The Beginning of Our Journey Through a High Risk Pregnancy

As most of you know, we're expecting our fourth child. We found out Wednesday that it's another little boy- Korbin Lee. I guess no one will ever mess with Kaytie with three brothers around. ;-) We also found out Wednesday that this pregnancy will be considered high risk. The ultrasound showed a complete placenta previa. Unlike marginal previa or a low lying placenta (which I had with Kaesen), the placenta is centered completely over the cervix, with no chance of it moving before delivery.

There are several very serious concerns with this diagnosis, so we will be having ultrasounds every month and will have an MRI later in the pregnancy to make sure that the placenta has not grown into the scar tissue from my previous c-sections. The major concern for mom with this diagnosis is hemmorage. It is very likely that I will have heavy bleeding either before term or during the c-section. As of right now I am not restricted to bed rest, but am just supposed to not do anything beyond my regular daily activities. If there is any evidence of bleeding at any point, I'll be put on bed rest, probably for the rest of the pregnancy.

From what I understand they will probably schedule the c-section earlier than they normally would (as soon as it's safe to deliver the baby). So it looks like we'll be meeting our little guy in August rather than September regardless of any bleeding. Very often bleeding is sudden, painless and very heavy, which is why most babies in these situations are born preterm. Sometimes babies are smaller than they normally would be due to intrauterine growth restriction.

If they find that the placenta has grown into the c-section scar, the risk of hemmorage during delivery is much higher, with the only way to stop it sometimes being a complete hysterectomy.

All of these details have definitely given us a lot to think about. It's easy to look at the odds and be terribly discouraged. It's easy to be overwhelmed with all the possibilities of what could go wrong. But I have decided that I have to look at this as "it is what it is". There is nothing that can be done at this point. There is nothing I can do to prevent any of these complications. There is no treatment for problem. In a very real and obvious way God is showing me that I have no control over the outcome of my pregnancy. The knowledge that there is no guarantee that Korbin or I will survive this pregnancy seems far less scary when I realize that I didn't have that guarantee with any of my other pregnancies either.

I serve a God who loves my husband, my children- sweet baby Korbin- even more than I do. And He is in complete control of the situation. He already knows exactly how it will turn out. So all I can do is trust that the ONLY one who has any say in the outcome wants the very best for myself and my family and that all of this will be used for His glory regardless of what that means in practical terms for me. I pray that I will have the strength to push my fears aside and do the things that I need to do to be the best mommy that I can be...for all four of my precious babies.