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nyrisa -> RE: Abstinence, pregnancy and BDSM (9/7/2007 9:17:26 AM)
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First of all, congratulations and best wishes on your expected little one. *smiles*
Having been an OB nurse for years, as well as having had several pregnancies that required high risk care, I can see both sides of the coin on your dilemma.
From the medical standpoint: the placenta is a dinner plate sized disk of soft tissue, about the consistancy of raw liver. It is laced with blood vessels on the baby's side of it, just like the roots of a tree; withe the "trunk" being the umbilical cord, which has two arteries and one vein leading to the baby, and the "roots" being a profuse branching of blood vessels in the placenta which carry blood from placenta, to umbilical cord (to baby), and back to the placenta. On the side of the placenta which is imbeded in the uterine wall, arteries from the mother's uterus bring her blood to where the placenta attaches. There is like a "pooling" area where mother and baby's blood is only separated by the thinnest of cell layers, to allow oxygen and nutrients to be transferred to the baby, and waste products returned to the mother.
At birth, when the baby is delivered, the uterus contracts, and the placenta separates and is expelled. There is a gush of blood, which normally quickly drops to a trickle when the uterus contracts firmly and presses closed those arteries and veins in the uterine wall. The problem with placenta previa is that the placenta, instead of being implanted along the uterine wall, has managed to develop either slightly overlapping the cervix with one edge, or fully over the cervix. (picture a pancake that has slid down the side of a funnel, and is either partly over, or covering the funnel exit).
During early pregnancy, when the cervix is tight and closed, no problem. But during later pregnancy, the cervix softens and in the last weeks, begins to thin and dilate partially in readiness for labor. As the "hole in the bottom of the funnel" gets bigger, areas of the placenta which were snugly sealed become open for bleeding as the raw areas are exposed. Since the uterus is not empty, it can't contract and clamp off these vessels, so there is a possibility of profound hemorrhage for the mother, and loss of blood or damage from interrupted oxygen supply for the baby.
The uterus normally gets more "irritable" the closer you get to term, which is the reason those Braxton-Hicks contractions get more and more frequent. Things that cause the uterus to have increased irritability include semen (it contains prostaglandin, which causes contractions), and sexual arousal of the woman. Orgasm actually does cause contractions of the uterus, and arousal without orgasm increases the uterine irritability.
In my pregnancies, because of premature labor, I spent six months with orders of no sex. Since I hated to give this up, I asked my doctor, "Define sex?" (having a Bill Clinton flashback here. *L*) He said "no sexual stimulation, no penetration, no orgasm!" I was having to do home monitoring for contractions for an hour morning and evening, and it was easy to see from the increased uterine activity on the tracings that even things like watching porno movies, or reading erotic books caused increased contracting. *sighs*
I hope that when you see the perinatologist, he will have good news for you, that only a small edge of the placenta overlies the cervix. Often in those cases, vaginal delivery is possible. But be really sure to write down all your questions before the appointment so you don't forget any, and get all the answers you need. I would really advise following his orders to the letter, because placenta previa can be extremely dangerous for mother and baby.
Please give a follow up of what you find out, if you don't mind? I will be thinking of you and wishing you good news.
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