Episode 36: Placental percreta and 27 week twins
Jen’s pregnancy was complicated by twin gestation, early first trimester bleeding, and abdominal pain. She had exploratory surgery at 27 weeks to determine the cause of her abdominal pain, and the surgeons found an invasive placenta. During the surgery, Jen started hemorrhaging and the decision was made to deliver her twins emergently.
Jen’s twins were born at 27 weeks, weighing 2 pounds 6 ounces and 2 pounds 5 ounces. She describes the initial NICU stay as overwhelming yet calm. Although her twins were tiny, she felt a sense of calm that they were being well cared for and in the NICU, where they needed to be. They had typical issues of prematurity including PDA, apnea, bradycardia, and working on feedings; but no major complications. They were in the NICU for 78 days.
Jen joins me on the podcast today to talk about her journey leading up to and through the NICU.
There are three types of invasive placental growth we discuss briefly in the podcast:
Placenta accreta - placenta attaches too deeply into the uterine wall.
Placenta increta - placenta grows into the uterine muscle.
Placenta percreta - placenta grows through the uterine muscle and attaches to other abdominal organs.
Image from www.accretafoundation.org
For more information, check out these resources:
www.marchofdimes.org
www.accretafoundation.org
www.donate4mothers.org
The twins are now 5-years old and entering Kindergarten.