Active third stage over natural third stage.

[KimmyF]

i had a secondary PPH with DS and lost 1800ml and required two transfusions and had to be rushed to theatre so with the birth of DD my midwife explained i would need the cannula in before she was born and that it was much safer to have the injection for third stage. They would only then hook the drip up to the cannula if it looked like i was bleeding too much. I was glad they had a plan as i did not want to go through what i went through last time and neither did my DH as it was really distressing for him.
This time round i had a primary PPH and lost 700ml but didn't require a transfusion, i think the reason it wasn't as much as last time was because they got the drip going quite quickly and having the cannula already in place saved some time.
THis is just my story but hope it helps you. Good luck

[BellyBelly]

Check out the forum 'Third and Fourth Stage of Labour' as it discusses this in great detail in several threads.

[beckoes]

thanks kimmy, im thinking that it might just be better to be on the safe side!!

thanks kelly, il check it out!

[thepixie]

I asked my OB this when I was pregnant with DD - he said "well if you have the shot you have a lower chance of having a PPH (he quoted me a figure but I can't remember it now) and if you don't have the shot and have a PPH you will need a lot more than the shot" by which I assumed he meant a synto drip which they used to stop the bleeding.
In any case, I had the shot, still had a bleed and needed the drip so I'm absolutely no use! Maybe have a google around for PPH you might find some useful figures on it.

[BellyBelly]

You're at lower chance of PPH if you don't get induced or have a c/s!!! But they don't go promoting that... for some strange reason... *scratches head*

[onthefly]

That doesn't really make sense. I'd understand if it was due to your uterus failing to contract enough, but not the tearing...
After losing 2.6l last time, our midwife said I'd probabl have to have a cannula put in and managed 3rd stage for next time. I'm not certain how much more likel it is to happen if it's happened before, but she did note that if it had been a tear or cut causing the PPH then it would n't be an issue.

[sasha]

I had a small haemorrhage last time, and this time I've had to sign a waiver saying I understand that not having the injection is against hospital policy. I did tear just a bit with T, so the haemorrhage could quite easily have been from that (according to the midwife). They'll monitor me and I'm happy with that. I'm also interested in NOT tearing this time so hopefully it won't be an issue!

I've got loads of confidence that I'm not going to, you know, bleed to death or anything. But it seems that having the injection is the recommended option 'these days' ... opinions and recommendations seem to change so quickly. Good luck with making your choice.

[Mak]

I am not sure what kind of PPH I had...but I was induced and I am pretty sure that is why the MW's were happy to watch and wait, they seemed pretty confident it would all be ok and knew my history really well as I had GD and monitoring every second day as I wanted to avoid induction a second time.