A mother has revealed how her uterus actually came out of her minutes after she gave birth, which left her doctor looking like a “deer in headlights”.
Kristyn Young’s first moments with her son took a dramatic turn following a rare childbirth complication.
While she was holding her baby, doctors and nurses revealed they were worried she was dealing with Placental Accreta – where the placenta has grown too deeply into the uterus.
The procedure to sort this complication usually requires surgery but the doctor was convinced she could remove it safely – only for what happened next left the entire room shocked.
“I immediately looked down between my legs and made direct eye contact with my doctor and she looked like a deer caught in headlights,” Kristyn, from Dallas, Texas, told Need To Know.
“I suddenly felt this intense pulling and tearing sensation, which was my placenta and uterus coming out.
“I began vomiting all over myself and my son.
“The nurses took my son immediately and also made his father turn and go in a different part of the room.
“His father saw my placenta and uterine inversion and stated it looked like ‘a rolled up wet and bloody towel’.”
The birth was an extensive and painful process for Kristyn, who had been given medication following her missed severe pre-eclampsia and failed epidural.
Her child was born in January this year, where the two spent the first five minutes of his life together – before chaos ensued.
After the nurses took the baby Kristyn continued to vomit, with the medical workers springing into action to save her.
She said: “I began to hemorrhage and my doctor placed my uterus back inside me and then used a medical device to help control my bleeding.
“I did receive one blood transfusion and required the use of a Jada device.
“I was still required to stay in magnesium to treat the severe pre-eclampsia 24 hours after birth and was also not allowed to leave my bed.
“I was still not allowed to eat or have anything but water as I was still a high risk for surgery.”
In the moments following the transfusion, and use of the Jada device – which is used to treat abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) – her doctor claimed she looked “translucent” due to blood loss and shock.
For the next 24 hours, Kristyn had nurses checking on her every hour – monitoring her temperature and making sure she didn’t start a fever.
The nurses also made sure that her uterus had stayed in place, while also monitoring any signs of infection.
Kristyn said: “Without the Jada device and blood transfusion, I easily could have not made it.
“I wish I had advocated more for myself in my prenatal appointments, pushing for more intervention to diagnose pre-eclampsia.
“I also wish I had advocated more for myself, demanding my providers let me deliver my placenta on its own or given me more time.
“I wish I had known they were having issues delivering my placenta and I may have opted for surgery to remove it if I was given the option.”
After leaving the hospital, Kristyn claims her doctor never contacted her with concerns of how she was coping.
Despite receiving calls from the nurses, her first postpartum visit consisted of her being left waiting for over two hours before it was cancelled.
Kristyn added: “The next appointment I was seen by a different provider and never received an exam or checked on.
“I asked about this and the provider was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that was you?’”
Thankfully, Kristyn and her son are now starting a happy and healthy life.
After sharing her traumatic story online, she is now pleading with expectant mothers to ask more questions to avoid similar situations to hers.
She said: “I would want expecting mothers to be aware of all these possibilities so they or their partner can ensure they receive the best care but to not scare them.
“This does not happen very often and I do not want to scare women even more.
“I would do this and go through my traumatic birth experience over and over again if that meant I still was able to have my son.”
