Labor & Delivery Nurse on TikTok Shares PSA About Terrifying Period Experience

As women, hopefully we are in tune with our bodies. This is particularly important when it comes to our menstrual cycles and reproductive health. Many of us know what to expect during our cycles, so when things are out of the ordinary, it can cause concern.

Recently, a labor and delivery nurse posted a now-viral TikTok about a terrifying and totally unexpected experience she had during her period, and it's something that literally every woman needs to see.

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Everything was normal about her cycle until it wasn't.

Madi Swegle explained in a "PSA" on TikTok that has now been viewed more than 6 million times that her cycle had started the day before and "Everything was very normal." Then suddenly, that evening, she began to experience excruciating pain.

She went into her bathroom and sat on the toilet with a heating pad, because she felt something was wrong. "This pain is the worst pain I've honestly felt in my entire life," she explained.

Madi's symptoms intensified.

She said that not only was the cramping consistent and intense, but she also felt nauseated and had goosebumps over her entire body. Madi's husband asked if she needed to go to the hospital because she felt no relief over an extended period of time.

She declined, thinking she was just being a baby about the pain and that it was simply a bad period. She was unprepared for what happened next.

Talk to moms about mom stuff. And make money doing it.

Something came out of Madi's body that she had never seen before.

Madi explained that after an hour of excruciating pain, she passed something out of her body. It was not a clot, as she had expected, but instead a piece of tissue the size of her palm, and "it was in the perfect shape of my uterus."

She was terrified and immediately got in touch with her gynecologist for help. Madi also referenced "Dr. Google" and got some information.

Madi had passed a 'decidual cast.'

After some research, Madi realized she had passed a "decidual cast." This is a term that many people may not be aware of because it is rare. As an L&D nurse, Madi herself had never seen anything like it.

"Instead of shedding your uterine lining over a series of days during your period, it's when your entire uterine lining comes out in one piece through your cervix," she explained.

Whoa!That sounds intense!

Passing a decidual cast is rare.

Turns out, her cramps were actually contractions, and her cervix had dilated to pass the cast. The reason that many of us have never heard of this is because it is pretty rare. She decided that she would not show the photo she took but said that Google has plenty of images.

She warned, "Beware it is pretty gross and nasty, but I think it is so important for all women to be aware of."

Yep, we Googled it. And we totally see why she would have been terrified. It would scare anyone who didn't know what it was.

Women are grateful to Madi for sharing her story.

Many women on TikTok actually said they had experienced the same thing and were equally as frightened and traumatized by the experience.

"THIS HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS 17 AND HOME ALONE AND I CALLED THE EMERGENCY LINE CRYING ON MY BATHROOM FLOOR😭" someone wrote.

"I literally thought I was having a miscarriage when this happened. It was the worst pain I have ever been in," another person said.

Teachers got in on the discussion and agreed that it is an important thing for women to know about. "I decided to teach about this when I teach menstrual cycle in Biology. It might be rare but it would be so scary!" someone commented.

Plenty of people thanked her for the lesson. "That sounds absolutely terribly and terrifying. Thank you for sharing to educate others!" another comment reads.

"Looked up pics, scary stuff. Thanks for informing us ladies, hopefully I won't ever experience this 😳😱," someone agreed.

Thank you, Madi, for sharing your story with us. Women need to know not only the ordinary things about our cycles and bodies but also conditions that may be rarer. That little bit of extra knowledge could make all the difference in a scary situation. We had no idea!