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High-Risk Pregnancy
medp87
member
Vasa previa/hospital admission
medp87
member
Hi everyone! Just looking for anyone with a similar experience who may have some info to share…..I’m scheduled to be admitted for inpatient monitoring on 2/6 due to vasa previa and have a c-section scheduled for 2/20 (I’ll be 34 weeks at that point). Luckily it was diagnosed early so we’ve had time to prepare but now that it’s only a few days away it feels a lot more real now. Just trying to wrap my brain around what the next few weeks might look like. If anyone has any input on antepartum hospital stays/c-sections/NICU it would be appreciated! Thanks:)
Re: Vasa previa/hospital admission
I am so sorry you're going through this. Vasa previa is a scary complication and I'm glad they caught it. Your next few weeks while you wait for delivery will hopefully be quite boring and repetitive, in the best way! The primary goal will be to monitor you and baby for any changes that could affect the vasa previa and alter the plan for delivery. 34 weeks is a conservative timeline that is common in vasa previa to avoid any chances of early cervical changes and baby dropping into your pelvis to compress the vessels.
C-sections are quite well practiced these days, and the process itself especially when planned generally follows very similar routine across the board. You will be prepped with IV's and given a hair net, if you have someone who is coming with you they will be given very fashionable attire that will match your surgical team, including their own hair net and they will get to wear a mask and those delightful blue booties! They will be getting dressed while you are being wheeled into the operating room. There you will be given a spinal injection that will numb you from the belly down - this will last for 2-3 hours and you won't have anything left inside your spine like an epidural, it will be a shot and done. Your body will be covered in a lot of blue drapes which will keep the area sterile for the operation. You will be very quickly numb, and they will check if you can feel anything before they start the operation. You will likely remain awake, but there is a possibility depending on your surgeon and the state of your vasa previa that they *may* (unlikely) be planning to put you completely under general anesthesia for the C-section - ask if you don't already know which way they are planning. Your belly will be sterilized and the important thing to know about when the surgery begins is that you may still have sensations like pulling or tugging but you should not feel *pain* - the anesthesiologist will be right beside you at the head of the bed, communicate with them! If things change, you start feeling anxious, strange and especially pain, tell them immediately and they will help you!
The actual surgery to get to baby and birth them is quite fast, and once they are out it will be a quick hello over the screen to show you and your partner if present and then baby will be handed to the neonatal team who will be devoted entirely to baby and in the operating room from the beginning. They will attend to baby while your surgeons continue to attend to you. Finishing the C-section takes more time than birthing baby! With the vasa previa they will have to move more carefully and methodically so you will likely be in the operating room for at least an hour, probably 90 minutes. Something to request before surgery even begins is that you receive double stitching for every layer of closure - this will speed your healing and increase the chances of a VBAC for a future delivery should you ever want to have another child, but also just makes healing faster and stronger and your body more robust. Say no thank you to staples and single stitching.
34 weeks and time to prepare is very good for you and baby, during your stay prior to delivery you will receive at least 2 shots of steroids to help baby's lungs develop. 34 weekers have a very good outlook, and tend to do exceptionally when they have been given the chance for steroid injections and prepped NICU team at delivery. Vasa previa may have lead to some IUGR, you didn't mention if baby was small, but even if so they tend to pack on the weight well once earthside. Your baby may need breathing assistance, but at 34 weeks this is usually more like a CPAP or bipap machine that stays on the exterior of their face, not a tube that goes into their trachea for a ventilator. They may need help with feeding, so a feeding tube called an NG - naso-gastric tube, may be inserted through their nose (naso) and it will go down into their stomachs (gastric) so that special formula or your breast milk can be administered via the tube. There will be no incisions for this tube to be inserted. Baby will also usually have an IV placed in their arm, but to keep it safe their put a stiff foam board on their arm and wrap it all up, it looks like a lot but it's all just for an IV! It's so that their movements dont dislodge the IV. Hopefully, baby won't need much or any of this, and if they do a nurse should be with you and explain things when you see baby the first few times. Baby may seem extremely small and fragile, but they should let you hold them if they are stable within a few hours. 34 weeks is a fairly robust time. Baby might look really fuzzy with hair, this is a protective layer that is lost around 34 weeks so it may or may not be there, but if they look like they are covered in fuzz, that's normal! There are many other possible things baby may need but those are the most common. In general, the ear mark for release from the NICU is their due date, but if they are doing well they usually are released sooner.
I hope this helps, I wish you the absolute best with your stay, delivery, and recovery please reply back with questions if you have them! Wishing you the best.
I have a reddit sub that has a lot of write ups on what I've quickly covered above but you are welcome to read into all of them and consider making a C-section birth plan!
www.reddit.com/r/empoweredbirth will take you there and then you can click the welcome in post which will have all the current topic categories. It is still very much in progress as I add things when and where I can but if there is something missing please don't hesitate to reach out!
Wishing you the absolute best.
Wishing you the best.
Please dont hesitate to reach out if you need anything - I hope that your little man gets the hang of feeding and you get to bring him home on the 2nd!
Sending you strength, patience, health and the best.