help (placenta previa question)..so confused for my 20 week Ultrasound this thursday

ok, so heres abit of my back ground for ya....at 16 weeks I was diagnosed with Placenta previa by my OBGYN...at this time he sent me home with instructions to take it easy, no sex, no lifting anything, no gym etc etc (just to rest and be careful which i have been) and to come back for my 20 week appt...now at the time that we got this diagnosis, i had no idea what it was, so after getting home from that appt, i googled it and it seems that there are different 'stages' as to how bad/good it is.....i currently do NOT know what I am at, he never told me....

my concern is this....
1. im pregnant with twins (abit high risk)
2. im over 40 (high risk)
3. i have PP (abit high risk)

why didnt my doctor suggest i see a perinatologist at all? hmmmmmm, i have spoken to two different friends who had twins AND 'pp' and both of them were immediately sent to the specialist after their diagnosis at 14 and 16 weeks and couldnt believe that my doc didnt send me to one as well.....my OBGYN is very good at what he does, extremely well liked here in LA both by patients and co-workers, hes been at it for around 25 years or more and has some high profile clients as well (seen them in the lobby, LOL) but i wonder is he TOOOO confident that he can handle this pregnancy with no problems at all even though potentially im kinda high risk now? as well, im not sure of the policy here on this forum so I wont mention my OBGYN's name until I find out if Im allowed to do that or not..gotta respect his privacy I guess

in your opinion ladies on this forum, should I just ask him to recommend me to see a perinatologist and not see him anymore? (is that the way it works, or would i see him stil every few weeks along with the high risk specialist thru-out the rest of the pregnancy? no idea..help!!!

I just dont know as this is my first pregnancy at 40, twins to boot AND ive been diagnosed with a condition up until a few weeks ago had never heard of before....what do I do? ack!

thanks in advance everyone

 

:hug: I would talk to your doctor and tell him/her your concerns about seeing a perinatologist. My best friend had PP with her last pregnancy (she was pregnant with one though) and the OB did refer her to a perinatologist and hers was mild so they felt she did not need to follow up after the first visit with the specialist. By the time her little girl was born, the PP had resolved itself. She did have the same restrictions as you during her pregnancy. Her baby girl was born healthy and fine, no issues with the delivery. Good luck and let us know how you make out!

 

Since the vast majority of PP cases resolve themselves, it's possible he's waiting to see what's happening at your 20 week appointment before referring you. Honestly, for PP there isn't anything a specialist would recommend at this point that's different from what your OB has recommended. It's also possible that the PP was only threatened (ie *close* to the cervix but not actually covering it) in which case there would be no point in seeing a specialist yet either.

Regardless, this is all conjecture & the only one who knows for sure is your OB so I agree with Nancy to just let him know your concerns & ask him to explain his thoughts on sending you to a specialist or not.

 

Hi and Welcome to Twinstuff, I hust saw your other thread today also. I read there you are expecting Boy/Girl twins - I have B/G twins also , it's so much fun.

I didn't have Placenta Previa, but I have a friend who did, and it just resolved itself before delivery, as previous posters told you. As I see it with placenta previa, the worst case scenario is that you will have to have a C-Section. Well, being that you are pregnant with twins, it's more likely that you will have one anyway, if Twin A is breech. So try not to stress too much about it and follow your OB's advise, rest and relax as much as you can. I went to a perinatologist because my RE sent me- I had to have IVF to conceive my twins. From my experience, I really don't think it was that useful, just extra appointments. I can see how it's useful for Mono twins, that share a placenta and/or a sack, but for Di/Di twins, I don't think it's that big a deal. If anything going to the perinatologist made me worry more. They found something wrong with Max's kidneys at 18 weeks, they were too big, so that was a possible sign he may have Down syndrome... anyway, it worked itself out in the end, by 36 weeks his kidneys looked normal, and he is as good as he can be, but I worried so much about him. Honestly the way I saw it, anything they would have found wouldn't had made me terminate the pregnancy. I think if your OB would notice something off with the babies, he would send you. If it would make you feel better to see a perinatologist, mention it to your OB, I am sure he would give you a refferal.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

 

All of this. I was told the same thing at 16 weeks with my oldest son. And asked to come back at 26 weeks for another u/s. by that point, it had resolved itself. Luckily, my Dr did tell me that's what usually happened, but I was pretty stressed about it, too.

I always think its worth talking to your Dr if you're worried about something, they don't want you stressed out.

 

thanks ladies for all your input! im heading out in an hour here for the 20 week ultrasound so i'll keep ya posted and let you know how it went and whether i'll be going to the specialist and how the PP is doing........thanks again for all your great comments and its reasuring to know that I could just be overreacting and that my doc may already know that the PP could be healing itself (hence no need for the perinatologist) (LOL,wont be the first time i stress out and overreact abit)

cheers!

 

Keep us posted! :grouphug: