EVIE'S BIRTH STORY: Placenta Abruption and An Emergency C-Section
- Lauren Catron
- Nov 4, 2021
- 14 min read
Trigger Warning – This may be graphic for some readers. Discretion is advised.
Some women spend their entire pregnancy focusing on their birth plan, who they want in the room, what music they want playing when their baby enters the world, what medications and/or interventions they are ok with, or not ok with, the list could go on and on…
I recently listened to a podcast where they were talking about how instead of plans, they should be called birth wishes. Because when it comes to labor and delivery, things hardly ever go according to plan. At least, that’s been my experience.
I’ve always had a few basic wishes in my head when it came to my delivery – I’d want Drew, my husband in the room, I’m totally ok with pain medication – GIVE ME THE EPIDURAL as quickly as possible, and that I’d like to do skin-to-skin as soon as possible once my baby is here. Other than that, I’m a go-with-the-flow kinda gal. And it’s a good thing I am.
With my first pregnancy, I ended up with a “failed induction” and emergency Caesarean section. And while I was hoping to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), I fully anticipated another C-section. I never have an easy pregnancy – you can read my posts on trimesters one through three to get a glimpse as to why.
As the weeks progressed, I was fully prepared. Always brought my bags to my doctor’s appointments; always had a plan for the dogs and Henry on stand-by. We had a C-section scheduled on the calendar, so I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to experience going into labor.
I’ll never forget the night before Evelyn was born. I had picked Henry up from my parent’s house and he fell asleep in the car. I decided to let him nap for a bit since Drew had a volleyball game that night. I laid him down in our bed and curled up next to him. Taking every sight of him in – how he has a slight whistle when he breathes through his nose, the heat that radiates off his body and how he likes to snuggle up under the blankets. I even took a photo and posted it on Instagram with the caption, “Soaking up these last few days with my baby before he’s no longer my baby…” And little did I know that that day would be his last day as an only child.
Around 6 or 7 p.m., I noticed that I was starting to lose my mucus plug. Kinda lame, but I was excited to see that my body was actually starting to prepare itself for labor. Around ten that night, I started to get some cramps. More excitement. Until they started to get worse. Not only were they more painful, but they were more consistent. I also had digestive issues and threw up a few times.
I kept getting up and Drew eventually asked me if everything was ok. I said, “No, I’m in labor!!” He either was half asleep or didn’t take me seriously – as he just asked me if I was ok. Eventually I was getting up every 20 minutes or so to work through a contraction. He suggested I take a hot shower to help make me feel better. We had taken a birthing class with Henry, so we both knew that if I was able to talk through the contractions, I was still ok.
The heat from the shower helped for a little bit, but then the contractions would get more intense. I was able to wash my hair and dry it – I didn’t want bad hair for pictures if I was going to deliver my baby! Eventually I decided to call the on-call doctor and see what she thought I should do. The contractions were super intense and when I was timing them, they were around 12 minutes apart. Since we live an hour from the hospital, I didn’t want to go from zero to 60 in an instant, so if this was really it, I wanted to get on the road. I had to leave a message for the on-call OB and wait for a call back. Drew didn’t believe me and was hesitant to go to the hospital. I told him something wasn’t right, and we needed to go.
I was getting pretty loud with each contraction, and I truly hope I didn’t scare Henry who had woken up by now. The plan was to take him to my parents.
Since I was just at the OB the day before, my hospital bags were in my mom’s car. So, we needed to drop Henry off and get my bags. This was about three or four in the morning. As we were heading there, the OB doctor finally called. She asked if they had progressed any – I may have lied slightly and told her yes. Drew called me out on it, and it pissed me off. He didn’t realize how much pain I was in. Once we got to my parent’s house, I was so concerned about getting my bags, I didn’t really get a chance to kiss Henry goodbye. I also had a pretty intense contraction in the driveway. My mom says she could tell just by how I was acting that something wasn’t right.
