The most insane pregnancy #vasaprevia

for starters: my son is now 6 months old and is super healthy and thriving. we are beyond blessed.

my husband has heard me talk about this probably too much but I never really opened up online about what I went through. I had vasa previa and velamentous cord insertion

what is it? I had, “type I, vasa previa with velamentous cord insertion. Vasa previa sometimes happens with velamentous cord insertion, where the umbilical cord doesn’t insert into your placenta as it should. Instead, the umbilical cord blood vessels travel outside your placenta, where they’re unprotected and at risk of breaking. If your placenta sits low in your uterus so that it’s near your cervix, the exposed blood vessels are especially vulnerable to bursting once labor begins and the fetus starts moving toward your cervix.” says Cleveland clinic.

so, imagine going to your 20 week ultrasound and being so happy and excited see the baby, then at the end the tech says, “the dr wants to speak with you.” I immediately looked at my now husband and told him something was wrong. she came in and said I had vasa previa and velamentous cord insertion and that they would recheck at 24, 28, 29, and 30 weeks to see if anything had changed, if not they would offer me inpatient care from 30-32 weeks up until my delivery (via c section) at 34-35 weeks. I was beyond thankful to be at one of the best hospitals in the city and the number one hospital in the state of Illinois for gynecology. The dr also said I had to be on pelvic rest, so ya know.

along came 24 weeks and the ultrasound came back “clean” (I truly believe my sons head was in the way obstructing the view) although at this ultrasound they told me I needed a fetal echo because my son moved too much in the womb and they couldn’t get a good picture of his heart, so it was another thing to worry about. I have a heart problem so they wanted to be extra cautious. (he’s had two echos outside of the womb and is scheduled for one more next year, and if that’s clean he will be dismissed from cardiology services).

between 24 and 28 weeks we remained on pelvic rest due to my gut feeling. the 28 week ultrasound revealed the VP & VCI was still very much there 🤔🤔 so that meant inpatient care. they have me another ultrasound at 29 weeks and 6 days, and that’s the day I was admitted due to some cramping. I was going to be admitted at 30 weeks anyways, so literally the next day. we had decided 30 weeks was best because even though we live in the same city as the hospital, with traffic it can take 45 minutes to an hour to get there. with vasa previa if you have a bleed you have literally 7 minutes to deliver.

so I remained inpatient from 29 weeks and 6 days till I was 3 days postpartum. my son was delivered at 35 weeks and 1 day. he was 4lbs 15oz. I was inpatient for a total of 40 days. thankfully I made it to my scheduled c section and had a very uneventful hospital stay. I was alone most of the time, my husband came on weekends and I had a few visitors here and there throughout the weekdays.

c section trauma is also real. that surgery is not for the weak. that was the first major surgery I have ever had and I was AWAKE. it hurt so badly, I was basically screaming and flailing my arms everywhere, if I was able to move my legs I would’ve been kicking them. the pulling of the catheter and walking afterwards is the scariest thing of your entire life. I couldn’t even pull up my own pants for about 2.5 weeks after this surgery. I needed help with everything. I also had a nurse refuse to give me pain meds less than 24 hours after surgery so the hospital got a piece of my mind for that, cause wtf???

so long story short, VP & VCI are a scary diagnosis, but a rare one. if you are ever happened to be diagnosed with it there is a support group on facebook that helped me get through a lot. but just know that you are not alone, you will have support, and it’s what’s safest for you and your baby. hang in there mamas!! 💞

#birth #unfiltered #embracevulnerability #vasaprevia #csection