Opinions please - surgery or TTC?

[CosmicLove]

I’m nearly 38 and I had a MMC in April. DH and I are very keen to start trying again asap (I’ve waited one cycle and I am just about to ovulate), but unfortunately I’ve just found out last week that I have an umbilical hernia. I saw a consultant on Friday and it was quite tender at that point. He advised that I should have it repaired since it was causing me pain and therefore more at risk of becoming stuck. This would mean delaying TTC for at least 3-6 months. Who knows how long it would then take to become pregnant. Over the weekend it’s become progressively less sore to the point that it’s now not sore at all. A lot of stuff I’ve read says that if the hernia isn’t causing pain, the best approach is to leave it until after final pregnancy, because of the risk of reoccurrence with future pregnancies. I don’t want to put my body through a surgery and recovery etc and have to delay TTC, if it’s just going to happen again when I’m pregnant. Equally I don’t want to hold off and have things get worse to the point that it becomes a dangerous medical emergency, especially if I’m pregnant and needing to have surgery at that point.

I’m completely torn! What would you do in my situation? Or has anyone had a similar experience? Any advice would be gratefully welcomed ❤️

Anyone have any advice? 🙏 Thank you xx

I know this post is now nearly a year old so you may not see this, but I am in the exact same boat. I have a 4cm umbilical hernia after having my daughter (now 9 months old). We know we would love to try for more children and I have been told by professionals to wait until we have completed our family to have the surgery to repair, but I am anxious about the impact of further pregnancies on my body and the hernia.

What did you decide to do in the end? I hope you’ve had a positive outcome whatever you decided 🙏🏻 x

Hi @Bakerbean - sorry, I’ve been so inactive on MN lately and only just saw your post. I ended up going private and having the hernia repair on 6th June 2024 so just 3 days after my initial post. That was a Thursday and I was due to ovulate on the Friday. We had sex once, 5 days earlier on the Sunday, and 2 weeks later I was shocked to find out I was pregnant. So I must’ve had the surgery right around the time of ovulation! I was over the moon but nervous as well of course - although my surgeon said that by the time my belly became bigger, it would be well healed and everything should be fine. Thankfully it was and my baby girl just turned 1 yesterday 🥹 it was an anxious pregnancy having had the MMC just a couple of months before. But she defied the odds and everything worked out. What’s been happening for you since you posted? I hope everything worked out well for you too. And apologies again for the tardy response. All the best xx