Hellobee

Part I

This post was originally written April 28, 2009.

WARNING: Graphic and disturbing content ahead.

After giving birth to Paige, my doctor turned my attention back to the task at hand… delivering the placenta.

I’d never given this part much thought. How hard could it be? You push some more and it slips right out with a tug of the cord. Well, I had a crappy cord. The doctor said it was barely attached and if he gently tugged it, it would detach from the placenta and then we’d have some trouble. This was terrifying to hear. The cord was THAT bad?

I pushed and pushed and pushed. Nothing was happening. The doctor then asked the nurses for a particular tool which, of course, the hospital didn’t have in stock at the moment. He then had to go on up there with his hands to try and manually take the placenta out himself. Thank God for that epidural because it took an HOUR. He feverishly wrestled and wrangled with my uterus to try and get the damned thing out. I could see his hand up under my rib cage. It was disturbing to say the least — like watching a horror movie.

My T-shaped uterus housed the baby in one horn, and the placenta in the other. It was tucked way in the end of the horn. He just couldn’t reach it and had a hard time getting a good hold of it. It was also coming apart in pieces so he kept having to fish around to get everything out bit by bit. It was a nightmare.

The poor doctor looked so terrified. He was professional and together, but had those eyes of panic. He had to stop to take a break and explained that the placenta just wasn’t letting go. He said he was confident he would get it, and that because my bleeding wasn’t at a dangerous point yet, he was feeling good about things. He told me it would take time and I said “just do what you need to do since I can’t feel anything right now, I know you can do it.”

Next thing I know, there are 5 nurses in the room running around and gathering equipment, etc. Some were pushing on my stomach while others reassured me. There was blood everywhere on the floor and I was exhausted. I could barely think straight. Finally, after an hour, he yelled “I’ve got it!” and he pulled it out with all the nurses looking on with relief.

He showed it to me later and pointed out how it was all calcified and sketchy. He mentioned how amazed he was that the baby got as big and healthy as she did with that crappy placenta and cord. He later told me he feared I might have had to lose my uterus. How scary is that?? Another miracle!!! He reassured me that this was not a normal experience and rare. He told me that it was just an isolated incident and not likely to happen to me again in a future pregnancy/childbirth, and he felt bad that this happened. He told me he didn’t want it to ruin my experience.

Of course, nothing could ruin the experience! I was still on cloud nine. I’d never much thought about the placenta delivery, so it was quite a surprise that the delivery of the baby went so great only to have the last part go foul.

Fast forward: I got to hold the baby several hours later when the feeling in my arms returned (I’d worked them to exhaustion holding my legs during the labor), and I got to feed her. What a real thrill. Her first feeding! And she downed the bottle like a champ. The recovery after that was hard. My tailbone was broken or dislocated — I have no idea how it happened. It was during the birth or during the crazy aftermath with the placenta. They didn’t bother to X-ray since there’s nothing they can do anyway. The doctor says it happens sometimes. The don’t mention that in the pregnancy books!

So, I had to sit on a doughnut and nurse my butt until it healed. It took about 5 or 6 months to fully feel ok again. It was excruciating to bend over or pick up the baby from low positions. My pelvis was still a little separated and sore as well, making it hard to walk. Eventually everything else healed just fine. I couldn’t complain though when I had that beautiful little baby face to peer up at me. My heart now lived in her.