Pregnant - C section or Vaginal?

[dancingwithfibro]

Aloha all~ it's been so long! I've been away growing a little something =) I am 8 months pregnant! It was unplanned as I was afraid that fibro and back history would prevent me from being the mother I needed to be but the universe had other plans and gave me a magical gift that I couldn't deny <3

So here I am 8 months pregnant, off all fibro meds for the baby and due next month!

So all you moms out there with fibro - what kind of birth experience did you have? I initially had my heart set on a schedule cesarean as I thought the fibro would make the vaginal experience too traumatic and trigger a flare that would in turn make it very difficult to care for a newborn. I also have some back history - degenerative disc disease in L4/L5 and had an anterior spinal fusion at L5/S1. I have heard horror stories about back pain and significant back injuries after vaginal birth. Hence the decision for a c section but more and more I hear about the natural birth experience I am so envious. Pros and cons to everything, right? I would love to hear your experience whatever that may be. Thank you so much in advance!

 

[diamond]

How lovely to hear from you dancingwithfibro and congratulations!

I had my son years before i had fibro so it wouldn't be fair for me to advise you in any way.

I hope you have a midwife or obstetrician you can talk this over with.

How has your fibro been through pregnancy?

Take care of yourself and good luck.

 

[Sagey]

Hi dancing with Fibro,

I Have had back problems since I was young and the Fibro seems to intensify it at times.But I had a c- section with my first and a Vaginal delivery with my second.what a difference.The c section is a surgical incision involving your abdominal muscles .It can be hard to hold the baby and move around for several weeks.When I had my vaginal delivery it was so easy compared to the c- section.


The nurse told me to get back in bed, because I thought it was nothing compared to the c- section.

I think with Fibro the incisional pain can be much worse than a natural delivery. Plus these days they have the epidural that will numb your lower area and make it a little easier for u, especially with the fibro.

I would definitely ask your dr what he thinks about your back injury,and previous surgery.But if your healed well from that hopefully you won’t have any problem.

C-section is surgery which can have complications.In the end it’s your decision,but I would do a natural delivery anytime over major surgery.
I had herniated discs In my neck and I did fine.

Have a great pregnancy and delivery

Let us know !

Good luck Sagey

 

[dancingwithfibro]

Thank you diamond and Sagey! 1st trimester was rough with going off all fibro meds and the usual 1st tri symptoms like nausea and exhaustion. But 2nd tri was GREAT! I was on cloud 9 - even ate foods that would normally give me a flare. Fibro was at a level of 3 out of 10 at worst in 2nd trimester - Amazing. 3rd tri has been difficult with exhaustion coming back with a vengeance and fibro going back up to a level of 7/10. And I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 34 weeks so that's freaking me out.

The docs have told me the decision is up to me but they really don't know the details of my surgeries and back history as they're not experts in that field or fibro. The surgery went well but I still have debilitating lower back pain - it's far better than pre surgery bc back then I couldn't even walk some days. I'm leaning more towards c section now that I've been diagnosed w gestational diabetes which can cause a very difficult vaginal delivery due to the possible bigger size of the baby.

Thank you for your positive words and support ladies!

 

[Lou38]

Congrats on your pregnancy &#55357;&#56898;

I can’t comment on a c section as both of my girls were natural delivery & I was up & about straight away whereas a c section is more restricting and can have a fairly long recovery time. I would have thought with vaginal delivery being natural & a c section the complete opposite that your body would react better to the natural option but I’m only guessing. There’s also the added risk of infection & complications with having a section although thousands of mums probably have a good recovery after. I had surgery last year (completely different to a section but surgery all the same) & it threw me into a huge fibro flare but we’re all different. Good luck with whatever you decide & make sure & let us know when baby makes an appearance &#55357;&#56898;