just letting you know i wont need an MRI as it looks all clear now bubs has pushed it back out somehow, the doctors are still going to keep a close eye on me as there is still some thining of the placenta on my left side. They are going to induce me at 38 weeks if no bleeding and have a team of doctors ready just in case but i have to say it is better then the first result i got. Thankyou so much for all your information and i will let you know how everything pans out after the birth of my baby.

Michelle - posted on 04/17/2010

Thanks for that Steph i will make sure i do prepare myself just in case and thanks for all your info every bit helps thats for sure. Will keep you updated.

Stephanie - posted on 04/17/2010

hi Michelle,

I was supposed to get an MRI but because it was getting so close to delivery day they said they would just see what they see when they are inside.. they had a urology team ready as they had a strong idea it had gone into my bladder (which it had). Lucky for me, when my grade 4 previa popped big time.. I was 35/6 weeks and they just happened to have two amazing surgeons on the day - so I was lucky!

I think it's best to err on the side of caution.. assume the worst.. assume you will need hysterectomy and bladder surgery.. you will probably be in ICU for a few days as well.. if you prepare for the worst.. and it doesn't happen.. then at least mentally you've prepared. I was offered a councillor at hospital which was good. Keep talking to people and read read read heaps.

Here is the link I was thinking about.. it is personal stories about acretta.. they are shocking.. but sadly that is the nature of the condition. Prepare youself for the worst.
http://www.forparentsbyparents.com/index...

the good news is.. even though it is life threatening.. it is very very very rare to die from this condition.. they can do amazing things... so you will be battered and bruised (and perhaps missing a womb) but you will come out alive! that's the main thing.

ps.. not having periods any more.. I can honestly say.. is FANTASTIC!!! hehe

Michelle - posted on 04/17/2010

Hi Steph it Michelle again am back to let you know i have to have another ultrasound on tuesday and if that isnt clear enough i have to go to the royal womens hospital in Melbourne Australia for an MRI because they know more about it then my hospital in Geelong Victoria. All i want is results and the doctors seem to be taking there time on everything, getting over it very quickly. Hopefully results will be good and dont have to worry anymore, Will let you know as soon as i do.

Michelle - posted on 04/14/2010

thanks heaps for your feedback, i know a little about it as my doctor has explained to me that there is a chance of a hysterectomy. I would prefer to have it done and know i will be ok. We weren't going to have anymore children but it would be nice if i can make that decision if not well so be it. I am scared but at least i have found this website. It is fantastic that you are all so open about it all cause i do know it is a rare condition and thats why now my doctor has told me to pack my bags ready to go. I have a wonderful family who are keeping a close eye on me which is real nice and will help out as much as they can. I just wish the doctors would hurry up and give me a straight answer to what the plan will be. I am hopefully gettibng an MRI next week to confirm that it is accreta. At this stage it is in the wall about 1cm deep on my right side. Will keep you informed and thankyou.

Stephanie - posted on 04/14/2010

Hi Michelle, incretta is where it grows into the womb and won't come away (most of the time it doesn't come away easily) and per-cretta is where it grows through the womb and into major organs. I started out with incretta.. they kept telling me it was getting better..but it wasn't.. each scan showed my bladder being pushed further and further to the far right.. they kept saying 'it can't be per-cretta it's so rare!'.. and sure enough it was! they didn't know.. and I clearly remember them saying there is no way to know for sure until they operate.

some things you will need to be sure of and prepare yourself for:
a) you will need a planned c-section
b) if you make it to 36/37 week you'll do very well.. I had previa as well so had a huge bleed so was rushed in.. but from all the research I did this is very common.
c) you 'may' need to have a hysterectomy. I hate saying that to you because if you haven't done any research yet this possibility might not have come to you yet.. but they can fight to save your womb.. my obgyn said to me that sometimes it comes away easily.. and they can save your womb.. othertimes it just won't come away.. and they have to do a hysterectomy to save you. it comes down to this.. the whole time they are trying to 'save' your womb you are bleeding and bleeding.. there is no assurances that once they have 'saved' your womb it won't give you years and years of trouble. if you've finished having your family serious consider having a hyster as it will probably save your life.
I have a heap of good websites on all this.. some amazing personal stories.. but can't find the link again.. if i do i'll post it here..

any questions just ask.

Michelle - posted on 04/13/2010

Hi my name is Michelle and at my 20 week ultrasound they had predicted i have placenta incretta. I had a bleed at 11 weeks and none since. I am now 32 weeks pregnant and had another ultrasound last week and found that it is accreta not quiet as bad as they first thought. But now i am waiting for my OB to ring me and let me know if i need an MRI or not. I am a little nervous about the whole situation and getting frustrated waitng for a phone call. I have had one child who is now 2 years old and had a serious bleed with him when delivering him and had to have a blood transfusuion and cause he was so quick they didnt have time to give me any drugs and started pushing on my belly to get the placenta out. I dont want to go through the same thing again. I have also had 2 misscarriages, one natural and one d&c. Hope you can explain a few things to me as i have looked up so many websites to find out as much as i can about placenta accreta.

