Mum warns of risks of C-section after suffering internal bleeding

An Australian mother has shared the terrifying moment when she was rushed to intensive care and ‘nearly died’ after doctors hit an artery during a caesarean section.

Natasha Gildea said she suffered internal bleeding and kidney failure after surgeons “pecked” her uterine artery during her cesarean section.

She spent three nights and four days in the ICU, received six blood transfusions for the life-threatening injury that she said went unnoticed for hours, and she remembers “nothing” from her son’s early days.

Doctors ‘pecked’ an artery during surgery, causing severe internal bleeding. Natasha said it went unnoticed for hours despite being in excruciating pain

Share her story with parenting group Tiny Hearts EducationNatasha said doctors ordered her to give birth to her third child by cesarean section after a 20-week scan revealed she had a low-lying placenta covering the cervix.

The mother of three who gave birth to her two other children Yazmin, four, and Bobby, two, said of course that the process got off to a good start.

“It was surreal to drive to the hospital, not during labor, to have a baby. It seemed like a much calmer experience than my previous deliveries,’ she said.

George was born happy and healthy at 9:05 am that morning and Natasha was taken to the hospital.

Natasha’s third child George was born happy and healthy via cesarean section, but things started to fail for the mother as she recovered

“They gave me an estimated blood loss of 600ml, which they weren’t concerned about as 500ml is considered standard. I was stitched up and driven to recovery,” she recalls.

‘After an hour of recovery, I was taken to the maternity ward. Shortly after, a MET call was made because I felt very faint and passed out.”

After Natasha began to complain that she was in excruciating pain, another call was made to the emergency medical team.

“I don’t remember much of what happened after that. I think I blocked most of it. But over the course of a few hours, two more MET calls were made,’ she said.

On the latest MET call, doctors found that Natasha’s hemoglobin, or red blood cell count, at 49 was much lower than the normal rate of over a hundred and that her heart rate was alarmingly high.

Hours after surgery, doctors found that Natasha’s hemoglobin level at 49 was much lower than the normal rate of over a hundred and her heart rate was alarmingly high.

“Probably I was bleeding because my kidneys were failing. There was no output despite all the fluids they gave me,” she said.

“I was rushed down for a CT scan and found that my left uterine artery had ruptured during the cesarean section. This has been missed for hours.’

A coil was placed in the ruptured artery to stop the bleeding and Natasha was returned to the ICU, but her hemoglobin level stopped rising, so doctors went back in to “glue” the surrounding blood vessels.

“I don’t remember anything about George’s early days and missed changing his first diapers or skin-to-skin time,” she said.

After discovering a ruptured artery, doctors tried to stop the bleeding. Natasha spent four days in intensive care, received six blood transfusions and has a huge bruise on her stomach from the bleeding

“I couldn’t breastfeed because of the amount of blood loss and the heavy painkillers I was taking.”

Natasha wants other moms to do their research and be aware of the risks of cesarean section and internal bleeding.

“Before the surgery, they advised that there was a possibility that another organ would be stolen from me or the baby would be cut or bleed, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I would have nearly died,” she said.

The mother is out of hospital but is still “recovering physically” from the health scare and had dark bruises on her abdomen where the blood had pooled.

“Although my experience was extremely unfortunate and traumatic, I have my sweet, healthy boy and I am here. And I’m very grateful for that,” she said.