My SS Vasa Previa Placenta, *see the photo! :)

PregsMcSnoozalot · June 2014

So I had my beautiful baby boy 11 days ago, at 36 weeks due to vasa previa. He has had a lot of breathing problems for a 36 weeker, but it is apparently not out of the spectrum of normal, especially for white boys, who apparently not only can't jump, but also mature slower in utero. He's still in the NICU (and I am still staying here at the hospital with him), but the plan is for him to go home with us sometime this week. Huzzah!

Anyway, this post is about my crazy ass placenta. Mostly, I wanted this to be searchable for future bump moms with a vasa previa diagnosis. From 18 weeks on (when I was diagnosed), I wondered what the heck my placenta looked like. They said it was bilobed, or split into two parts. One part in the front and one in the back. The baby's blood vessels traveled through the surface of the bag of waters from one lobe to the other down by the cervix, and this was what was so dangerous. If my water broke, it would tear the vessels open and the baby would bleed to death in a matter of minutes.

As you can imagine, this was pretty terrifying. And boy was I pissed at my placenta. But also filled with a morbid curiosity. I wanted to see that damn thing when it came out! Oh, and in addition to being bilobed with exposed fetal vessels, it also had a velamentous insertion, which meant the umbilical cord didn't go into the center or even the side of the placenta, it just sort of splits into a bunch of vessels that travel into the surface of the placenta willy nilly. Now, I'm a visual learner, so hearing all these explanations, I still couldn't picture it.

So here it is ladies. The picture! Here's what a bilobed, velamentous placenta looks like!! My OB said that in his 35 years of practice, he had never seen one like it. If that's not a SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE, I don't know what is, haha!

Hels · June 2014

OMG. I've been in lurker mode hanging out on bedrest for pre-e. This pretty much made my day.

AMcLaws · June 2014

I wish I had a picture of the tumor that was on mine with DD1. Glad your little man is doing a little better!

brooklynesque · June 2014

Wow!!

So glad it all turned out okay.

lowerygirl · June 2014

You may want to put a *Pic Included* in your title. Not everyone will want to see that and a warning would be nice.

On another note..I'm glad to hear your baby is doing well.

jnnfrrose6 · June 2014

I appreciate reading about your story but agree that a PIP warning in the title would be good. Not something I was prepared to see...

marsalisails · June 2014

Holy moly! That looks SO DIFFERENT from what mine looked like with DS! Crazy.

I'm happy that everything turned out ok, and that you and your LO are getting better.

zellatrix · June 2014

Just in case you hear from a ton of people how gross that is and get flamed... I just wanted to say beforehand that it's pretty cool for you to share that for those who might run into it in the future. Glad your baby is doing well!

marsalisails · June 2014

zarkarella said:
Just in case you hear from a ton of people how gross that is and get flamed... I just wanted to say beforehand that it's pretty cool for you to share that for those who might run into it in the future. Glad your baby is doing well!

I find it funny how there was a thread not too long ago where people were talking about EATING placenta...and I don't remember flaming, but this is a rare thing that could be very useful knowledge for some, and people think it's "gross" because they don't want to look at it.

I know you're not in that camp, but i feel like it's just a weird thing to think about.

Am I the only one that actually ASKED to see mine and touch it? And even if I didn't, the midwives just put it in an open rubbermaid container underneath the sink in my bathroom, so I saw it when I went to take a shower anyway!

acciovino · June 2014

Fascinating!

mrscurlygurl · June 2014

So, I had to google placenta images because I realized I didn't even know what a "regular" one looked like. That is pretty crazy. I'm glad to hear things are going fairly well with your LO and that you'll hopefully get to go home soon!

SuperTinkerham · June 2014

I am grossed out and fascinated. So glad you and your baby are recovering.

shamyfowler · June 2014

How interesting! Thanks so much for sharing, and glad that others may find this through search too. Glad you and LO are doing ok and hope you all can go home soon!