The plan had always been to take my car versus Drew’s truck. If I were to have another C-section, it would be easier for me to get in and out of my car, versus his. So, while I was prepared for everything else, I failed to remember to get a full tank of gas. We had to stop for gas at the Speedy’s by our house. When we got there, all the lights were out. Drew got out to try the pump, but it was shut off. Apparently, the gas station isn’t open 24 hours!!!! While he was there, a man came up to him and instantly, I thought “oh great, he’s going to get stabbed while I’m in labor!” Fortunately, the guy was nice and was just asking for directions to another gas station.
We got on the highway and took the next exit to another gas station. All the lights were off there too, but fortunately the pumps were still on. We filled up on gas and hit the road to KC. Riding in a car while having contractions is awful and I would not recommend it to anyone. You cannot find a comfortable position whatsoever. I remember squeezing onto the “oh-shit” handle with each contraction. While I won’t say how fast Drew was going, he did get us there quickly, and safely!
When we got to the hospital, we surprisingly found a close parking spot. We went up the elevator to labor & delivery, and they buzzed us in. Due to COVID-19 protocol, Drew had to wait out in the waiting room while I got checked in. They had me give a urine sample and then took me into triage. The nurse hooked me up to the monitors and got me checked in, asking all the questions such as what medications you are allergic to, did you receive a COVID-19 vaccine, etc. etc.
Once that happened, she went and brought Drew in. Then the wait began. She came in and checked my cervix and OH MY GOD that is one of the most uncomfortable experiences ever. No one really tells you that. Unfortunately, she said I was maybe half a centimeter dilated. I don’t know about you but being pregnant and hearing those words is one of the worst feelings in the world. I was beginning to worry they would send me home. I was really scared and knew that they could not do this.
The plan was to monitor me for a while and see what happens. As this happened, I was continuing to have severe contractions. I couldn’t get comfortable. I had to stand up and literally squeeze the small bedside table. I had to remind myself to breathe through the contractions but truthfully, I felt like my body was being ripped apart inside. I’m pretty sure they could hear me screaming from outside the room (sorry to any other woman who might have been in the hospital at that time, I was in PAIN!) Drew kept telling the nurse I had a low pain tolerance. And while I tried not to kill him in that moment, I started to question myself. But no, I was in pain. This was the worst pain I had ever experienced. I started to cry.
Eventually they said they could give me something for pain and started an IV. I’m pretty sure they just gave me Tylenol or something because whatever they gave me did nothing. The nurse checked my cervix for a second time, and I was slowly progressing. The on-call OB wanted to send me home, but I think the nurse could tell by how I was acting that that would not have been a good idea.
At this point, I was begging for them to just cut me open – give me the C-section, I don’t care anymore. I just need the pain to stop. I don’t think I’ve ever said the F-word more in my life. I literally felt like I was dying and through tears, kept telling Drew that too.
Around 8 a.m., my OB was on the clock and came in to check on me. They checked my cervix again, Lord help me, and I was at a 2. She tried to break my water in the hopes that would help progress me further, but she couldn’t get it. We decided that we would proceed with the C-section, and they scheduled it for 12:30 p.m.
Ok, so I just had to make it a few more hours. But the contractions kept coming harder and stronger. I’m really trying not to be dramatic, but it really did feel like my insides were ripping apart. (Maybe I have ESP...)
Somehow, I made it through the next couple of hours because eventually the nurse came in to prep me for surgery. I was still standing during all of this, and she went to start something in my IV. I looked at her and said, I think I have to pee and then splash. I thought I had peed myself. The nurse thought my water broke. Drew saw the blood. I could hear the concern in his voice. He said, “no, there’s A LOT of blood.” And with one look from the nurse, things turned emergent fairly quickly.
I remember the nurse grabbing another nurse to come in and help. They threw a chuck pad over all the blood on the floor, and rushed Drew out into the hall. She told me I had to get into bed because they had to keep the monitors on to watch the baby. They cleaned me up as best they could from all the blood. Then as I’m in the middle of a contraction, she had to give me a COVID test.
They let Drew back into the room as they were gathering my stuff ready to move me into the operating room. I could tell by the look on his face that things were not good. The way everyone was running around like madmen – things were serious. He truly thought I was bleeding out and he was going to lose me. Me, I was worried I was losing my baby.
