c section & fibroids

[joolsg1]

i've just found out today that i have to have a c-section because the baby is lying traverse and due to my fibroids the consultant beleives that the baby will be restricted in moving to the correrct position. not something i was expecting when i waddled up to my appointment! is there anything i can do to try and move the baby? or do i just take the advice from the consultant and presume he knows best? i'm currently 36 weeks and 2 days. c-section is booked for 30 april.
thanks in advance for any advice.
x

a transverse lie is one of those things when c/s is the only option & it's actually dangerous to go into natural labour due to the risk of cord prolapse.

If the consultant thinks your fibroids may be a problem then he's probably right, but there's no harm in encouraging bubs to try & move before your c/s date.

try

OFP
spinning babies

If bubs isn't for budging then it looks like you consultant was right - Ask them to double check bubs position at your pre-op appointment (usually the day before your c/s) (they probably will anyway) - it's never too late to cancel if bubs has shifted round.

I'd also suggest starting to prepare for the c/s birth experience you want, it can still be a wonderful experience - i'd even suggest a c/s "birth plan"

this is a good site for c/s info

I had an em c/s with DD which was not good, and an el c/s with DS - even though I'd really wanted a VBAC (long story!) - and it was a much better experience because I was prepared for it.

Also assuming bubs does move did the consultant say anything about your fibroids restricting bubs "exit route" ? No pointmoving him to point in the right direction if that's the case

At 36 weeks it may be too late for the baby to move head down, assuming the exit route was clear anyway. It doesn't hurt to try and move him/her though as suggested by previous poster.
I had baby lying transverse due to fibroids but then things shifted around and I ended up having an augmented labour & delivered naturally (if traumatically cos it was augmented & went too fast for pain relief) then had to undergo surgery anyway for a retained placenta and ended up having a post-partum haemhorrage. If you have fibroids a haemhorrage is a real risk as they get very vascular during pregnancy due to the extra hormones & blood supply, so having a c-section is good from that point of view as you are in the best place if there should be a bleed ie the operating theatre. I was told if my bleed had occurred anywhere else I probably wouldn't have made it.
Also check what type of c-section it will be - bikini or vertical incision whichever is best to avoid cutting into fibroid material, so you are prepared. Check they will have blood matched ready to go should you need it, which I'm sure they would do automatically, & ask if they are going to do anything with the fibroids at the same time - this would be unlikely in most cases due to increasing the risk of bleeding but in some cases where it appears simple & straightforward they can take them out at the same time.

This is very interesting - I have fibroids and my second baby was transverse till about 30 weeks, but I hadn't realised that the fibroids might have been the reason. She went head down in the end, but I still had an elective cs because the fibroids had stopped me delivering naturally in my first birth.

I also had a big haemorrhage in first birth (long labour and emergency cs), so maybe the fibroids were a contributing factor to that too.

I agree with aBetty Boop's advice to plan for the cs as much as you can. My second was a lovely experience, unlike my first, partly because it was all as I had planned which made me feel in control.