A D&C at 6 Weeks Postpartum

I feel the need to tell this story because it is something I wasn't expecting. I spent the day in the hospital yesterday after having some excessive bleeding. The great news is that I am home now and SO happy to be out of the hospital.

This may be a little TMI for some but for others it may help to know what it is.

D&C : Dialation & Curettage

"Dilation and curettage (D&C) is a procedure to remove tissue from inside your uterus. Doctors perform dilation and curettage to diagnose and treat certain uterine conditions — such as heavy bleeding — (my case) or to clear the uterine lining after a miscarriage or abortion." - Mayo Clinic

My Story

I had a regular vaginal delivery with baby boy James and my healing the first 5.5 weeks all seemed pretty normal. Last Friday I started bleeding heavier but not too bad. The Drs said it was fine, it's just my body getting rid of everything from having a baby. They mentioned it could also be a period but even after going to the doctor Wednesday, she still thought it all looked fine and was normal. My dr is really great and she looked around and everything did still appear normal. She expected the bleeding to stop within a day or two and also suggested it could be a period.

The rest of Wednesday things lightened up a bit till I showered then the flow and clots started up again. By Thursday morning things seemed slower again so I packed up the kids and I and headed to a coffee shop in North Park before I was planning on looking at a new vehicle. While we were at the coffee shop, things got really heavy. I'll spare you the details but we had to jet out of there quickly.

I got the kids in the car, called my doctor to see what to do, put my phone on speaker and started driving home. The doctor had me on hold a few times to get all the details. She determined over the phone that I should probably have an ultrasound to rule out the idea of any placenta or foreign pieces in the uterus. She mentioned if there was nothing in there that she could prescribe a medicine to slow down the bleeding. She was on the phone trying to also set up a ultrasound for me as I arrived home and called for Mark to help me get the kids out of the car.

I went to the bathroom to change the two pads I had put on at the coffee shop and I had gone right through those and to my shorts. As I sat down to clean things up I had a clot bigger than a golf ball. This is when I really got scared and informed the doctor who I was still on the phone with. I told her what happened and she said to go straight to the ER.

Mark and the kids brought me to the ER. I checked my self in and they took my vitals. Then they said to wait so I could get my blood drawn and get an ultrasound. It was past time to nurse baby James so I had to ask the ultrasound tech if I could feed him first. Thank goodness I could feed him because he was starving by the time we got there.

After they did an external ultrasound they then did a internal. I could see stuff on the screen but the tech said he couldn't tell me anything and the doctor would let me know. A little bit later we went in to a room in the ER and the doctor came in to say there was still "stuff" inside and that they would need to do a D&C. I was slightly relieved because I really felt that the bleeding just seemed like too much at this point and I really didn't think it was a period since I'm breastfeeding and I never had one with Kyla till a year after delivery. On the other had I was scared to have any kind of surgery or operation. The thought of being nocked out and not knowing if I could breastfeed my baby was scary.

Later the OB doctor came to explain everything more to me. I felt much better after getting a few things clarified. She said it's really only a 10 minute procedure and that it takes the longest just to get set up in the operating room and get the anesthesia going. I asked her the risks and she said if they hit something and got excessive bleeding that they would then perform a histerectomy (yikes). Thank god it did not get to that point. She also said I could nurse all the way up to getting the procedure and I could feed him after as well.

They then sent me to a room to wait for an open time in the operating room. I arrived at the ER around 11:40, had the procedure at around 9 and was home by 11:30 or so. I was only in the operating room about 30-45 minutes and some of that was recovery time. It was a quick and painless procedure. The worst parts were the IV stuck in the crease of my arm all day, and going pee afterward. (They had put a catheter in) after the third time I peed that stopped hurting too.

My mom, dad and Mark took excellent care of our kiddos and I would have been totally lost without their support.

The OB doctor said the procedure went very well and there was no way to tell if it was actually placenta left in there or "the mother of all periods". Either way she said it was good to remove everything that was stuck in there. By my next appointment in two weeks they will find out from pathology what exactly it was causing the excess bleeding.

Now I'm home and have to recover. So far I'm feeling fine. I rejected the offer of a Percocet at the hospital because I didn't have too much pain and I really don't like those. I do have some strong Motrin I can take if I do have more pain. I took one when I got home last night. We all slept well and I'm feeling good this morning. I plan to take it slow and rest today.

I am overly grateful for the doctors, my family, God and my angels above for looking after me during this whole process. I couldn't be happier to be home and able to feed my baby. I can't wait to see my girl when she gets home from school today. She was such a trooper during the time she was in the ER with us.

This Saturday is supposed to start our vacation. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I continue to feel good so we can enjoy this week off as a family.

Thanks for listening! Enjoy the weekend! 

- Bri