As they were rolling me down the hall, they told Drew to wait in another room and they would come get him. At that moment things really set in, and I became somewhat hysterical. I was crying and screaming from the contractions.
Someone – I think it was a nurse or maybe even my OB – told me from here that things would work like a pit crew. And that’s really how it felt. They moved me to the operating table and were preparing me for my epidural. I was crying so bad. My OB was gently stroking the side of my face trying to get me to calm down, and the anesthesiologist was holding my hand. I didn’t have my husband in that moment, but I still had a pretty good support team. I curled up in the C-position and they gave me the epidural. I remember worrying that I could still feel my foot. I told them so and they said not to worry, it would go away and they were very sure that I was numbed. Eventually they said they poked me with something to see if I could feel it, and they were right, I couldn’t.
Once they knew the epidural was working, things progressed fast. I remember hearing my OB say she was going to go ahead and start. Drew wasn’t even in the room yet!! I was worried he was going to miss the birth of our baby, but then I was also worried that things were THAT serious.
The good news is with the epidural, the horrific contractions were gone. The bad news is that the medicine in the epi causes me to have severe shakes. I shake uncontrollably and I always worry I’m going to shake so bad that it messes with the OB and her ability to safely cut into me.
Eventually they brought Drew in, and he was right by my side. He gave me a quick kiss before I looked over at him and told him I was going to throw up. Someone handed him a bag and I threw up, several times. Poor guy, he doesn’t do well in hospitals or bodily fluids, and within the last half hour he’d seen me gush blood and now he was catching my puke. I don’t give him enough credit.
The rest of the operation was a blur. The anesthesiologist was great about telling me what was happening as my OB progressed through the surgery. I remember hearing her say that my placenta was ripping away from my uterus wall, something called a placenta abruption. She said there were lots of old blood clots behind my placenta. How long had this been happening? So, I was right, my body literally was ripping apart. This is why it was so painful.
The next thing I know is that I hear my OB saying, “Hi peanut!” And then that sweet, sweet sound of a cry. She asked me if I wanted to kiss her, and she brought her over the drape, and I kissed my sweet baby girl’s head. A moment I will never forget.
At exactly 12:14 p.m., on Thursday, August 12, my sweet Evelyn Grace was here – safe and sound. I anxiously anticipated hearing how much she weighed. Was she going to be small like Henry? Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). She came out to be 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 inches long. Bigger than Henry, but still relatively small.
And I was alive. While they were checking her over, the doctor was putting me back together. Literally. The anesthesiologist said, “she just put your uterus back in your body.” Wow. Hearing that makes you realize just how serious this surgery is.
I don’t really remember much else until we were back in the recovery area. Once the shakes had subsided, we all felt comfortable enough to let me hold her and try to nurse. She latched and every other worry seemed to melt away. I remember Drew texting all our family to give them the update. And then we FaceTimed Henry to introduce him to his new baby sister.
Eventually they moved me to a room, and it was time to start my recovery and really get to know our new baby. Due to exhaustion and pain meds, I don’t remember a whole lot of that first night. I was on a restricted diet due to the surgery (and gestational diabetes), so I ordered a cheese quesadilla from the kitchen. It was the most delicious tasting thing I’d ever eaten. (Remember, it had been hours since I had had any food!)
As I laid in bed rehashing the day's events, I started to Google and it made me realize just how serious placenta abruption can be. My gut instincts to go to the hospital when we did, and not let them send me home - likely saved not only my life, but Evelyn's. If they would have sent me home the first couple of hours, things could have turned grim quickly.
To give you a quick overview of what placental abruption is, it's a serious complication in which the placenta detaches from the uterus. The condition can deprive the baby of oxygen and nutrients. According to the Mayo Clinic, if "left untreated, it endangers both the mother and the baby."
Symptoms of placental abruption include:
vaginal bleeding, although there might not be any
abdominal pain
back pain
uterine tenderness
uterine contractions, often coming one right after another
The last one hit the nail on the head for me. This is definitely what was causing the serve, consistent contractions.
In some cases, it can develop slowly and cause low amniotic fluid and other complications, complications which I had. Unfortunately, they can't always know if it's occurring - even with an ultrasound. Since it detaches from behind the placenta, it's often undetectable unless other symptoms such as bleeding are present.
