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[pumpkinpureeandghostlypearls]

I am suffering SPD (for the second time) and just need to vent without driving everyone else on my pregnancy thread mental. Not that they aren't supportive but I still have 20 weeks to go and I don't want to ruin their pregnancies by talking about mine!

Please come and join me so I don't feel so alone, and feel free to share tips if you have any....

Hello,

I'm looking for a bit of advice. I'm currently 14 and a half weeks pregnant and I have really really achey hips. To the point where if I walk for more than half an hour I'm just really uncomfortable.

It happens when I lie down in bed as well, if I lie on my side my hips start aching.

This started a few weeks ago and seems to be getting worse.

Is this normal during pregnancy or am I on the slippery track to SPD, no one on my thread seems to be getting this at all. It's my first pregnancy as well so I'm a bit in the dark here.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

its possible that your body is just adjusting to the hormones of the pregnancy, but its also possible that its early SPD, it can start from around 8weeks. when you see your midwife next ask them for a referral to the physio, they can give you useful tips on how to move about so you dont make it any worse.

dont forget to do your pelvic floor exercises, they are important no matter what!!

mine started aching about the same time and just got worse, but SPD isnt always as severe as some of the ladies here, it can stay at the same level the whole pregnancy if your lucky.

like i said, ask for a referral to see a physio therapist and you can get useful advice on how to best manage and not excasserbate the pain and discomfort.

good luck!

hi hermya, like KTW says the best thing is to get a physio referral asap, then the best thing that could happen is that the phys might tell you it's not spd. And if it is spd it needs attention a early as possible.In my second pg my spd didn't get very bad so it may be that with a bit of tlc you could feel a bit more comfortable.

Hi KTW i don't think i'll hire a wheelchair but if I'm struggling i will get DH to go into the ward and get one rather than doing myself in walking to the maternity ward. I'm still (this week) into the idea of a homebirth (dc2 was very easy and if it was like that there's really no need to drag myself to hosp) but also the idea of a hosp waterbirth appeals. I'm not having a pool at home though ,just not my sort of thing.Have you thought about whether or not you are/could be more mobile in water?

Hi, finally got a chance to catch up properly.

ktwiltshire Your situation sounds nearly identical to mine! I am 34 weeks and on crutches / wheelchair. The difference is, I have a brilliant NHS physio who is managing me very closely, mostly because my SPD was so bad in the last pg as well.

I am very concerned at the reaction to your questions about the birth options. Not being able to get your legs apart is the major factor they should be assessing. They should measure the pain free distance between your knees (pain free distance you can sustain). From what you describe it is probably not sufficient for normal birth.

This is exactly the conversation I have had both times with the consultant and physio, and both times has resulted in a decision to have an elective section. (Well, it's currently pencilled in for this time as they won't confirm until next week.)

C-section is not right for everyone, and obviously comes with risks, but if you feel strongly that it is the right option for you you can insist on this. And elective is a whole lot safer than emergency! I am also annoyed at your physio. Mine has actually written in my notes that based on her assessment she recommends c-s, and we have made a recovery plan based around this. She has scheduled to come and see me on the ward the day after the section and has given me firm instructions for after care which have to go into my notes.

Can you request to see the physio again? You are also right to insist that the consultant answers your questions on how they intend to manage the birth, so keep asking. 38 weeks is a bit late to decide!

Please feel free to ask me any more questions you need to. I feel really lucky that I am at a hospital which is at the forefront of SPD management, and this is the main reason I am there - even though it is an hour's drive away it is worth it to feel supported not abandoned.

Thats my pain fear ponymum, i dont have a pain free gap, well i can open my legs a little for maybe about 30seconds to a minute absolote maximum, but thats leaves me in huge amounts of pain for hours after!

My problem is i have the midwife and anaesthetist saying that an elective section is probably a very good idea, but the dr just seemingly ignoring me.

Ive only seen the physio once, and she said to only go back if i needed a bigger support belt, but since i hardly walk, its not really worth it as the belts are best for when walking to stabilise things (it just hurts to have it on otherwise).

Ive spoken about the water birth with the midwife, but she said the rule is that you have to be able to get in and out yourself as they cant help you in or out in emergency situations (health and safety, manual handling etc). Also there is only one birthing pool in my hospital, so theres no gaurentee that it would be available if we wait for spontaneous labout.

i think the dr may request me to see the physio again, although im not sure what good it will do as the only advise she had for me last time was to move about as much as i could, but not to push too far into the pain. which basically means just pelvic floor exercises for me, as standing up for 10mins leaves me virtually unable to move for days after.

im with you ponymum, 38 weeks in my mind seems hugely late to be starting to make a birth plan. hopefully the midwifes letter to the consultant will state my anxieties and with any luck they might actually talk to me like a human being!

ktw Your thought processes sound just like mine. I could only imagine the possibility of a normal birth if I could be upright in a pool, but couldn't imagine any other position. They said the same thing to me about not being able to get in / out of the pool ruling out that option completely.

