SPD first time round, do I have another child?

[mumvet1]

My son is 20months old. I had unusual signs for SPD in that I was ok (just a few twinges in hips before the birth) but after he was borm I couldn't walk. The pelvic symphysis had separated by 13mm. I was on a zimmer frame then crutches for 6months, until I found a good manual physio through the pelvic partnership. My question is has anyone had similar symptoms to me, but taken the "risk" to have another child and been ok, or been much worsely affected the second time around? My heart is telling me I am craving for another child, but my head reminds me what I went through and that I may not get back to full function this time even with correct treament? Wouls appreciate any thoughts/ experiences.

I didn't have SPD anywhere near as severely as you, but I did have it first time round and not at all second time. Plus second baby was A LOT bigger than first and that still didn't affect it.

mumvet is sounds like you incurred damage through birth itself - i.e. excessive pelvic separation (while your ligaments were soft). How well recovered are you now?

this seems a different mechanism to PGP/SPD through pregnancy - which is often related to an inbalance (leg length discrepancy, tighter muscles/ joints on one side to the other) - which manifests itself as problematic when the pelvis starts acting more like 2 halves than one solid block.

i would discuss it with your physio - about how you could manage your pelvis through another pregnancy, i would wait until your existing problems were well controlled/ resolved. i'm not an expert by the way! do you think there was anything about your birth/ birthing position that could have put undue stress on the join??

That sounds like some problem with birth rather than SPD, if you weren't really affected until after birth. Have you totally recovered? Can you discuss with your physios?

FWIW I had purely hormonal 'classic' SPD during my first pregnancy, had 3 months using a wheelchair, but recovered very quickly (once the pregnancy hormones went). I was told there was about 60% chance of me getting SPD to some degree again - now 16 weeks and it's there but under control thanks to shedloads of physio. But I feel so grim in so many other ways I doubt I'll ever get pregnant again.

Thanks for the responses. The birth was not very pelvis friendly; One midwife holding my bent leg on either side of the bed, which I was subsequently told was out-dated practice. I had no other explanatrion why this was done. Stupidly, we had attended NCT courses and had birth positions in mind but once the pushing labour started I just did as I was told!! I was then in stirrups for over an hour whilst I was sutured.
My recover is probably 95% now. I can run, kick a football, carry biggish weights and stand 8 hours a day when I work,not to mention running around after a toddler the other days. I am hoping that if the birth is well managed the risk will be lower, but have spoken to women in the last year who have been permanently affected and the thought terriefies me.