So, we have no idea how long this had been going on. I had been suffering from severe back pain my entire pregnancy. Was this from the placenta abruption, or just another symptom of pregnancy? I may never know.
Abruption can lead to restricted growth from not getting enough nutrients, premature birth and even stillbirth. Every time I read that, I get a nauseating feeling come over me. God was definitely watching out for my baby girl. She was small, but healthy.
I have asked my OB if this is genetic, as my mother had placenta abruption with my brother. She said there's not enough evidence to say one way or another. But I will be sure to be looking for the signs if and when Evelyn gets pregnant later in life.
Around the 12-hour mark, so midnight, they took my catheter out and wanted me to try and get out of bed. Since I had had a C-section before, I was prepared for this. With my first C-section, the nurse was WONDERFUL. She warned me that when I stood up, it would feel like my insides were going to fall out. She was right. She suggested I put a pillow on my abdomen to support myself. So, remembering that guidance – since the current nurse didn’t say a damned thing – I pulled myself out of bed with a quick swoop. Both she and Drew were shocked at how effortless I made it seem. After getting up, I was able to walk across the room and back without any issues. I must have made it look easy, because after that I hardly got any assistance from the nurses.
The problem with doing something once is that you anticipate the same thing the second time. The nurses at the first hospital I delivered at were incredible. This time, at a different hospital, they were less than ideal. I don’t know if its because of COVID and they are just used and abused and worn down, or if it’s because I’m a second time mom, but the care and support I received from these nurses was rather disappointing. They came in and would give me my pain meds on time, but other than that, I hardly ever saw them. I didn’t receive any assistance on using the bathroom for the first time; no help putting on a pad or changing into those sexy mesh panties; I had to ask to use the shower; and we had to ask for fresh sheets. Eventually, we decided we weren’t receiving the care necessary for us to stay multiple days and asked to be discharged. I delivered on Thursday; we were discharged on Saturday.
Drew stayed with me the entire time. It's been so fun to watch him become a girl dad. It was obvious from the very beginning he was smitten with our baby girl. He even got to change the first poopy diaper!
The other unfortunate thing with our hospital stay was their COVID protocol. While I understand they want to limit visitors in the building, I hate that they have to be so strict. We were told we could have one support person – Drew, and then one visitor. We figured it meant one visitor a day. Ohhhhh no. One visitor the whole time. So instead of our plan to allow my mom one day, and Drew’s mom the next, they wouldn’t allow it. Poor Sharon even drove the hour drive down, made it into the hospital only to be turned away. I felt horrible.
My mom was able to visit, and I was so grateful for that. After she left Friday evening, we decided to have a little celebration dinner. We ordered food from DoorDash and had them deliver The Cheesecake Factory. We had delicious pasta and of course, cheesecake for dessert! We ate, watched Jaws on TV, and snuggled to our sweet Evie. I took a hot shower, and we all went to bed early!
I should also mention during this day Evelyn received her first bath (delayed) and had her heart and hearing screenings. Everything went well and she passed all her tests with flying colors.
Saturday morning, we were told we were being discharged. For whatever reason it takes forever to get the paperwork ready. We ate breakfast and watched Sweet Home Alabama, one of my favorites, while we waited for the green light. We finally got the go-ahead and loaded everything up and headed home.
I was so anxious to see Henry and introduce him to his baby sister. Once we got home, we noticed my mom and brother Aaron had gone in and decorated our home, welcoming baby girl into the world. What a sweet surprise!
When Henry got there, he passed me and his dad and went straight to his new baby sister. He was SO excited. It made my heart so happy. I am overwhelmed with the joy of my two babies, and I can truly say our family is complete.
Next was the start of maternity leave and the true test of being a mother of two. I’ll share more of my postpartum journey in my next blog post. All for now.
XOXO
Lauren
#birthplan #csectionmama #laboranddelivery #pregnantduringCOVID #COVID19 #placentaabruption #babygirl #postpartum #skin2skin #birthstory #IUGR #gestationaldiabetes #newbornscreenings #itsagirl
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