Does the physio actually know how bad it is now? The advice from mine is that avoiding aggravating activities is best, i.e. have a very boring pg. She encourages pf exercises on the swedish ball, but not if I end up in pain later from the effort. I have anti embolism stockings and they will decide next week whether I need to start daily heparin injections because of the risk of blood clots due to inactivity. (The consultant considers this is the major risk.)

When you see the doctor on Thursday go prepared with your reasons for requesting a c-section - you have no pain free knee separation threshold, you are currently not physically capable of enduring labour, you cannot get into any recommended labouring positions, the pool is ruled out, these factors are likely to result in a high intervention delivery which would damage your chances of recovery, etc. Tell them you have done your research and feel confident in this decision. They can't say no if you insist. (FWIW I had all these arguments lined up last visit, but didn't need them as the consultant said exactly the same thing to me withuot prompting, so you'll probably find the discussion easier than you think.)

I hope nobody thinks I'm advocating c-s for all SPD cases! I'm certainly not - I just think your case is so similar to mine I know what you're going through and can totally relate to your concerns.

^^ thanks ponymum, i think what i might do is right down all the things ive gone through here, the important things youve pointed out. I think the best thing is to go in armed with a list and go through it, and see what response they come up with!

Its not that im not prepared to try for a natural delivery, i really am prepared to try, i just cant get my brain to understand how its logically and physically possible. i have to sleep for a few hours a day on top of my normal nights sleep (not that its full nights sleep, i wake up every hour or two in pain, no matter how many painkillers ive taken), just to get through the day. I get this feeling i would be too worn out if the labour became long.

If theres anyone here who has had SPD and managed a natural delivery, i would love to hear your story as it might be the bolt of inspiration i need to do this!!

not sure if the physio knows how bad it is, she didnt tell me to come back if it got worse, only to go back if i needed a bigger belt.

im seeing the midwife on tuesday, so hopefully she can talk through with me the plan of what to say and ask in the consultant appt in order to try and sort this out

forgot to add - ive also got antiembolism stockings on, have had for a couple months now, when i first had them on i was still able to go for a walk almost everyday, walk for about 10minutes and then have to rest for an hour or so, and then make my way home.

at the moment the docs arent sayinng anything about needing the injections, but we are assessing at each appointment.

ive considered trying the ball, im waiting to see if any friends have one i can borrow to see if it helps or hurts!

funnily i called up the hospitals maternity day unit the other day because i was about scream and cry and wail until someone got the baby out with the pain and she asked if i had done too much, i paused for a second before answering, not really and she took that as a yes, i said that two days previous i had stood up for 10minutes when my daughters got their faces painted in town!! at this remark the midwife (who id met once before) told me to not stand up for more than 5 mins in the future, and to only do that when i really needed to...lol...so many contradictions!!

like i said, midwife on tuesday, so hopefully i can put a plan together of what to say at my main appointment on thursday

Hi everyone just to say that after my lack of success with the mothercare support pants (I fell between sizes) I bought a carriwell support band and it seems pretty good.it's the same sort of weight and stretchiness as the mothercare pants.

Hi ktw if you read back to March 17 underactivethyroidmum managed not to have a section and really had a very severe case. The thing is that only you know how much pain you are in and only you know how much you matters to you how you give birth.All I know is that you are way worse than me and I can't do very much at all!

^ thanks i will look that up. In one of the facebook groups i found for SPD soneone posted a link to a fantastic leaflet (pdf format)

www.acpwh.org.uk/docs/ACPWH-PGP_HP.pdf

fantastic leaflet, going to show it to my midwife on tuesday!

bump

midwife appointment tomorrow, hoping to be reassured and calmed down about everythinng!

hi everyone just popped in to say I am going in to be induced tomorrow night will be term.

I have more SI pain so can open my legs a bit, I have found that the pain of labour far outweights the pain of SPD/SI pain. I have found I have tended to labour on my side only turning onto my back to deliver. I have managed to have 3 natural deliveries so far.

I am so looking forward to being able to walk again, pick up the DDs, turn over in bed and not have to take sodding cocodamols every day!

^ wow, your impressive, good luck with the delivery, hope the induction doesnt take too long.

im looking forward to doing stairs again!

Good luck sweetkitty please let us know how you get on.

Hope your mw manages to calm you down ktw. I read that leaflet at some point as someone posted it on another MN thread, it's a good one but it hasn't made my spd go away!

^ yeah that would be a good, a leaflet with the cure on it!!

But wouldn't you be cross if you'd sat it out with spd for 10 weeks before you found the link!

