Mears (or any other mw) need advice

[jofeb04]

Basically, Im scared stiff lol.
Ive mentioned on here that ive got severe spd, Im on crutches and wearing the support belt, and taking co-codamol constantly!
Problem is at the moment i cant even have my legs wide enough to even measure the "safe" gap for the labour!
It doesnt help either cause im nervous about the labour anyway, cause last time i had oxytocin, waters broken etc, episiotomy, forceps etc, which is all worrying me anyway.
Ive mentioned to this to my community midwife, who has said that i cant have forceps etc, but what happens if i did need it for the safe dlivery of the baby. Ive still got 13weeks left before the labour, and dont want to be worrying about this for the remaining time.
Im starting to think about about an elective section, so i will know i dont have to worry about the prospect of the delivery etc, but midwife doesnt seem to understand my fears. I would prefer to be in pain for 6weeks with a section, then not being able to walk etc for a number of months because i had a bad delivery etc.
Whats your advice? How can i have a natural labour if my legs wont open wide enough??

Thanks

[Socci]

Message withdrawn

[jofeb04]

Thx Socci,
Ive mentioned to my community mw, but she wasnt impressed. She said why should i want a section, when i might have a completly natural labour.
When i said that i would prefer the pain of a section for 6weeks, then prefer the possible pain for another couple of months after, she didnt really understand why.
Can i ask the midwife for a appointment with a consultant in the hospital im due to give birth to, as i think it would help to talk it all over with someone who sees both sides of the problem. IYSWIM

[mears]

jofeb04 - sorry to hear you are so sore. There really are 2 ways to go here. There is evidence to support an elective C/S in your situation if that is what you would prefer. A friend of mine chose C/S second time round but she was shocked at how her symptoms took moths to improve, just like last time. She did find it difficult to use her crutched because of her C/S. So your SPD symptoms may not disappear within 6 weeks.

Another friend delivered recently who was on crutches. She was induced and had a very short labour.
There was a mumsnetter in the past (Pie)who was in a whelchair with SPD who had a very easy waterbirth.

I think it depends on what you feel yourself. The likelihood of forceps is less with a second baby. You don't actually need you legs to be that wide when open when delivering a baby TBH. Probably best to deliver in water if you can. If not, then lying on your side would be better than on your back. Can you kneel forward onto a pillow with your knees shoulderwidth apart? That is a good position.

I ofetn see women on crutches have normal deliveries. It is better to avoid epidural if possible to prevent over abduction of legs. That is where the measuring of distance between knees comes in. Are you seeing the physiotherapist? Has she given you advice?

[jofeb04]

Thx Mears
Ive seen the hospital phsio who had said theres nothing i can do to help it, and having so long left till the labour, the pain could get alot worse.
Im scared anyway because of how it all went last time, and just dont really want the worry of if i need a forceps etc, of what could happen afterwards iykwim

[mears]

You do tend to labour more efficiently second time around and it is highly unlikely that you will need forceps. If they were needed for some reason, the midwives would ensure that your legs were no wider apart than needed and would be very careful how they were placed. It is preferable not to be in lithotomy position (legs in stirrups) but it does not mean that it is impossible with care. You should discuss it with your consultant to see what he suggests. I realise it doesn't help you much to say it is unlikely that forceps may be needed. You might prefer to have a plan to say that you would like a normal delivery but it it looked like there was a need for forceps you would prefer a C/S.

[shhhh]

jofeb04, i suffered with spd while pregnant although I must add it was not as bad as what yours sounds like. I had problems when walking up stairs, getting in & out of a car, when in bed etc and I was given a "fetching" () girdle to wear.
Anyway I gave birth 6 weeks ago and I had a water birth, like mears says I would totally recommend it. Being in the birthing pool was such a lovely experience, it was soothing and I was amazed at how little pain I actually felt..this included spd and contraction pain.
You will need to speak to your midwife prior to this labour as I know they may be against you having a water birth if your spd is so bad as you need to have some sort of mobility, well thats what I was told anyway.

I went from being in excruciating pain with spd while pregnant to being pain freeish (! well on the spd side of things while in labour) and lol I managed only on gas & air and this is coming from someone who cried with the spd pain when turning over in bed. HTH.

After the birth of my beautiful dd I was still experiencing pain mostly when in bed but i'm glad to say that this disappeared after about 4 weeks.

ps: My physiotherapist actually recommend me to ask for a waterbirth as she told me it would help.

[Rochwen]

Mhmmm, I suffer from SPD as well (due to deliver in 4 weeks) and I was given totally different advice.

I was told labouring and birth can make SPD worse and, although this is very very rare, can lead to the ligament separating (then you have a problem for life !!!) if the woman is given drugs to accelarate the labour or put into the lithotomy position for forceps, ventouse or even just for the stitching up. Also when you've got SPD you can't move around freely to encourage labour which, in turn, might make interventions more likely.

After hearing this advice from my GP and my Pysio (who specialises in this condition) I have decided to opt for an elective section as noone can guarantee me that I won't have to be put into stirrups and I really don't want to put my future orthopaedic health in danger just for the sake of a vaginal delivery. It's not worth it IMHO. I have my consultant's appointment next week and I don't know if he will allow me a section but I'm definitely going to ask for one with the back-up of my GP and Pysio.

Also, on another note, if you get a section in week 39 it is likely that the baby will be out up to 3 weeks early depending on how much you could go overdue, and that means up to 3 weeks less pain and 3 weeks less time for the baby to get heavier and put more strain on your pelvis.

Not trying to convince you here just passing one the advice I've been given.

Good Luck and loads of sympathy for your pain.

[Rochwen]

To add: I was also told that a waterbirth can't be quaranteed at my hospital as they only have one pool and if it's occupied then, well bad luck for me. So, unless you plan to have a homebirth with a hired pool you can't be sure you get one.