Today is my 20th day as an antepartum patient at the Family Birth Center at Sanford. We have a c-section scheduled for April 19, five weeks before my due date (May 24, which coincidentally is our anniversary).
Twentieth day in the hospital, 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant. My paper chain countdown to April 19 hanging in my room.
The reason for this extended hospital stay and planned early delivery is because of some high-risk conditions we found out about at our 20-week anatomy ultrasound.
While, thankfully, our baby girl is healthy, active, surprisingly strong (lately she moves nonstop and has a killer jab that she enjoys directing at my ribs, but only on my right side), and is the adorable spitting image of her daddy, we were diagnosed with vasa previa, velamentous cord insertion, and succenturiate lobed placenta.
Like most, Nate and I had ever heard of any of these conditions before and it was very startling hearing the Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist tell us very frankly that going into labor would cause these unprotected fetal blood vessels to rupture and that the baby could quickly bleed out before we could get to the hospital. We were told that the recommendations for vasa previa were complete pelvic rest, hospital admittance at 30 weeks, and a c-section delivery at 35 weeks, at which point the risks associated with premature birth are safer than the danger of waiting any longer and going into labor, threatening rupture
International Vasa Previa Foundation | vasaprevia.com
We left that 20-week appointment with thoughts spinning. I went back to work and cried, then panicked about the possibility of having to be in the hospital for five weeks. How much would that cost? Would insurance cover it? I’d have to use close to half of my FMLA leave before the baby even arrived. How could I ever be away from our furborn, Finn, for that long? Then the dangers to our baby set in. Would she be okay? What if something happened before 30 weeks? I was literally scared to move, or drive, fearing that the slightest force could rupture those vessels.
As I’ve written about earlier, it was a long and tricky road to get pregnant, and the pregnancy itself has been a bit difficult. I had some bleeding early on in the first trimester that resolved with bed rest, then experienced constant nausea until 18 weeks. I was elated when that started to subside, but then we received this diagnosis that then led to extreme terror and anxiety. I felt like I held my breath every four weeks until the next appointment with MFM where we’d have another ultrasound to monitor the vessels and I’d get to see that she was ok. This being my first pregnancy, I didn’t know what was normal or not, and so every ache and pain was worrisome. Two times when I was unsure and called in to talk to the nurse, they had me come into triage right away as soon as they saw vasa previa on my chart. While being sent home both times after getting checked out did ease my mind, it was still a reminder of the severity of the situation when waiting it out at home was never an option. I have to admit, my anxiety didn’t really resolve until I was admitted at 30 weeks and knew I was where I’d need to be if anything went wrong.
Similar to my cancer diagnosis, I had to research and learn as much as I could about this diagnosis. While sometimes it likely fed my anxiety, ultimately I felt empowered having a better understanding. I found a support group for vasa previa on Facebook as well as the International Vasa Previa Foundation (IVPF). Hearing success stories from other moms and knowing that simply being diagnosed and following the recommendations from the IVPF can prevent fetal death was comforting.
My routine since being admitted has consisted of three 30-minute non stress tests a day to mainly monitor the baby’s heart rate and look for any contractions, visits each morning from one of the MFM specialists and a nurse practitioner, visits from my OB when she is on call, visits most days from the other on-call OBs, ultrasounds twice a week, and blood draws every four days. Because I’m here for monitoring and not restricted to bed rest, I am able to walk laps around the wing, and because so far all of the monitoring has looked good, a week ago I was granted wheelchair privileges where Nate can wheel me downstairs and outside for a bit. Best of all, we were granted permission for Finn to come visit, so he has been here twice. Now nurses who I haven’t even had come asking about the fluffy dog and when he’ll be coming back so they can see him. I’ve had lots of visitors and people spoiling me with flowers, gift baskets full of thoughtful things to pass the time like coloring books and games, and food from the outside world when hospital food gets old. Similar to when I was going through cancer, Nate has again been a rock star behind the scenes going to work, taking care of the house and Finn, visiting every night unless I have a visitor scheduled, coming multiple times on the weekends, taking my laundry home, washing and drying it, and bringing it back, and Facetiming every night so I can see Finn. I am so grateful for him and all he does, and he deserves more credit than he receives, as so much the focus has been on me and the baby.
Hospital visits and Facetime with Finn.
We’re hoping things continue to be uneventful in terms of showing any signs of preterm labor so that we can make it until the 19th. Should I begin to go into labor, an emergency c-section would be done and the baby would be admitted to the NICU. My first weekend here I was given two doses of steroids to help her lungs develop and will likely be given a booster dose this coming weekend. The hope is that we make it to 35 weeks and she doesn’t need to stay in the NICU at all. According to the ultrasound on Friday last week, she was estimated to be 4 lbs, 5 oz and was practice breathing and drinking simultaneously on a previous ultrasound, which is a good sign.
I will update if anything changes before the 19th and once she arrives! Thank you to all who have reached out and who are keeping our little lady in your thoughts and prayers. It means so much!