New Mom Is Shocked To Learn Her Placenta Was Left Inside Her for 2 Months
TikTok might be a treasure trove of mindless content, but every now and then you can stumble upon some real gems. Sound bites that make you laugh, expertly choreographed group dances ... it's all there. But sometimes, people will also share stories that'll make your jaw simply drop. And that is precisely what happened when 22-year-old Tori McCain shared what happened after giving birth to her first child. (Warning: If you're eating, you might want to put the food down ASAP.)
The new mom shared the unbelievable story on TikTok last week, when she took viewers on a very wild ride.
It all started when she suddenly began feeling intense cramping in her stomach while at her mother-in-law's house.
McCain ran to the bathroom, where she felt something "drop" in her uterus.
That's when she called to her husband and asked him to come look.
There was definitely something down there, but neither of them were sure what. McCain described it as "a piece of tissue hanging out of me," which freaked out both of them (but especially her husband).
Soon, her mother-in-law was in the bathroom with them too (yikes!), and craning to get a look.
According to McCain, her mother-in-law tried to remain calm but told them they should both go to the hospital ASAP.
Minutes later, they were on their way, with McCain in the passenger seat "freaking out."
"[I kept] thinking my insides were falling out, and also thinking I was gonna die," she shared in her now-viral TikTok.
That's where McCain was examined by a doctor -- who used some "scary" tools to pull out the piece of tissue.
That's when the doctor delivered some VERY shocking news ...
"It appears that your delivery doctor left a piece of your placenta in your uterus," the doctor informed her.
Ummm ... WHAT?!
McCain was floored -- and shocked that she didn't somehow die from sepsis.
Apparently, all that cramping had been her body going into labor for the second time, trying to expel the remaining placenta -- a whole two months later!
Oof.
As nuts as McCain's story is, it's not unheard of.
It's called a "retained placenta," and it happens when the body doesn't expel the placenta naturally, which typically occurs within 30 minutes of a baby's delivery. According to the International Journal of Women's Health, it's rare but very serious, occurring in just 1% to 3% of deliveries and sometimes leading to death.
"You can very innocently have an uncomplicated delivery and leave behind a piece," Dr. Sherry Ross, ob-gyn and author of She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health, told Health.
Believe it or not, leaving a piece behind is actually easier to do than it seems.
"The placenta isn't like a round circle or pie that we can see slices out of -- it looks like a slab of brisket," Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, clinical professor of ob-gyn at Yale School of Medicine, also told Health. "Unfortunately there's not a discrete piece that you can identify as missing. You can look at it to see if anything is obviously missing, but most of the time it'll look normal even if a chunk has separated from it."
That said, there are signs that something may be wrong -- which it now appears McCain was misreading for typical postpartum symptoms.
In an update on her YouTube page, she shared that she had been passing large clots in recent weeks. As it turned out, that's one of the major signs.
"Bleeding after birth is normal for about two to four weeks because your uterus is shrinking, but you should not be passing tissue," Ross told Health. "If all of a sudden you're passing tissue or clots bigger than an apricot, that's a reason to call your doctor and check in."
According to the American Pregnancy Association, other symptoms include fever, foul-smelling discharge, heavy bleeding, tissue or clotting, and (as McCain experienced) cramping and abdominal pain.
As upsetting as the incident was, McCain hopes that by sharing her story, she can help other moms who may find themselves in the same position.
"As a new mom, I didn't really speak up for myself -- I was too afraid, and I didn't really know much," McCain told Health. "But if I could go back and do it again, I would research more, be more informed, and speak up because this is my body."