Peita - posted on 02/06/2010

Yes I did have a hystorectomy, My level was Increta, so I had no choice, they realised I had this after I had given birth, so I was very lucky, it was a good thing my surgeon was there, I remember seeing him in ICU and him saying 'you are ok now and since your ok my job is done and I'm off on holidays', he apparently was the best in my region at the surgery!! I have had a hard time dealing with the OMG I could of died and also that I have no choice in the more children matter! They told me 1 more unit blood loss and that was it, they wouldn't have been able to help me anymore! I am very grateful I have 3 childrenthough and wasn't planning anymore, but I would have liked the choice since I am only 29! But I am moving on and getting more possitive about the whole experience, I now see I am still alive and very thankful for that! The surgeons registrar was amazed at what had happened, he had never seen it before, so I guess I gave him a bit of an education!! All the doctors and midwives were great! I had 1 young male student that put the canular in ready for the induction and he was so lovely, and when he found out what had happened,, he came back and visited me several times!!



I saw my baby for 1/2hr before I went into surgery and I remember seeing her twice while I was in ICU, I didn't get to have her with me until the night I came out of ICU which was day 5, that was very hard for me, but I was in no state to do anything before then!



My full story is under conversation 'happyy to still be here' if you choose to read it!!



It's funny how you say people complain about how bad their labour is, I have responded to a few c-section conversations on COM's and only because they were complaining about feeling cheated because they had an EMERGENCY c-section, I just gently remind people that emergency c- sections are just that, an EMERGENCY and I would rather have surgery than put my baby or myself at risk, which is why I think I am starting to feel ok, I understand it was an emergency and it had to be done!!! I also had a 38 hour labour with forceps and episiotomy delivery and a retained placenta and blood transfusion before I had Accreta, so I know the hard time thing very well!!!!! I still think about what happened every day, but I don't get as upset as I used to, I still have my days, but things are getting better!



I agree wiith the tube down the throat being bad, I had it in for 2 1/2 days and the mucus it created on my lungs was incredible! I had to have 3 ops and I kept waking up between each one and gaging on the tube, they just knocked me out again and pulled it out once I had fully woken from the 3rd op!

Stephanie - posted on 02/05/2010

Peita, did you have to have a hysterectomy? I think Australian hospitals are first class.. I've heard some horror stories from women in other countries about accreta.

Yes it's pretty rare isn't it. I had a couple of students following me round. I think the worse part, for me, was the thought 'this could kill me.. I might not survive this'.. I did make some provisions for my other children incase something happened but just couldn't let myself think that might happen.. just couldn't go there. I think death is rare from it? but you never know. I knew I was having a hyster about 2/3 of the way through so had a lot of time on my hands to think about it.. good and bad thing. I found it strange afterwards.. not having a womb (ie am I a woman.. what am I?) but that didn't last long.. I soon watched my girlfriends having crippling period pains and was so glad I don't have them so don't miss a thing and felt quite libarated actually! I was luck as I only ever wanted 3 so I felt complete in my family.

It is so dramatic isn't it. It took me at least 3 months to come to terms with what happened... I remember the ICU was the worse part for me.. not being able to see the baby or even move.. and the tube down the throat thing.. that really bothered me for a long time afterwards.. but I realised you think about it less and less.. eventually I stopped thinking about it. It does make me shake my head though when you hear women saying 'oh I had a terrible time.. I was in labour for 18 hours'.. I think 'well you didn't nearly die!'.. lol

Peita - posted on 02/05/2010

Wow Stephanie, you really did go through it all! You sound very well adjusted with it all which is great! It has been just over 3 months since I went through Accreta and I am finally starting to come to terms with what happened! I was unwell nearly my whole pregnancy (No.3) and knew something was not right, but I am not acomplainer at all and the doctors didn't investigate a whole lot, so nothing but pre-eclampsia was diagnosed! Accreta was found later, I was lucky I was in a great hospital in Australia also, if I had been at my local hospital, the outcome probably would have been a whole lot different! Queanbeyan hosspital referred me onto The Canberra Hospital as they aren't really equipped to deal with early arrival babies and my pre-eclampsia was too much for them to handle!!! I had the best surgeon work on me in our area, and I barely have a scar from my 3 ops!!! Accreta is very rare in my area, my OBGP has only been linked to 2 cases in 9 years and a midwife told me that in her 20yrs in Queanbeyan, I am the 2nd case she has deealt with, everyone was really supportive of me, but nobody really knew what to do with me afterwards because of the rarity of the condition!!! I was 'the Placenta Accreta lady' in hospital!!! I am so glad that we have come out of this ok and all of our children still have their mummies lol!! It's amazing how much someones body can go through and come out healthy in the end!!!