Advice pls! Second baby after broken coccyx

[lydiangel83]

Hi I don't suppose anyone has experience of childbirth after broken coccyx during first birth? I was induced and didn't need to be in retrospect, had no pain relief as it all happened too fast and then forceps delivery of my little girl. Very traumatic and painful.

Pregnant again and just don't like the idea of C section but equally not recovered from the trauma of first birth mentally or physically (coccyx still broken).

Impact of vaginal delivery on coccyx is unknown but I worry about risk of damage after birth.

Any experience or advice welcome! I am otherwise fit and healthy as I was last time as well!

Hiya, my first was similar except had episiotomy, failed forceps, failed ventouse and then successful forceps delivery. I had an epidural so didn’t realise my coccyx was in pieces until the pain relief wore off. Couldn’t sit down properly for months. My second I had a water birth (just!) and no time for pain relief. I’ll be honest, when baby crowned I felt the coccyx ‘pop’ which the midwife said it hadn’t and it was just the head appearing but again it wasn’t until I was out the water that I felt the pain of it. I think the water definitely helped, as was being upright and leant forward so there wasn’t as much pressure on the bone. Having said that, the recovery wasn’t half as bad as the first, I couldn’t sit flat again for around 4 months but as I’d experienced it the first time I was better prepared, took plenty of paracetamol in the early days and would just use pillows etc to keep me propped on one side whilst feeding. I’m currently 22 weeks with my third and tbh more worried about the coccyx recovery than I am about the labour and birth as my 2nd birth would have been textbook if it wasn’t for the coccyx. I’m will be trying to stay upright again and fingers crossed I’ll be in water too. There’s not much they can do for it as you probably know and it just has to heal itself. Me personally, I’d rather the natural birth and coccyx recovery over a c section as the thought of surgery and recovery feels much scarier

Hi thanks that's helpful and good luck with your birth, I agree I really don't like idea of c section either! Was your coccyx still broken the second time? Mine is and I am worried about if something happens in labour and I end up with emergency c section anyway!

Mine was healed as much as it could be but even now years later I am unable to sit on a hard surface for too long. I wasn’t actually believed that it was my coccyx but after months of pain the doctor said there’s nothing that can be done as it was healing itself. I believe it was broken the first time and second time fractured. I had 2.5 years between the births, this time will be 11years 🙈 The midwife suggested I do physio to try to prevent it happening this time around but she hasn’t even referred me and I can’t see what that would do as if it’s going to happen again, it will. I’m very petite and it’s that last little bit that baby struggles to get past for some reason. I’d definitely speak to someone about it whether that’s your midwife or if you are under a consultant to share your concerns as you really don’t need extra worries about the birth as it sounds as if your first was absolutely awful. I wish I would have been aware that this was even a thing as you will know it’s such a painful thing to deal with. I hope you manage to get some helpful advice from the professionals 🤞🏽 Keep me posted if you can!

I saw orthopaedic surgeon on Weds and he said since coccyx is still broken then it should move out the way to let baby past! Did yours heal then after first birth if it was broken first time and fractured second time? Absolutely agree had never heard of it but then neither have most of the health professionals I have heard of!

If you can afford to I would recommend a woman's health physio who will examine your insides (it's not mega pleasant but all relative after childbirth) and may be able to advise on some exercises to do depending on state of your pelvic floor.

I have no idea if I’m honest I am literally going by the recovery and pain after each birth. Considering the 3 sets of instruments and 9 months of pain I presume it was broken first time but stupidly I never took it further. I did think it was just normal because of my size. It was the second time I realised it really wasn’t right but the recovery was much faster.

Did they say how long it can take to heal? I understand the bones move anyway in childbirth to allow baby to pass but obviously for some of us it doesn’t or the instruments cause big damage. Get me very worried the closer I get I won’t lie and I just hope I can focus rather than tensing up thinking of the possible damage 😬 I imagine you’re just as petrified!

I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay to see anyone. Tbh if I could I would be paying firstly for a private midwife to allow me to have a home birth as they’ve been suspended in my area so means a hospital birth but that makes me worried for interventions