What A Week...

Okay, so this week has probably been the hardest week of this pregnancy. On Monday morning I began to spot. I called the midwife and she thought it was probably due to the urinary tract infection, which was apparently very strong. So I calmed down and went on with the day. At around 4:00 in the afternoon, there was suddenly fresh blood and enough of it that I needed to wear a pad. I was sure that I was miscarrying. So after some deliberation I called my mother and we went to the student health clinic at school. The after hours nurse sent me to the hospital. After several hours at the hospital I was diagnosed with a threatened miscarriage as well as a vaginal infection (on top of the UTI) and a subchorionic hemorrhage. (A subchorionic hemorrhage is when a clot that has formed between the placenta and the uterine wall begins to bleed). At the hospital I was able to see the baby on the ultrasound for the first time and s/he has a strong hearbeat and was moving around a bit which was very encouraging! By the time we left the hospital the bleeding had apparently stopped and I was feeling confident that everything would be okay.

On Tuesday morning when I woke up the bleeding had come back and was much stronger. I was alos passing clots. So, once again convinced that I was in the process of miscarrying, we rushed off to the doctor's office. At the visit the doctor reassured me that my cervix was still closed and that the chances of the pregnancy continuing were over 50%. Since I hadn't experienced any cramping he felt that things were very hopeful.

I took a few days off just resting and not really doing anything (catching up on some reading). At this point there has been no bleeding since Wednesday evening, not even a trace! We had another ultrasound on Thursday afternoon and Baby Bean was jumping around punching and kicking me and flipping his/her back towards us! The heartbeat measured at 175 bpm, very strong and healthy!

It looks like I'm not going to be able to deliver at home at this point, so I applied for Medicaid yesterday. This is a real struggle for me. I am intensely uncomfortable with the idea of delivering at the hospital for many many reasons, but I have to have this hematoma followed obstetrically. There is only one doctor in St Louis who does home births and I have been told by several people that he does not handle complications well at all. So, I'm stuck. You can pray that I would be guided to the right doctor and the right hospital. I already have a doula who has come very recommended.

Most of all... praises that baby bean is a healthy jumping bean and there is no blood!