Just a few days shy of being 28 weeks pregnant I got a bowel obstruction. Intestinal blockages are something I dealt with during my first pregnancy which resulting in my son being born at almost 36 weeks. (You can read more about my experience with blockages and my son’s birth story.) This time, the issue came up a full month before it had my previous pregnancy, which really threw me off. I had prepared for the possibility of a blockage and had determined to switch up my diet at 30 weeks, in hopes of preventing one from occurring, but obviously this one did not wait that long.
I woke up in the morning feeling horrible and I called my mom to pick up my son because I knew I would not be able to take care of him. I was hopeful that with some bowel rest, physical rest and hydrating that things might start to clear up. I was actually a little unsure as to whether or not it was a bowel obstruction because of where the pain was. With my first pregnancy, the obstruction was just a few inches from my stoma, so the pain was concentrated in the lower right portion of my stomach. This time, it was across the top of my stomach. I ended up spending the entire day in bed, but things only felt worse as the day went on. I was in pain, throwing up, and could hardly stand up. I actually ended up calling an ambulance to take me to the hospital, which was the first time I’d had to do that since my surgery. I had hoped that by traveling in an ambulance that I would get checked right into the ER, but that was not the case and it ended up being a much bigger deal because they did not want to transfer me to the Women’s Hospital at this point, which is where I went with any issues during my first pregnancy. But I won’t bore you with all of the details of finally getting admitted to the right place for both me and the baby.
Once I did admitted to the Women’s Hospital, the first order of business was getting fluids and a fabulous NG tube. (I’ve written about getting an NG tube previously, so I’ll refer you back there for more on that experience, because this one was pretty much the same.) There were lots of tests those first few days, which included a couple of X-rays and a CT scan. As a pregnant woman, this is a difficult decision to make on how to handle the need for radiation, as it can be harmful to the baby. Thankfully, I was already in the 3rd trimester at this point, which means the baby’s internal organs are formed and the radiation poses much less of a risk. I still did not like having to go through that, but I also know that I have to be healthy in order to provide what my baby needs. The CT scan showed just how blocked up I was. The doctor showed me the pictures and my entire small intestine looked like fat sausages (that’s the best way I can think of to describe it). I have no idea what a healthy intestine looks like on a CT scan, but even I could see that this was not what it was supposed to look like. And that explained why I was having pain across the top of my stomach, because that’s how far the blockage extended.
I do not remember a whole lot from the first days, but I know by my fourth day there they tried inserting a catheter into my stoma, which is what they ended up doing with my previous pregnancy. This helped incredibly and I finally started getting some output from my stoma and some relief from the pain. The next day they were able to remove the NG tube and I started being able to consume some liquids and eventually some very bland hospital food. Thankfully, things continued to improve over the next couple of days, and even though I was still in a lot of pain, I was able to function.
Of course during this whole time they were monitoring my baby closely, but thankfully there were no complications in that capacity. I was dealing with some mild contractions while I was there, which is likely due, at least in part, to dehydration and just to the stress of the situation. It was not anything that turned into an actual issue. Honestly, the baby seemed very unfazed by the whole ordeal.
I ended up spending 7 days in the hospital with this blockage. It is actually pretty amazing that I was able to avoid surgery considering how blocked up my small intestine was. I am so thankful that it was able to pass due to the NG tube and the catheter without having to go through a surgical procedure, especially at 7 months pregnant. Probably the most difficult part was being without my son for that time. I stay home with during the week, so it’s usually just me and him, and it felt horrible not being able to be there for him during this time. He finally was able to come visit me once I started feeling better. I’m grateful to my amazing family who stepped up and made sure he was taken care of during this time. In the end, I left with a new low fiber diet plan and a catheter sutured to my stomach, but more on that later.
