Declan's Birth - Uterine Rupture

I shared in Declan's birth story post that I had a partial uterine rupture during labor. In the eight weeks since his birth I've become more educated on the subject through talking with my amazing doctor, Dr. Thompson, as well as reading some journal articles that he sent me.

A week or so after Declan was born, Dr. Thompson sent me the pathology report from my placenta which said that the placenta showed acute inflammation and unevenly accelerated villous maturation (more information on that on page 2 of this article). The report also said that "the consequences of this abnormality are increased risk of neonatal death, stillbirth and neurologic abnormalities at age 7". Freaked out much? It was just really upsetting for me to learn "what could have been" because of this abnormality.

I was planning on asking Dr. Thompson to explain more about this to me at my 2 week incision check with him, but he ended up being on call that day and had to go to the hospital so I saw Dr. Bendfelt instead. I'm sure I could have asked him my questions, but I really wanted to ask Dr. Thompson since he was the one who was there. So I had to wait until my 6 week check-up, which was actually at 7 weeks post-delivery because he is so busy and in-demand!

So finally, after kind of worrying over what all that meant, Dr. Thompson eased my worries about the placenta issues, but also made me realize what a miracle Declan's delivery was and how involved God was in the good outcome.

He started by drawing me a picture of my uterus to show me where the tear was. Mine was a partial or incomplete rupture, so the myometrial wall (which is the thick wall of the uterus) was torn, but not the peritoneum (the membrane lining of the uterus). I guess I didn't realize what a HUGE deal a uterine rupture could be.... Wikipedia calls it a "potentially catastrophic event" and a "life-threatening event for mother and baby"; Dr. Thompson said if the lining had torn, it could have been a catastrophe.

So like I said in Declan's birth story, his heart rate was dropping after contractions, but then it would come back up again. He explained that the main sign of a uterine rupture is if the baby's heart rate significantly drops and does not come back up, but that is not what happened to us, so we had no signs that my uterus was torn.

But because his heart rate continuously dropped, Dr. Thompson decided on a c-section. He told me that this drop was most likely a result of the placenta issues that were discovered in pathology. The placenta wasn't providing Declan with enough oxygen to keep his heart rate up under the stress of contractions.

So here's the good part, the part where I clearly see God's hand in all this: had we waited much longer for a c-section, the lining could have also torn, which could have been so bad, possibly leading to death for Declan and/or me. But because of the heart rate drops - because of my placenta's insufficiencies - a disaster was avoided since the c-section was done before it was a complete uterine rupture. Dr. Thompson actually called it a Godsend.

Amazing, right??!! While the letter and pathology report upset me so much at first, it turned out that these problems are really what God used to keep us safe. I love the way God works and am so thankful to Him for my health and safety as well as my precious miracle baby.

Dr. Thompson also did some research on the implications of a uterine rupture for future pregnancies and found that the prognosis is good, but I'll definitely need a repeat c-section, probably around 37 weeks. Once again, thankful to God for preserving my ability to have more children.

Meal Plan Monday

A lot of repeats this week since last week was kind of crazy and we did some unplanned stuff...


Monday

Meatballs w/ Cream of Mushroom
Egg Noodles

Tuesday

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Wednesday
Pork Loin

Thursday
Ground Beef Stroganoff

Friday
Loaded Potato Soup

Saturday
Macaroni & Beef with Cheese

Meal Plan Monday

Monday
Meatballs w/ Cream of Mushroom (didn't have this last week)

Tuesday
Chicken Fried Steak

Wednesday
Spinach Lasagna Rolls (didn't have this last week)

Thursday
Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta

Friday
Frozen Pizza (ended up not doing this last week, so we'll try again this week)

Saturday
Pork Loin (got a couple of these on great clearance last week at Martin's!)

Meal Plan Monday

Monday
Chicken & Vegetable Dumplings
Ramen Noodles (flashback to college?)

Tuesday
Taco Salad

Wednesday
Tater Tot Casserole

Thursday
Meatballs w/ Cream of Mushroom

Friday
Pizza (& a movie maybe? Thinking of eating picnic style while watching a movie Bailey would like... just sounds like a fun idea for the family)

Saturday
Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Meal Plan Monday

Monday
Will be coming home from VA Beach, so this is up in the air... probably fast food

Tuesday
Taco Salad

Wednesday
Corn Dog Muffins

Thursday
Biscuits & Gravy

Friday
Pork Loin

Saturday
Breakfast-- Eggs, Bacon, Toast

Meal Plan Monday

Monday
Jambalaya w/ Kielbasa (did not have this last week)

Tuesday
Breakfast Casserole

Wednesday
Corn Dog Muffins (did not have this last week)

Thursday
Spaghetti & Meatballs

Friday
Going to VA Beach for the weekend!

Meal Plan Monday

Monday

Cheeseburger Macaroni

Tuesday

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Rice

Wednesday

Hot Dogs

Thursday

Breakfast Casserole

Friday
Jambalaya w/ Kielbasa

Saturday
Corn Dog Muffins