^ i would be, ive had this since the end of january and only in the last few weeks the midwife and drs are taking me seriously about the amount of pain im in!!

ah well....sorry im bored, waiting for the mw to turn up at some point in the next couple hrs

Ok just seen the midwife (got my days wrong), although it wasnt the nice midwife, it was the one i really dont like, but hey she was still half helpful. After talking with her, the only birthing position she could come up with that didnt involve me opening my legs was with someone or stirrups holding my (closed) legs up in the air, which im pretty sure would hurt like hell, i mean outside of the regular hip pain and the labour pains.

Anyway after talking with her about my anxiety involved in needing to understand things and needing to have a birth plan, and she said in my appt with the consultant tomorrow to just ask for a csection, and state that not having a plan is increasing my anxiety, and basically be a broken record about the csection, as my anxiety is not good for the baby.

The midwife did agree with my thought that most people who have managed to have a normal delivery with SPD ended up having a much longer recovery time to normal day to day activities than those who had a csection (other than the recovery your body has to do from a csection anyways) in terms of their hips and mobility.

going to stop rambling now. Hoping to come back with some good news and hopefully a date for a csection tomorrow; lets see, ive been after that for months now!

Hi KTW I'm sure they'll agree to it. There is no way you can give birth with your legs closed together in stirrups that's just daft!It is very imp not to have someone hold your legs when pushing if you have spd (see pelvic partnership website). So you have a birth plan you just need to get the consultant to write it in .The thing with recovery is that it may take longer after a section , but you often do get to start recovering sooner.IYKWIM. if the consultant doesn't do what you ask then make sure that you set the ball rolling for a second opinion before you leave the hospital.

I'm 31 weeks tomorrow, only 9 weeks to go and I don't seem to be getting much worse (no better either).

Any news from sweetkitty?
Butterscotch has gone quiet too.....

^ thank looloo. ive been thinking more about the position the midwife suggested, it seems doable it terms of actually being able to get the baby out, its about the only position thats been suggested that hasnt instantly made me say 'well i cant do that because of X'
Im going to look up on the pelvic partnership website tonight to look into that leg up thing.

i wasnt too bad at 31 weeks, in fact i only made a leap into a sort of 8/10 as oppsed to 6/10 (with painkillres) when she moved from the breach position to head down!

hope those labouring mothers out there are doing ok? would love to hear feedback on how everything is going!

found it:

^Avoid:

• Lying on your back with your feet in stirrups (the lithotomy position). This position is often used for suturing (stitching), but you can ask for this to be done whilst you are lying on your side with your upper leg supported. This can be quite a tricky procedure and you may have to ask for a senior midwife or consultant to do it. Sometimes it is necessary to use the lithotomy position. If so, you should ensure that both legs are moved at the same time and that they are up for the shortest time possible.^

if this is on the website and legit etc, why would the midwife suggest it as a position? is it not that important or simply sommething only a SPD/PGP expert would know?

sorry to be a over-poster.

It looks like the above qoute from the pelvic partnership website is referring to the standard position in terms of the legs being open with the stirrups. my midwife was suggesting that we use stirrups to hold up my legs together in that upright position so theres access to the baby etc, but i wouldnt have to open my legs.

im curious to know, anyone thats had a natural deliver with bad to severe SPD, what position did you use for labour, specifically the pushing part? and did you recover quickly? slowly?

Hi everyone! I'm sitting on this spd sofa most of the time at the moment!
Hi ktw . generally the mw do not know that much about spd and birth positions, according to the physio. What's the difference between lying on your back with your legs held up and together (like a baby nappy change!) and lying on your side legs together?
So have you not yet ruled out a natural delivery in your own mind?

^true - and yeah exactly like a nappy change!

SPD sofa all the way (other than hospital appointments!).

I had ruled out natural delivery, then yesterday i was considering it yet again, but now im having serious doubts about that position, so i think ive ruled out natural delivery again. Was thiniking about that natural birthing position (nappy change one) and i cant bend my knees up for a different position on the sofa/bed for more than a couple minutes as it hurts my hips like hell.

ok so im off to the consultant appt in 5mins, going to straight out ask for a csection if i can get up the guts!! wish me luck guys, back later!

I'm hoping for a home birth. I can get my legs apart a bit (though not enough even to have sex) but can see myself kneeling with arms on the bed, so bump hanging down.

Whilst it's not really a long term position comfort wise, i think it should take pressure off pelvis whilst allowing gravity to do it's thing.

That said, I've planned 2 water births before, and ended up having one lying down (on my side cos too exhausted to push in water) and the other one practically fell out when I was on the loo.

The important thing for me is to be able to move into a comfy (or less uncomfy, realistically) position, and not be stuck on my back with a monitor on.