Advice on complicated birthing, monitoring and SPD

[lisad123]

Sorry to the girls on OCT thread who have had to listen to this one before.

I have had SPD since 12 weeks, so right now its very bad. I saw my consultant on weds and he is stuck on the idea of VBAC. I had an EC last time due to high bp and babys heart rate.
My consultant say due to babies HR and mine begining too quick this time too, high BP, being on blood thinners I will need to be montiored whole time once i hit 3cm. I understand this completely and am happy to go along with this as its safer, but i dont know how to manage this with the SPD.
They tried to let me move during last labour and kept losing trace, so am worried about slow painful labour if stuck on my back ( know labours painful anyway, but struggle to sit still for more than 10mins)
I dont want any drugs other than gas and air, and epidural is only possible if off blood thinners for 12 hours, so dont wan to assume that would be possible.

TIA

L

I had bad SPD and had acupuncture (recommendation from MW) and this helped big time, although not for everyone it did really help me.

Might be worth a try?

i take it that would be before the labour? I hate needle which sounds odd i know, when im self injecting everyday, but still have to close my eyes to do it

Hi
I also have really bad SPD but no sympathy from doctor at all!! I have had it since about 12 weeks and saw physio at about 20 weeks - she gave me some exercises to do which dont seem to have helped. I have also been wearing a support belt which doesnt really seem to help either. I had first baby vaginally, then second by c-sec and am hoping for VBAC this time but I too am worried about getting in a position that is not going to be too painful. I too would like just to have gas and air cos I have read a lot on SPD/VBACS and a lot of things say it is better not to have epidural so that you are not moved out of your comfortable range causing more damage and also because with VBAC it is important to be able to feel if there is any severe pain in the scar area to indicate a problem.
I was thinking of contacting the physio again on Monday and asking them what positions would be good for birth? If I do manage to get an appointment with them I will of course let you know what they say.

i have a list of good birthing positions from physio, but they arent ones that are much use if being monitored They have birthing balls which im hoping to make full use of. I guess im scarced they will do the same as last time and kinda force me to lay on bed.

My docs answer was. well you can lay on your side. He know nothing about SPD, so am trying to get hold of physio too. Hopefully we will have good advice for each other

same not keen on needles but just closed my eyes pretended to be somewhere else! She also used some heatcandle which was lovely and not painfull at all.

And yes it was before labour, started at 26 weeks and went back when I felt the need which was every 2-3 weeks

Not sure where you are but can definately recommend the lady

im in hertfordshire. Im not sure i could do it, especially with blood thinners so will have to check.
Thanks

ah am in Oxford and she is based in Woodstock. She also recommend the following website www.pelvicpartnership.org.uk

If you like I can email you her details as she might be able to recommend one local to you (also specialised in this area)

Maybe we could contact hospital and ask if they have some monitors with extra long wires or something so that they can do their monitoring but still give us freedom to move so we can get as comfortable (haha!!) as possible!!! I was just talking about it with my hubby - when I had my first son I was monitored constantly and it didnt really bother me because I didnt feel like I wanted to move about but if you do feel like you want to move about there would be nothing worse than having to be confined to the bed! My doctors have not discussed anything at all about the birth with me yet - I know about the monitoring and having to have canula put in etc from what I have read on websites!

I will ask about mobile monitoring when i see mw next week. I have used partnership site a few times.

When you say your spd is bad, can you decribe the symptoms/how it's affecting you? because my spd was (wat I consider to be) pretty bad towards the end of pregnancy (although nowhere near as bad as it could have been: I didn't need crutches or a wheelchair for example) but it wasn't a problem during labour.

Mine was very painful in my groin when I raised one leg, opened my legs to get in or out of bed or turn over, get in/out the car etc. Also I had lots of pelvic/lower back pain so walking around was very difficult and crippling if I walked round for longer than about half an hour or at anything faster than a shuffle. Also my pelvis used to click and make huge cracking/clunking noises when I turned over as if my hip was coming out of its socket and going back in.

The reason I'm describing it in such detail was that when I described it to my consultant she said "it probably won't be a problem when you're in labour" and also said spd is no reason to have a section.

During labour the only spd related problem I encountered was getting up on the bed. I ended up with an internal monitor because the tummy monitor wouldn't stay on, so for that reason was on my back on the bed. But at the end my legs were spread very wide, and I had them in stirrups while I was stitched up, and my spd just wasn't an issue. Three weeks on it only bothers me slightly when I turn over in bed, the birth definitely didn't make it worse.

Hope this helps x

Have you considered trying to find an osteopath who is experienced in maternity issues?

Getting treatment from an osteopath to try to sort out your pelvis before labour could make such a difference, I believe. I'm sure I've also heard good words about McTimoney

I also beleive that it's very important to use a scarf or something to tie round you legs at the widest apart point (before labour) it's still comfortable at so that when you are in labour you have a gauge that you can ask mw to use to ensure that you do NOT have your legs further apart as that can cause further problems after the birth.

I have crutches for walking anywhere, i cant walk unsupported anywhere, my hubby has to walk me to bathroom in mornings have wheelcahir for any long walks. I cant sit still but am in angony when i move, even just moving position.
I have had regular monitoring during this pregnancy due to the problems i explained and after 10mins on monitor Im in major pain.

oooo Klaw havent thought of that, had mental pic of dh with measuring tape, but thats a great idea Will be sure to do that.

Ouch, you definitely have my sympathy, it sounds like you have it pretty bad. At the very end mine was so bad I could barely make it to our downstairs bathroom first thing in the morning and I have to admit to keeping a bucket in the bedroom just in case, as one day I was stuck in bed unable to move for over an hour with a very full bladder while dp was at work. Horrible.

Your doc advised you to labour on your side, I've read this on plenty of spd sites. The main thing is to allow your tailbone to move, which it can't if you're on your back. That way the tailbone gives to allow baby to come out instead of the symphysis pubis at the front of the pelvis having to take the pressure and causing further damage. Not very good at explaining these things, hope you can see what I mean!

They can do internal monitoring with you on your side, you just need someone to support your leg, and as klaw said, measure how far you can open your legs without pain and stick to it in labour. I'm sure you'll be fine though, I worried myself sick about being left with permanent damage after the birth, but it's almost gone now. Fingers crossed for you, anyway!

I was monitored and leant over a raised hospital bed for ages (4-5 hours) I also had SPD but not too badly although I couldn't open my legs without agony. I knelt an leaned over the bed, then squatted to give birth. I did hypnobirthing and didn't have pain relief, I didn't feel any pain and didn't notice the SPD during the birth. It took a few months before the pain went postnatally. Good Luck, I hope everything goes well!