Sharon started bleeding after caesarean section: ‘Blood clots as big as tennis balls’

Blood loss

She lies sad in bed when she suddenly starts bleeding. “Blood clots came out, the size of tennis balls. My husband and I looked at each other. That couldn’t have been the intention. The nurse arrived and immediate action was taken. Doctors came, I got an injection and eventually even a blood transfusion.”

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She doesn’t know how much blood she has lost. It is also not entirely clear what exactly happened. “I think they should have given me a clotting agent and that wasn’t done, which caused me to have heavy bleeding. At the dismissal meeting a few days later, they apologized and asked if I wanted to file a complaint, but we didn’t. It was one of those rollercoaster and our child was doing well again, so we just wanted to go home.”

Dejected

Sharon is depressed and because she has lost a lot of blood, she feels tired and weak. “Luckily I have a helpful husband. He relieved me and did a lot. We also received help from family and friends. That meant I could recover well.”

But she needs time and energy to process the birth. In addition, she finds the arrival of their son very drastic. “Suddenly we were responsible for such a little thing. That made me insecure – even though we had had nine months to get used to the idea.”

Search for help

Sharon does what she can and after about three months – when she has physically recovered – she goes back to work. “I cried a lot, but I just kept going. My daughter’s birth was also traumatic. Then my son’s delivery came back again. I suffered from it for years and went to therapy four years after the birth of my son.”

This enabled her to put the events into perspective. She urges parents who have had a similar experience not to leave it alone. “It’s important to share these kinds of stories. When we talk about birth, it is almost always about ‘the pink cloud’, but many people do not have that experience. If that’s the case, it’s important that you talk about it. You must do this within your relationship, but also with family and friends and call in professionals. I know how intrusive and powerless you can feel, but I do know that there is always help.”

Do you also have a special birth story? Email your name and story in a few sentences to [email protected], stating ‘Special deliveries’ and who knows, you might soon read your story on LINDA.nl.

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