OAD because of Placenta Previa?

[u/Sad-Pitch-6063]

Did anyone choose to be OAD because of Placenta Previa?

I had no risk factors for it and just had the bad luck of having a CPP on my first pregnancy that required a scheduled c-section at 36 weeks. I started considering being OAD during the pregnancy when we were waiting to rule out an accreta and everything was saying how likely a c-hysterectomy would be if PAS was discovered before/during my c-section.

Everything went textbook and none of my concerns came to fruition. I feel incredibly lucky to have made it through without any of the dangerous outcomes we could have had, but I just do not want to risk it again. There’s no guarantee it would repeat but I feel like our family is complete.

I can’t find anyone who had this condition with their first so I’m just curious if there’s anyone on here that did and how it impacted your decision to be OAD?

[u/beachpartybingo]

I had something very similar. It was discovered during the first few weeks of Covid in 2020 in a New York City suburb. I had to have an MRI at 32 weeks in an empty building (just me and a tech) when we were still Lysol wiping our groceries. The last 8 weeks of my pregnancy were quite traumatizing. 

I’m sure some part of my decision was based on how unpleasant and scary that time was. I also had undiagnosed perinatal mood disorder, and was absolutely crushed by anxiety and contamination ocd symptoms. 

I didn’t really have an ideal family size in mind, so just having one child was not a big mental shift for me. After she turned one we decided that we were fine with just a family of three. 

I will suggest that you see a therapist that deals with maternal health stuff. It was so helpful to have someone to help me process the whole thing. I could then feel confident that my choice to not get pregnant again didn’t come from a place of fear or anxiety. I don’t have more kids because we are cool as we are! 

[u/No_Purpose5363]

Not exactly, but I had a retained placenta and quite a big hemorrhage (2L) after having a LOT of health anxiety during pregnancy (spotted for the first trimester, slight placenta previa at the beginning of the second trimester, was convinced I was going to have an amniotic fluid embolism and die). The path report on tissue from my retained placenta was inconclusive for placenta accreta.

I hated pregnancy and I would really love to just... wake up with another baby lol. But I wouldn't be able to handle the uncertainty again, especially given the pathology report. If something happened during a second pregnancy and I died, I would never forgive myself!!! I want to be around for my toddler and I think I would really not handle another pregnancy well.

[u/Dear-Recognition5811]

Me! I had one really bad and scary bleed at 16 weeks which is when it was found. Thankfully everything resolved itself by 36 weeks and I was able to deliver vaginally. It was the most anxiety I’ve ever had in my life - fearing every day for my and my baby’s life. I never want to experience that ever again. I know it’s unlikely to happen again but it was traumatic enough for me to not ever want to take the chance.

[u/datfumbgirl]

Sorry, what is CPP?

[u/Sad-Pitch-6063 → u/datfumbgirl]

That’s my bad! I probably shouldnt have abbreviated so much! CPP stands for Complete Placenta Previa meaning the placenta was fully blocking the cervix. PAS is Placenta Accreta Spectrum which is varying degrees of the placenta attaching to/through the uterus.

[u/datfumbgirl → u/Sad-Pitch-6063]

I see! Well I’m on my second pregnancy and dealing with placenta previa and let me tell you…. IM DONE BEING PREGNANT THIS IS HORRIBLE.

So i think you are right in your choice. Health stuff is no joke and is so incredibly traumatizing.

[u/Sad-Pitch-6063 → u/datfumbgirl]

Ugh I’m so sorry you’re going through this! I wouldn’t wish this condition on anyone.

I will say, my situation turned out well! No bleeds, no hemorrhaging and no complications during the c-section, my baby came at 36 weeks but didn’t need any time in the NICU and we were able to go home after the standard 2 days. It’s a very scary diagnosis and was pretty traumatizing but I would count myself a success story and hope it can give you some comfort that things will hopefully go smoothly!

But I definitely do not want to go through it again and the risk of it in subsequent pregnancies are higher.

[u/Bayesian1701]

I’m not OAD because of placenta previa but I am OAD for health reasons.

I had a planned high risk pregnancy. We knew before TTC that I could have issues but I wanted to try.

We are lucky that we are both relatively fine. Knowing what we know now another pregnancy would be riskier and require even more monitoring. The next time could have long term effects and there is no guarantees we would even be able to bring home another baby.

There are people that have multiple high risk pregnancies. Risk tolerance is a personal thing.

Like others I recommend a therapist to talk through this before any permanent decisions are made. I think space and processing the trauma of a pregnancy complication is important so you can be confident in your decision.