Hi - posted this in chat, but just found the thread again.
I did promise to e-mail the doulas on the Childbirth International list I did do this and here are some of the replies. Hope these help. I think the message is anything is possible with the right choice of caregivers.
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During my pregnancy with #3, I was in an auto accident where my hip (L) was
thrown against the steel frame of the driver's door to the point it dented
in the door. I was told my pelvis had "tweaked" severly, after the
accident my right leg drug when I walked, and I couldn't lift it without
using my arms and hands to lift it, or getting someone to help me. I was
already using a midwife for the birth, so she never suggested any change in
plans for my home birth since other than the pelvis/leg problem, everything
was fine.
When my son was born, he was my fastest birth and by far easiest birth in
under 4 hours from the first twinge until birth. He was also my only
anterior birth-- after his birth, my tweaked pelvis was corrected and #4
was born 2 years later after a 20+ hour face up birth, just like my first
two had been!
I also had a client a couple of years ago who had rods up her back for
sclerosis, which had been placed there when she was about 13. She was 20
at the time of her pregnancy. The OB she was seeing told her she must have
a cesarean, since her spine was totally rigid from the rods which ran its
length. She switched to a midwife with OB backup and had a great vaginal
birth, no problem, intervention free.
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An aquaintance and I were chatting one day about OB's and the scary CS rate,
so she told me about her experience.
She is an ex-jockey and has broken her pelvis once and shattered it again a
few years later. About 3 years after she gave up racing, she had a natural
VB, and another 4 years after that.
She too was told she MUST have a CS, so she stopped going to the OB and
pretended that she had moved, and went to the local mids instead who
supported her VB's.
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My second certifying birth was my daughter's first grade teacher. She was 32
years old and when she was 20 she was in a car accident that completely
shattered her hip, amongst numerous other injuries. She received a hip
replacement and she walked with a limp. 12 years later, it's her third
pregnancy and her hip replacement is almost worn out (they only last that long)
and she needed a new one. She was in so much pain! But she couldn't have the
operation until after the birth. She would walk with a cane and sometimes my
daughter would come home and say "Mrs. B almost couldn't make it back to the
classroom from gym". She finally had to go out on leave when she started having
premature labor at 7 months. She was in the hospital a little while. But they
got the contractions under control and she went on bed rest. They induced her
at 38 weeks. She was so nervous and afraid! Her first two births were very
traumatic for her. She had the baby in under four hours, completely relaxed as
I rubbed her feet for her (I"m an LMT). When she felt the first hard
contraction, she demanded her epidural. Funny thing, they didn't check her
before they administered it. I realized this later when the doctor came back in
the room and checked her and found she was fully dilated. She proabably could
have done it without the epidural because she couldn't feel to push. I then
thought they couldn't possibly have checked her....could she dilate that
quickly? Surely she was past the "epidural window".
She pushed anyway and the baby came right out. Alls well that ended well. Her
husband couldn't believe how easy and pleasant this birth was and the hip thing
didn't seem to be a problem at all. I think as long as your not pushing past
the range of motion of the joint. It should proably be discussed first which
range of motions are difficult. Having complete knowlege of your own body is
important. Perhaps careful stretching in the final weeks before birth would be
helpful.
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My best friend (also one of my certifying births) broke her tail bone with her
second pregnancy (her daughter was posterior position) and also had the doctor
use forceps to deliver... the forceps damaged her pelvis and with her 3rd
pregnancy 8 years later she had symphysis pubis dysfunction. She had had a lot
of pain during the end of her pregnancy and it was hard for her to walk. She
started to see a chiropractor and that helped a great deal! She delivered
naturally in a birth center with a midwife.