Stark realisation - not a good one.

[Inertia]

I was talking to one of my sisters on MSN the other day about out labours and how long we were in hospital and the like. She has precipitate labours so she has to stay in hospital longer than the norm as they are somewhat risky. Now other than my PPH, I tend to think of myself as generally healthy, so it really shocked me when my sister piped up and said "Well you were high risk for the PPH anyway".

I couldnt see it.

She mentioned things like the previous number of kids, time in labour - which really I always took as a sign of health because I have strong membranes and they don't break by themselves. Always need to be broken for me and I prefer to keep them in tact until 8cms because it is much less painful while the membranes are in tact and that last 2cms only takes about 5 minutes.

But I have been wandering around here, posting replies, sharing experiences and it has really hit home that all these little things, that I just thought of individually as little things and still meant I was generally healthy actually add up to a lot. It is a whole lot.

I knew I should have listened to my head when it told me that I really shouldn't have another. I just cant believe I have been walking to haphazardly through this and even my last couple of pregnancies like I am bullet proof. No wonder my husband stresses and fusses over me so much.

I am really feeling quite the fool right now. Might talk to DH in the morning about ensuring I see a doctor and get all my tests that I put off because of the holiday caught up by the end of the week.

[alioops]

Hun, when it comes down to it you have babies because you love them, not because you are in perfect health. My waters were broken with both of my previous births, but that doesn't mean that they wouldnt have broken naturally, and it is okay for a baby to be born still in the sac. My waters will not be broken artificially this time, so there is a very real possibility that she will be born in the sac.

Knowing that there is a risk of PPH, there is the knowledge and precautions can be taken. As for multipara, well that just means that you know what you are doing and are more likely to notice if something isn't right. As for the time in labour - we are all different, and time is labour means nada to me, it just means that you are not another number!! My sis had a 32 hour labour, My longest was 5 hours. There are huge variations that have nothing to do with how some other family member went.

You'll be fine hun. You have done it before and know what to expect. Be strong in your knowledge of your body and your baby. No one else knows you as well as you do.

[Inertia]

You'll be fine hun. You have done it before and know what to expect. Be strong in your knowledge of your body and your baby. No one else knows you as well as you do.

That really isnt the half of it Ali.

The one that really affects the baby is the Anti-e. I don't know. I am just so used to feeling "fine". I mean, I know I am not fine - i am sick almost constantly and lose so much weight that my clothes end up 2 sizes too big, but I enjoy the whole pregnant feeling. So as much as I dont actually like the feeling of throwing up at least half of everything I eat, I tend to soak it all in as a part of my experience and it ultimately doesn't really faze me.

I don't know. I guess the whole reality check that everyone sees me as high risk but me is pretty grounding. For me its always just been DTD, throw up for 9 months, pop, its a baby. Think I am suffering a bit of information overload?

[Nelle]

I'm a little confused, could you list the things that make you 'high risk', and what problem they pose?
I'm considered 'high risk' apparently, because I've had a PPH both times. I don't think I'd be a fool for going back for another baby - you know the risk, and you can make your decisions around that. Risks can be managed, that's why we have hospitals and hospital staff, to sort us out when things go wrong.

[alioops]

Is that anti E or anti D hun? bit confused never heard of anti E.

If everyone who was 'high risk' never had babies, then there would be far less babies in the world. Hun I am not a fan of OBs for low risk births, I have faith that you will find an OB that will look after you. They are trained to help with high risk.

Dont feel guilty for wanting to bring another beautiful life into this world hun, You are a woman and that is what we are designed to do. People being concerned for you is their way of showing that they love you.

I trust that you are doing what you can to manage the nausea and keeping hydrated. Try to have something to eat with you at all times so that there is enough going in to couteract what comes out calorie wise.

Information overload is probably the perfect description hun. Yes you may be officially classed as 'high risk' (I hate that term BTW) but you know that you can do this. It is understandable for your family to be concerned, they only see the bad parts, you feel the excitement, the kicks, and you just enjoy the feeling of pg.

[Inertia]

Hey Nelle. Having the Anti-e makes me high risk during the pregnancy as if the baby got Big E from dad, then my little e antibodies build up and start attacking the baby. It can cause anemia in the baby in-utero and in serious cases they have been known to transfuse to the baby while still in the womb and then deliver as soon as its considered "safe" to do so.

My PPH puts me in high risk for third stage complications.

Then there is the hypoglycemia which I am so used to monitoring anyway I never really thing about it, but my blood sugar drops like a stone when I am pg.

Finally I have a mitral valve regurgitation. Thats a valve in the heart that doesnt close properly so blood flows backwards from the ventricle and back into the atrium. Under high physical load this can cause it to flood back into the lungs.

I have really never put 1+1+1+1 all together before and come up with 4. Its always just been 1 to me.

Ali: Its Anti-e, which is another part of the RH chain. So its like Anti-D, but the anti-d immunoglobin is not structured to help anyone but D.

I know that I have generally cruised through 5 other pregnancies, and really taking that into consideration, it shouldnt stress me as much as it has, but as I said above. Before they were just little things to me. It kind of made me think of the phrase 'death by 1000 cuts' iykwim.

[Nelle]

Don't feel silly, I can see why it would be easy to miss 1 + 1 + 1...especially since this isn't your first child. Is it stuff you can do anything about, or is it just something you need to let your health care provider know down the track? Do you have an ob yet?
Don't feel bad, no judgement from us!

[Inertia]

Don't feel silly, I can see why it would be easy to miss 1 + 1 + 1...especially since this isn't your first child. Is it stuff you can do anything about, or is it just something you need to let your health care provider know down the track? Do you have an ob yet?
Don't feel bad, no judgement from us!

I have an appointment with my doc in an hour. I kinda put the whole deal off for the holiday and DHs surgery. I tend to try and see the positives of things, and seemed to just meh at the chance of real complications. I mean even my PPH was really severe - I was actually transfused, two bags. I lost practically half my blood supply and from what DH remembers through the panic of the situation, they very nearly lost me in the delivery suite. I vaguely remember trying to sign something and feeling very dizzy and tired. Yet I never really accepted the severity of the whole thing until last night. I go onto oxytocin drip after the babies now, so its just another thing they do now. Like the heart scans, the weekly blood tests, the weekly ultrasounds from 25 weeks.

This stuff isn't normal. It just kinda all hit me at once last night and scared the hell out of me.