Global Ambassador France:

Pauline Durand

Global Ambassador France: Pauline Durand

Pauline Durand SHARES HOW seeking a second opinion helped to land at the right place for an early diagnosis and safe management of her placenta percreta delivery.

My second pregnancy was my last. During that last pregnancy, I presented most risk factors for accreta: I had a previous c-section with a haemorrhage and a previous focal accreta with retained placenta. My gynaecologist at that time told me accreta is so rare that he didn't believe I can have one and that I must have misunderstood the doctor who previously delivered my first baby. We went for another opinion and I will always be thankful for the doctor who did my ultrasound that day. She immediately spotted all the risk factors by carefully questioning me. She referred me to another hospital that will be able to diagnose possible accreta. I knew deep inside that the accreta diagnosis is better than the undiagnosed accreta but I still hoped I will not develop it. They diagnosed my accreta at my 22-week ultrasound. That day was mixed with contradictory emotions: I was scared for what will follow, sad for not going through a low-risk pregnancy with vaginal delivery, strongly disappointed by my body but also relieved they diagnosed it so a plan could be set up.

After several transfers into high-risk hospitals, I ended up in Cochin Port Royal in Paris, the best place to land for high-risk pregnancy in France. They have a dedicated interdisciplinary team for accreta spectrum care. The team planned the delivery surgery on week 35 and made sure I was aware of the different steps. They have been extremely compassionate and changed some of their plans to allow my partner in the operation room and to make sure that I can see my baby before the general anaesthetic. For the rest of the pregnancy, I lived up to that surgery day and did not anticipate what would come after because I was scared we (me and/or the baby) would not make it.

I will always remember the morning of the surgery, while I sat on that hospital bed, smiling for the picture but shaking so hard inside. Once on the operating table, I could not keep it and burst into tears many times. What was supposed to be one of the most beautiful days of my life was a total nightmare. The bright part was that I was able to see my baby for a few seconds before the general anaesthetic. It turned out I had a hysterectomy due to percreta with bladder involvement and they managed to fix my bladder. After 8 hours in surgery, 6l blood loss, hysterectomy, bladder repair and blood transfusion, I woke up and someone brought my baby so I could cuddle her. My baby was healthy and thriving, I noticed her soft skin before going back to sleep. The first night after the surgery, someone expressed my milk so it started the milk production process. In the week that followed I was able to exclusively breastfeed my baby. I benefited from a dedicated team of nurses and midwives to help me take care of my baby while I was healing (bath the baby for me next to my bed, help me put the baby on my breast as I could not take her from the crib…). What I did not anticipate is how after I left the hospital I was left alone. I guess I was still struggling physically so I first needed to get my head out of the water the first few weeks but then PTSD hit hard a few weeks after surgery.

What I hated most during that pregnancy is all the unknown despite everything being planned. I was also constantly trapped between contradictory feelings, while I should have been happy about having a baby I was supposed to prepare for the possible grief and the grief of other potential babies. 

It was also hard to face other people's reactions: either trying to cheer me up without acknowledging my pain or not understanding that I was facing death and grieving (“at least you already have a girl”). I guess it was as confusing to them as it was for me: It’s hard to understand you can be scared to death when you are supposed to bring up life.

During that journey, I had many questions that could not be answered because accreta placenta spectrum is not being researched enough. As a scientist, it was extremely frustrating for me not to be able to understand how this condition develops and why it happens to some people during their first pregnancy (like it happened to me). I feel extremely grateful for all the amazing doctors that took care of me and my baby and also for going through this in a country that can afford a robust health system. But I also felt isolated as no support group exists in France for people with accreta.

Now that a year has passed, I have an almost normal life. While I am still struggling with PTSD, loving my 2 little ones brings me so much strength to fight. I am able to run and take care of myself while, one year ago, standing up required help from 2 people. In the near future, I would love to be helpful to the accreta community. In France, you can not donate blood after you had a blood transfusion otherwise I would donate my blood. I am starting a support group in France and would love to be a “national accreta foundation ambassador”. I noticed that this condition is totally unknown to the global population and the gynaecologists themselves are not always aware that this condition is raising. I hope I have the strength to bring more awareness to my country about placenta accreta spectrum. Because I am a researcher, I am also starting to get closer to scientists working on understanding how this condition develops and will direct my research in that direction.

ARE YOU BASED IN France AND LOOKING FOR ACCRETA SUPPORT?

National Accreta Foundation is entirely volunteer staffed and donation funded. If you find our content of value, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue this work.

Pauline Durand is a busy mom working full time. She is an assistant professor at Université Paris Cité. She teaches physics and her research focuses on the mechanics of cells. She loves running and doing yoga in her spare time. She started a support group for accreta moms in France and she keeps learning about research on accreta development and management.