Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
3
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“The Placenta Never Has Problems.”
“The placenta never has problems.” – OB to mother who was concerned about low progesterone throughout her first trimester.
There are 17 comments to this post.
Maaaaybe… the OB mistook the word ‘progesterone’ for the word ‘placenta’??
Of course… even then… it seems weird for an OB to say. The placenta being low is one of their favorite things to freak you out about early in pregnancy. Got to make sure mom is all paranoid about placenta previa *loooong* before there is any reason to think it will actually stay low later on. Then later she’ll thank us when we ‘save’ her from that broken body of hers that misplaced it.
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Darsy Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 7:36 am (Quote)
The more I read stuff on this website the more I feel really grateful about my OB. When we had our anatomy ultrasound, they mentioned that our previous previa had moved as they had hoped–that was the first I’d heard! I’m so glad they didn’t tell me as there would have been nothing I could do about it except maybe fuss about it heh.
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OK, first of all, the placenta doesn’t take over progesterone production UNTIL about the 12th week (y’know, after the first trimester). Sooo, saying it never has problems has nothing to do with her concerns about possible low progesterone levels.
Secondly, “never”? Seriously? So you never induce women who go over 40 weeks, claiming that their placentas could fail and kill their babies at any moment once the expiration date has passed? Interesting…
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I have two IUGR babies and three rounds of preeclampsia that say otherwise.
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Kate, Ren's Mama Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:48 pm (Quote)
…yeah, to say nothing about previas, abruptions and IUFD. It seems to me like *most* serious complications of pregnancy have something to do with the placenta. What on earth was this OB thinking?!
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Holly Stewart had this to say,
Jan 3, 2012 @ 9:14 pm (Quote)
This was me. It is in follow up to the continuing failure of care during my 3rd pregnancy, after a loss this summer. To read some of the backstory, check out my last post..
http://myobsaidwhat.com/2011/12/03/this-pregnancy-is-non-viable-there-is-no-point/
So in this case, I went in for my 12 week appointment, fully prepared for them to tell me I needed to stop the progesterone that saved my babies life (the baby they said was non-viable in the first place) If I so much as went 12 hours past taking my medication, I would bleed. Clearly something wasn’t right, and even after I hit the magic number of when “All placentas take over at X weeks” something was wrong. After this appointment, I tried stopping my progesterone supplements, and immediately began bleeding and cramping. Clearly my placenta had not taken over properly, and it clearly needed more help. Yes it is rare for this to be the case, but so is the baby surviving with a progesterone level of only 4.1 to start the pregnancy.
The OB told me this in response to my suggestion that I possibly still needed to be on the progesterone for longer. I happen to encapsulate placentas for a living, so when she said this to me under the assumption that I didn’t know anything, I about fell out of my chair! I wanted to look at her and be like “Lady, I probably see more placentas than you per year, since OB’s always duck out of the room once the baby is out anyway”
It turned out that my placenta did need more help, and I continued the medication for another month, before slowly weaning myself off. That time, I suffered no bleeding or cramping. All OB’s tend to go by this magic number of 10 weeks for the placenta to take over, when in fact it can be anywhere from 8 weeks to as long as 16 weeks in some cases. The actions of these OB’s through my entire pregnancy thus far have nearly cost my baby its life on more than one avenue.
Happy to report that I am currently 19 weeks pregnant with this baby and complication free at this point, due to my own research and taking charge of my medical care. After loosing a baby in June and then nearly loosing this one, it has been a rollercoaster ride. I want all Mom’s to know that the doctor IS NOT always right, and to stand up for yourself and your baby!
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Telula Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:49 pm (Quote)
Good for you for standing up to your doctor! I hope and pray that the rest of your pregnancy goes well and that you and your baby continue to become strong and healthy.
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Vy Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 5:22 pm (Quote)
Ah, I see the connection now.
I had this conversation with my gynecologist (she doesn’t do VBAC or “allow” women to go past 41 weeks, so I looked elsewhere for an OB…) and she said that there is no relationship between progesterone and pregnancy, but that she sometimes prescribed progesterone for women needing peace of mind.
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jaed Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 8:48 pm (Quote)
“she said that there is no relationship between progesterone and pregnancy”
Er… what? No relationship? Between progesterone? And pregnancy? This is a trained medical provider specializing in reproductive health? No relationship?
*boggle*
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Holly Stewart Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 9:26 pm (Quote)
Most OB’s follow that mentality, and most think that progesterone does nothing. In my case with this, they told me this baby was dead (my progesterone levels weren’t even high enough to sustain ovulation) and then when the baby survived, they were like “Well how about that?” The truth is they just don’t know.. since most miscarriages aren’t tested to find out why, and even then medical science is limited to what we can find out, they don’t know that ALL placentas take over full at a certain time. Even though I presented with bleeding and cramping right after stopping the medication on two separate events, they said it was “Just a coincidence” BUT, when I got back on the meds, and had no bleeding and gave myself extended time past the typical window, everything was fine. Coincidence my foot. With how low my progesterone was to start this pregnancy, I have NO DOUBT that levels were just not high enough at 12 weeks to sustain the pregnancy, therefore sustaining the baby.
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*blink*
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