NHS consultants/midwives with experience with chronic pain patients?

[GreenGoth89]

I'm not pregnant yet, but I'm just seeing what my options are!

I have had a fair few friends who have given birth at our soon to be nearest hospital (Heartlands in Birmingham) all of whom had an awful time of it because they're overstretched.

I have a chronic pain condition which i normally take medication for, I am also hypermobile which means I'm more at risk of hip related disorders during pregnancy and I would much rather have a baby in a midwife-led unit attached to a hospital so I can have minimal intervention but if needs be it will be near by. I'm aware they may well say no as I'll be seen as high risk but I want to be under a consultant/midwife who has dealt with people like me!

Does anyone Birmingham based have any experiance of any consultants/midwives who have known about chronic pain and HMS?

I'm hyper mobile. My baby was born at Good Hope and then we were transferred to Hertlands.

I had a cesarean so have no advice about the midwife led unit, but the care leading up to the birth was good. I was monitored several times a week because I had a lot of pain and they were worried I would have an early labour. I was given steroids, and told to come in whenever I was worried.

The care in Hertlands was great. I had a private room, the staff were very helpful and no one made me feel like I was making a fuss.

Good luck

Was it a planned caesarean or an emergency one?

Its good to know someone has had a good experience at Heartlands but I still feel very unnerved by the idea of going there and I've been told the only way I could be seen at the Women's (my preferred hospital) is if there was a clinical need and I could find a consultant to take me on. I have already said to myself that I would only have a C-section if there is no other way of getting little one out and epidural is completely out due to my condition and the likelihood of it making it worse. The ideal way would be a water birth but I have no idea if they would allow me or if they even have them and if they have many (i.e. how likely is a pool going to be available on the day of the birth?)

In between. I said I would prefer a c section to a forceps or assisted birth, so when I went into labour and it went a bit wrong I had a c section.

Could you ask for a tour of the hospital and see if it reassures you?

I can't offer specific hospital advice as I'm nowhere near you but I'm a chronic pain patient. Sounds great you are wanting as little intervention as possible, I wish I had been like that first time round. Only real chronic pain related blip I had was being a pain med junkie, everything they give you is pish to your body because it's used to it already. I was told various times they were surprised I was still conscious! Good luck, labour is a very normal process for your body, regardless of its condition (I've brittle bone disease and my hips stayed intact!) Try to keep reminding yourself that 😊 good luck x

I've gone down to just using pregabalin (apart from v occasional use of oramorph which is down to once a month or so and I'm trying to stop it all together which I'm nearing). But I've been told I need to come off pregabalin all together before getting pregnant because they don't know if it will or won't cause a problem. Women I've spoken to in the states have been on low doses with no problem but I'm on 300mg twice a day so I need to cut it down to 75mg a day really :(