Our first meeting with the new perinatologist

Kevin and I met with the perinatologist today. (If you don't know, a perinatologist is just a fancy term for "high-risk pregnancy doctor".) I still feel optimistic after meeting with her, and I think she will do a very good job of monitoring me closely and being emotionally supportive as well. We did hear some news that was a little bit of a let down but certainly not a deal breaker.

The doctor's opinion based on the evidence she's seen is that the past two pregnancy losses could be related and maybe due to a clotting disorder. She ordered a slew of blood tests in which I had to give half a pint of blood practically. I only lost about a liter of blood during the c-section so I guess a little bit more won't hurt. If any of these tests come back positive, then I can simply prevent this again by taking blood thinners during the pregnancy to prevent clot formations.

The other possibility is that I went into pre-term labor and did not in fact have a placental abruption. The bleeding that I experienced initially could have been related to my cervix opening rapidly rather than the placenta detaching itself prematurely. I see this as being quite possible since all my labors have been very short (and very painful I might add). We can try to prevent the pre-term labor next time with progesterone shots on a regular basis along with monitoring my cervix closely via ultrasound.

I have been instructed to request my post-operative notes from my last c-section so that the doctor can read the surgeon's report on my uterus and placenta during and immediately following the surgery. This will give her clues as to whether the placenta was already detached and/or had clots or other issues and thus indicating an abruption or not.

So right now we are waiting on the lab results from the blood tests and the post-operative notes from Labor & Deliver at the hospital, and we will go from there.

We of course had many other questions we asked the doctor, but the one we were most anxious to hear the answer to is, "when can we start trying again?" And we will need to wait at least 6 months because I had a classical c-section and need more time to heal. We were pretty let down when we heard this, but at least we have the option of trying again. It could be worse.

To end on a positive note, I do have a funny story to share. On my way to taking Kevin back to work (since we only have one car), we were rehashing what we had talked about with the doctor, and Kevin was reflecting back on my birth experience with my last pregnancy. He mentioned that when they did the internal exam after I came into triage, the resident called out, "her cervix is gone!" Kevin admitted to me that his initial thoughts at the time were, "well, where did it go? did it just fall out?" Upon hearing his perspective and because I have a skewed sense of humor, I start laughing uncontrollably. (If you don't know why that's funny then you need to become familiar with the female anatomy and what happens in labor). Bless his heart, his willful ignorance on the matter is one reason I've always had doulas for my births in the past.