PREGNANCY UPDATE: WHAT'S HAPPENED IN MY 38TH WEEK OF PREGNANCY.

I haven’t shared a pregnancy update for a little while, and after a particularly stressful few days, felt compelled to give you all the heads up on what’s going on... 

As most of you will already know, I’m coming towards the end of my pregnancy journey and as of Sunday, I’ll be officially 39 weeks pregnant - which is just insane! 

But what’s even crazier is that I actually won’t even get to the 40 week point, because I’ve been booked in for a c-section next Thursday. 

This certainly wasn’t planned. In fact, less than two weeks ago I had pretty much finalised my birth plan and my intention was to have a water birth. If anyone reading this blog post is expecting and isn’t sure what route to go down with their birth, definitely explore the possibility of a water birth. The water birthing suites are just amazing - so private and relaxing! 

But like I say, I won’t be having one of those anymore, and that’s because unfortunately I am no longer classed as ‘low risk.’

Eric's Nursery

So basically, I’ve been having lots of blood tests throughout my pregnancy to help monitor my iron levels. I was prescribed iron tablets earlier on in my pregnancy to help bump up my iron level as quickly as possible - and the tablets have absolutely done the trick! My iron is now much higher than it was, which is great. 

However, one of my most recent sets of blood tests (I wouldn’t be able to tell you when I had these tests because there have been literally SO many), revealed that my platelet count is low. 

Prior to this complication, I didn’t really understand platelets and things like that, because I’ve never needed to understand it - but in short, having a low platelet count means that my blood won’t clot properly and therefore puts me at increased risk of excessive blood loss during birth. The medical term for this is ‘gestational thrombocytopenia’, and whilst the condition isn’t rare as such - it’s not exactly common, either.

As you can probably imagine, this was really unsettling news for me to hear, particularly with my due date drawing closer and closer. I’d felt comfortable in the knowledge that I was low risk, and then suddenly not being was a real shock to the system & something that I absolutely wasn’t ready for. 

Fortunately, having had a few days to process things, I’ve just about gotten my head around things and I’m trying to relax as best I possibly can. I’ve now made the decision to go ahead with an elected c-section, which means that I will bring Eric into the world via Caesarian as opposed to having a natural birth. 

C-sections are sometimes glamorised as being the ‘celebrity choice’ when it comes to giving birth. As the saying goes ‘too posh to push!’ - but this is actually something that I hadn’t explored or considered at all previously. I was so happy with my decision to have a water birth, but now that this option has been taken away from me, I feel like a c-section is the best way forward for me. 

A c-section comes with its own risks and complications - as does any method of giving birth - but for me, knowing that I will have lots of professionals around me who understand my condition is very reassuring. I want to feel safe and to know that Eric is safe, and this now feels like the best way forward. Blood loss is still a risk - but everything should be very much controlled and all the correct & necessary precautions will be in place & take into consideration both ahead and during my surgery. 

My pregnancy hasn't been completely straightforward, but Eric is already so loved!

So yeah... a pretty big update on all things pregnancy, I think you’ll agree! 

Like I say, everything being changed so close to my due date has thrown me a little bit, but I know that I’m in good hands and the fact that everything is scheduled in actually makes me feel a little better. Let’s just hope I don’t go into labour before 30th July... I need Eric to stay exactly where he is! No more surprises please! 

If you’ve had a Caesarean section or know someone that has, I would love to hear from you! I’ve got so many questions and would love a little extra reassurance if anyone has any to share. I’m particularly keen to hear more about the c-section scar recovery, changes to the body post c-section and how comfortable/uncomfortable other women have felt following their sections. So please do get in touch with me! 

I really hope you all enjoyed this little update & I look forward to sharing more with you all very soon. 

Lots of love,

Grace x