Retained Placenta

Okay, so if you read my birth story post, you read about my retained placenta.  It's one of those things you never know could happen, or one of those things no one ever tells you about -- probably because it isn't common.  So apparently my placenta was really calcified when most of it came out.  I remember looking at it and seeing white spots on it.  I think that was the calcification, maybe?  My doctor said that a calcified placenta just means that the placenta is finished doing its job.  My doctor had to manually take out the rest of my placenta.  She used her hands and yes, it was a little painful.  I remember her saying "I'm sorry but I must get all the pieces out!"

Well...

Twelve weeks later we realized she didn't get all the pieces out!  I was still bleeding at eleven weeks post partum.  I finally called my doctor and she had me come in right away.  I should have called sooner but at my seven week post partum appointment, my doctor told me I was just over doing it and that was the cause of the continual bleeding.  I believed her.

During my appointment I had an ultrasound that revealed  the piece of placenta.  My doctor scheduled a D and C with a hysteroscopy.  That was a scary experience!  It was outpatient but still, being rolled into an operating room is frightening.  As they were putting me to sleep, I kept thinking about Stella and hoping everything would go just fine so I could see her again. 

Does anyone remember what happened after my egg retrieval?  Click here!  I will always be scared of anesthesia medicines after that experience.

The D and C with a hysteroscopy went fine.  Of course I'm concerned about my future fertility!  My doctor says not to worry though.  She did say there was chronic inflammation from that piece but I guess that's gone now.  I went back for another ultrasound about a month after my D and C and everything looked great.  I was having on and off bleeding again -- that's why I went back a month later!  My doctor suggested one month of BC pills, which I did NOT want to take, but I complied.  Now my cycles are back to normal, or at least the last two cycles have been normal.  My doctor also said the pathology reports came back stating that the pieces removed from my uterus were all "old" placenta pieces.  They weren't muscle from my uterus.

So all that to say -- I think that's why I had trouble breastfeeding.  My body didn't realize that I wasn't pregnant any more because that piece of placenta was in still in there.