Monday, July 28, 2014

Placenta Accreta, Part I

So, imagine our surprise when a couple weeks before Christmas I'm "late".  Late as in....um...."late," like I've been "late" 4 times (now 5) and all have resulted in children.

Surprise!!!! and Merry Christmas!

In addition to this, Grady is (was) due for his Cholesteatoma surgery AND we found out we are moving.  

Happy December!

We went to Seattle for Christmas, then to Anchorage.  Told the family all of our news.  Mixed reactions, probably shock mostly.  (Don't worry fam, we were shocked too!)

Fast forward....its now January and I'm heading into the OB for my first check at 12 weeks.  To confirm the pregnancy.  They kindly let me skip the pregnancy test part since this was clearly not my first rodeo, as evident by the husband and 4 children taking up most of the room in the waiting room.  They came for morale support....that and I couldn't get a sitter for the 30 minutes my hubs had between meetings.  He, thankfully, met me at the Drs office so I didn't have to take all kids back with me.

So, we proceed with the normal pregnancy questions (this was a new OB for me) then move on to the ultrasound to confirm and for dating.  Baby looks good.  I can see the punkin squirming around.  Dr. prints out a few pictures (very poor pics).  Now we move on to the placenta.

Enter the topic which I will become extremely familiar with in the next few days/weeks/months. 

Placenta Accreta.

At this point, I have a very low lying anterior placenta.  No big deal.  Its not placenta previa, but it is in front....and now we see its over my previous C-Section scars.  Upon further look, the Dr. sees that my placenta has not adhered normally.  What it has done...is gone too deep into my uterus.  I see what she is describing, clear as day.  Swiss cheese appearance, abnormal blood flow, ok...so what, I'm thinking.  Placenta is working, baby is growing, we have our due date.  We're good right???

Then the unfamiliar words the Dr. is saying start to register in my brain.

Placenta Accreta
Placenta Increta
Placenta Percreta
Hysterectomy.

Um...wait...what was that???

I just smile and say OK, like I know what she's talking about and its all good!

She says she is going to refer me to a MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist) for my 20 week ultrasound and we will go from there. 

I check out, schedule my next appointment and head for the car, cell phone in hand, waiting to punch send on the call to my dad (a retired OB/GYN in Seattle) the second my car clears that parking garage.  

Thankfully he answers, even though he's on the golf course (I did mention he's retired??)  I probably didn't make a whole lot of sense, but he heard "Accreta" and after explaining what it is, tried to calm my fears.  Which was great.  Until I got home and started googling Placenta Accreta.

Um...panic.

Hemorrhage
Blood transfusion
Hystorectomy
Pre-term baby
NICU
Death

Thankfully, I weeded through the junk and got on OB/GYN sites that I recall my dad talking about growing up, with ACOG American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology being the first.  There was also Wikipedia and American Pregnancy Association, among a ton of others.  This research kind of consumed my life for the next few weeks as I educated myself with what to expect over the next 6 months.  I did my best to stay positive amongst the morning sickness and preparing to move, as I waiting for the big ultrasound and more information with the MFM in March....

To be continued....

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