MrsLele · June 2014

I has this exact situation with my first daughter! My water did break and we never got to see the placenta bc it was such a hectic delivery. My midwife and the attending OB also had never seen a case like mine. That's awesome you posted the update, bc when I was diagnosed I found next to nothing on the subject, except for horror stories. Luckily we had a successful deliver and other than some jaundice my DD was perfect. So glad to hear you are both doing well. Thanks again for sharing. And if that pic "scared" you, good luck with motherhood ; )

BBColt78 · June 2014

lowerygirl said:

You may want to put a *Pic Included* in your title. Not everyone will want to see that and a warning would be nice.
On another note..I'm glad to hear your baby is doing well.

LOL As I tell my third graders: When you go on the internet, you agree to the risk that you may see something you don't want to see.

@Pregsmcsnoozalot That placenta was a pain in the ass from day one, girl. You needed to all Office Space on it and beat it with a bat.

I too had to Google image placenta to compare. Holy crap those things are gross! Glad you posted for future mommas.

emineminem · June 2014

Morbidly fascinating! Glad everything turned out well, that must have been scary.

shortstack930 · June 2014

This must have been so scary!! I'm so glad you had a safe delivery! Thanks for sharing your story!

lowerygirl · June 2014

BBColt78 said:

lowerygirl said:

You may want to put a *Pic Included* in your title. Not everyone will want to see that and a warning would be nice.

On another note..I'm glad to hear your baby is doing well.

LOL As I tell my third graders: When you go on the internet, you agree to the risk that you may see something you don't want to see.

@Pregsmcsnoozalot That placenta was a pain in the ass from day one, girl. You needed to all Office Space on it and beat it with a bat.

I too had to Google image placenta to compare. Holy crap those things are gross! Glad you posted for future mommas.

Yeah I'm aware that you see things you may not want to see. I never bitched at her or flamed her for posting it. Just said a warning would have been nice. To me, it's no different than anyone wanting a warning on a post where a loss is mentioned. Or...where everybody is telling not to post pics of their mucus plugs. How would a mucus plug be any worse? Also, @MrsLele‌, I never said the pic scared me. Just stated some might want a warning before opening the thread. I will be a great mother.

rach1285 · June 2014

I'm so happy you had a safe delivery! In hindsight your condition was amazing, but I'm sure it caused you plenty of anxiety during the pregnancy! Keep getting stronger LO!

mamaloaf · June 2014

Fascinating! Makes me want to google what a "normal" one looks like. I'm not grossed out at all by this and I also think it will be great for anyone seeking out information in the future.

Hoping for a speedy recovery for your little man!

tealowl · June 2014

That's so facinating! Thanks for sharing!

ksuRN09 · June 2014

Wow! That would be a scary diagnosis to get. Glad everything turned out ok with baby boy! Hope he gets better soon.

Huahine · June 2014

That's so cool. I first checked the thread last night on my phone but couldn't make the image bigger. Had to check back today to take a good look. Fascinating!

Thanks for posting this.

MrsLele · June 2014

@lowerygirl‌ I never said you wouldn't be a good mother, where did that even come from? and my post wasn't even directed at you in particular. Just simply saying the motherhood can be gross and scary and doesn't come with a "warning".

cakebatter27 · June 2014

Ooooo I loved seeing it but I live for gross shit. Now I need to Google a regular one. I hope I remember to say I want to touch mine when it comes out!

Soon2BMrsN · June 2014

I've never even seen what a regular placenta looks like (and now I'm afraid to check), but thanks for sharing! I hope you and baby get to go home together soon.

nicole336 · June 2014

First- I'm so glad you and baby are ok!

Second- that was one of the coolest things I've seen on the bump! Thanks for sharing! (maybe I just have a morbid sense of curiosity but I found the pic fascinating)

Nichole8787 · June 2014

I am so glad that you and baby are doing well! That was gross but really cool....but seriously CAN YOU BELIEVE PEOPLE EAT THOSE THINGS? BARF!

Ecomom17 · June 2014

So glad to hear an update (somehow I missed your actual birth announcement)! Hope baby continues to improve and goes home soon!

I definitely asked to see mine when DS was born. It is not cool that you had this condition but it is super cool to see what it looks like! Thanks for sharing!

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My SS Vasa Previa Placenta, *see the photo! :)

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