6 wks follow-up - what should I be sure to ask

[mjhembreecox]

My 6 week check up is this week and I wonder if any one has specific questions I should be sure to ask. I want to prepare for more children and prevent future P/E. This is my first child and P/E has sort of wrecked the birth experience for me.

Our son is healthy except for anemia. We had wanted to try again for more children soon, but have been advised to wait for a year. Quite honestly this was a terrifying ordeal and I realize my experience was mild compared to some of the heartwrenching stories I am reading here. As much as I want a houseful of kids, I am a little scared of becoming pregnant again.

I am still about 100 pounds overweight (I was 110 over when I became pregnant and have lost all the pregnancy weight plus 10 lbs), so weight loss is my 1st target to try to prevent P/E again.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Martha- moma to James 4/8/04 36 weeks due to PE

[paljane8]

Welcome, Martha! I am sorry James is struggling with anemia. That must be a real worry to you. I would be sure to ask your doc what you bp is now. If it is still up ask what he/she wants you to do (ie. see a primary care etc.). Make a list of everything that is bugging you from the birth in reguard to your health and ask about it. For instance, there was part of the placenta left inside in my case and I wanted to know what she was going to do about it! Ask about b/c and share your feelings of being afraid of getting preg. Sometimes they direct you towards different b/c options knowing how you feel about the possibility right now. And along that lines, can I just say, that it is ok to feel afraid. There are many, many women here who have had PE (myself included) in varrying degrees who feel the same as you. You are not alone and it is ok to feel that way right now. I think the biggest part of healing is processing your experience. The doc checks your body but, there is a whole other part of healing that many of us go through.

Share the feelings you expressed above with your doc. Take care, Martha. Let us know how you are doing.

Nancy Eastwood
Moderator/WA State Co-Coordinator

Calvin-8yrs
Saren-7yrs
Scott-4yrs (PE)
Janie-5/03 (PIH, oligo and low blood flow)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/4/4lbs/

[mjhembreecox]

Thanks for the input. I had a BP check at 1 and 2 weeks out of the hospital and it was 110/60 and they took me off all meds. This will be the first check w/o meds (I never had high BP before preg).

About the placental fragments you had, what were the symptoms and treatment? My bleeding became very light within 3 days of delivery then stopped by 3 weeks. Then at 4 weeks exactly I started bright red bleeding, but not heavy. I passed a chunk of tissue (obviously tissue not a blood clot) about 2" x 1" x 1/2". It scared me so much thst I froze it to take to the doc if needed. Of course this happened on Fri evening and I hate to call docs after hours. I promised myself to go in Mon if I was still bleeding, but I stopped by Sat night. My first thought was a retained piece of placenta. They gave me heavy pictocin and pulled the placenta out at delivery. Not way I wanted it done, but at that point nothing much had gone my way. I had heavy bleeding at birth and they gave me 2 shots of something to stop it. I don't know if that has anything to do with the possibility of retained pieces.

Thanks again for your advice.

Martha- moma to James 4/8/04 36 weeks due to PE

[paljane8]

Oh, I forgot to repsond, Martha. I'm sorry. My placenta was sent for testing and the pathology report came back that it was incomplete. It was infected so I didn't want any leftovers inside-KWIM? I went in for an u/s to confirm it and I went in for weekly blood work to make sure my hCG levels were going down. They did but, at a very slow rate! My bleeding was rather minimal after Janie was born but, then it got heavy and I remember passing some tissue and clots.

If you are concerned ask your doc how the placenta looked after it was delivered. Was it in tact? Ask about your suspitions. A blood test would indicate if there is any remaining hCG hormone. That is an indicator if there is any left behind. Just to let you know they try not to do a D&C unless there is no other option because the uterus is still healing. A D&C would cause extra scarring. How are things for you and your sweet baby?

Nancy Eastwood
Moderator/WA State Co-Coordinator

Calvin-8yrs
Saren-7yrs
Scott-4yrs (PE)
Janie-5/03 (PIH, oligo and low blood flow)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/4/4lbs/