Retained placenta after c-section?

blp0118

Has anyone heard of or experienced retained plecenta after a c-section? I googled it a little bit, but I think it's kinda rare. I guess this is more of a WWYD situation?

I'm 14 weeks PP.

I bled for the full 6 weeks PP, then stopped for 3 days.. then started again for about a week- which i thought was my period. Then about a week later I started bleeding again but it was dark brown blood, for about 3 days. Then it would stop again for about 3 days.. then back to the dark brown blood. Then I would get my regular period... so on and so forth... This has been the pattern since 6 weeks PP. This last time the blood was REALLY old and dark, dark brown, almost black - and only a little bit. I called my doctor at around 8 weeks PP and they said they'd like me to come in for an ultrasound, I kinda scoffed because, as you all know and have experienced, we have enough medical bills right now, and it's a new year, so I'm going to have to start all over again. Anyway, they said I could wait another 12 weeks if I didn't want to come in yet - I just feel like I might be wrecking something for my next pregnancy... I would be REALLY mad at myself if I can't have another kid because I don't want to pay $1000 for an ultrasound.

Anyway, I think I know the answer here... I'm just looking for a sounding board, wondering if anyone has experienced this and what the outcome was?

TIA!

Courtimilk

Personal experience; Nope.

I would highly doubt the retained placenta, as I thought doctors cleaned you up while they were in there (mine did, I hardly bled).

My thoughts are that you are either pushing yourself to hard physically to properly heal, or that you have not properly healed in the first place. If it could be the latter, I'd vote for getting checked out. Rather safe than sorry.

surpriseaddition

I've had a vaginal birth and c-section.  I actually did have a retained placenta with the vaginal birth, because the umbilical cord broke from the placenta during the afterbirth.  I had to have an emergency D&C to stop the gushing blood.....and I mean gushing.  I could feel it pulsating out of me.  The orderly was irked at my OB because the blood was coming off the guerney they were using to wheel me from the labor room into a surgical room.  She just yelled at him to get a mop.  I really thought I was going to die.

I would find it highly unlikely that an OB would miss part of the placenta during a c-section, since it's all right there to see.  After my ordeal they sent the various parts of the placenta to the lab to piece it all together to make sure it had all been removed.  This was just my experience though.  I agree with the PP that maybe you are overdoing it a bit since the c-section?