Medically Managed Pregnancy Chatter #2

[DaintreeDream]

I didn't know that this thread existed either! A little late for me I suppose as baby will be here in 2 and a half weeks.

All of my pregnancies have been high risk, as most of you know, DD1 has a rare chromosome abnormality and was also frank breech until birth, for these 2 reasons we chose a CS at the last minute and I am so glad we did, she required alot of help at birth the team were in the room ready, she stayed in NICU/SCN for 3 months and underwent jaw surgery to enable her to breath unassited.

DD2 has a congenital heart condition severe 'coarctation of the aorta' and a VSD (hole in the heart) she was also born by CS as I was unable to be induced due to my previous CS and they wanted the cardiac team ready for her, she was lucky to be born healthier than expected however she still required open heart surgery at 6 days old.

I am currently 36+1 weeks pregnant with DD3 and she also has a congenital heart condition 'coarctation of the aorta' although hers is classified as mild. She will be arriving by CS in 2.5 weeks, I have chosen not to attempt a VBA2C as the hospital I will be birthing at is 2 hours drive and I do not feel comfortable with this. DD3 has been given a 50/50 chance of requiring surgery at birth, it is great news but scary at the same time. On one hand if she had surgery, we would know that everything has been 'fixed' where as instead they are going to monitor her in SCN for 7 days and she if she manages alone, if they are happy they will send her home, which would be wonderful! but I am a little scared that we will be constantly looking for signs of her heart condition.

Kim, this is my 7th too xx

Skye, although my situation is different to yours, I avoided alot of my appoinments this time, I just didn't wanted to think that I could have another sick baby.

I am still undecided if this will be my last pregnancy, I know that most people think it should be but I can't help but want to have just one more...

[{sarah}]

Progesterone pessaries suck don't they & they might be what's causing the BH, I had them for the first 7 weeks (IVF protocol) and had some shocking cramping from them. So much happening for you BAL, hopefully your cervix starts playing nice soon.

Skybie I can understand you wanting to avoid appointments, sometimes it feels good to just bury your head in the sand & hope it all is ok when you come up for air. Thinking of you xxx

Wow DD, I hope little miss is ok & doesn't require the surgery after she arrives.

Wow I feel a bit out of my depth being in here with all of the complications you guys are facing. It's so scary isn't it.

[skybie]

DD ive got everything crosed that your newest princess gets to come home and get nice and chubby before her surgery!
We have double the chance of another congenital heart defect, really not looking forward to the 20 week scan.

Sarah, its all so scary, i wish i could still be in niave land where u get pregnant, the baby grows, u birth it and then u bring it home.
What day next week is your scan? make sure u stay off your feet as much as possible. i think hiring a doppler is a great idea, im thinking of doing it myself. i hate that im such a nervous nelly this time around

[DaintreeDream]

Wow I feel a bit out of my depth being in here with all of the complications you guys are facing. It's so scary isn't it.

Funny you say that Sarah because I often feel this way. I struggle to say my girls have special needs as I don't feel that way really, they are just normal little girls to me.

At the last scan baby weighed 2.6kg which is apparently a week behind but my girls weighed 2.9kg each at birth so it looks like another small baby for me. A was only 2.3kg when she came home after surgery, so tiny for a term baby. I am not sure where you are having your scans Skye, or where you had them with Jack but I can't recommend my sonographer enough. He is in Mulgrave. He picked up this babies heart condition at 12 weeks!

[blessedatlast]

Oh BAL I was hoping you'd come in too. Feel honoured to share a pregnancy with you. You and your little guys changed my life. Even if you'll never really know.

Kim, thank you so much. That means so much to me.
Maybe you should take it easy.. I have only been on bed rest since Monday and I'm already bored lol. My back hurts from laying down all the time. I know my back and neck will suffer terribly. The most important thing is Button though..

Sarah - I borrowed a doppler off a friend. It's great.I was concerned at 1st it could cause undue anxiety if I can't find the HB straight away, but even when I didn't I could always hear something, like the baby moving. It's very rare I have just heard silence, but the HB is quite often easy to find. Often though I don't get time to listen long because bub takes off again ,. Also I find it interesting that you said the progesterone may be causing braxton hicks, as the reason I'm on them is because they were supposed to "calm the uterus"

DD - I hope your little girl doesn'tt require surgery, but I get what you mean, if they don't operate how you would be a bit scared.. I think I have told you before I have ASD, VSD, pulmonary stenosis, transposition of the great vessels, hypoplastic right ventricle & dextracardia. I was a blue baby, but they didn't operate on me til I was 6, which was a minor op, I just had a blalock shunt. Then at 8 I had open heart surgery and have been fine ever since. Is it expected that DD2 will require more surgery?

Skybie - I am so happy for you being pregnant again. It is nice to be in denial and pretend it's a normal pregnancy. You know, a pregnancy where you get pregnant, function normally and take a baby home at the end.. I really hope you do have a smooth pregnancy and there are no heart issues with this bub. I was told I have about 5% chance of passing on a CHC but so far I have been lucky that way. twins hearts were fine and this bubs heart looks good too.

Well today I am off to the GP to get a med cert for the job I just started last week lol.. I wish Monday would hurry up, so I can see my OB (Dr P.ortman) She is awesome, and I know even if I am put on bed rest she will put my mind at ease a bit. She just has a way about her. Apart from that I am just resting today. The best thing about bed rest is being able to lay down and really concentrate on feeling those beautiful movements. I love this baby so much..

[camnciarasmummy]

Hello Ladies,

I have recently been diagnosed as a "high risk pregnancy" I have complete placenta previa as well as placenta accreta. This is baby number 3 and there is talk of doing a hysterectomy at the time of delivery. Looking forward to chatting with other ladies who are classed as high risk.