Future children and how to deliver them...

[Beedle]

Hi,
My name is Belinda, I am 28 yo living in Australia. My daughter Sophie was stuck during birth and was delivered by forceps using a high position.
She is my first child, I have been told that subsequent babies are often larger!! I was wondering if anyone had gone on to have other children and if so how they decided to deliver. I would love to deliver my future children "naturally" if possible.
I am particuarly interested in those that have delivered naturally. Thanks for any input folks.

[Savannahsmom]

Hi! I am mom to Savannah 2 1/2 ROBPI and a healthy, happy 5 month old Trey. Trey was also big 10lbs 9 oz. and taken at just 36 weeks. So I opted to have a c-section this time around. Better safe than sorry and it really was much easier. At least the delivery part of it. No labor. I delivered my 1st child(now 4) naturally and safely but she only weighed 7lbs 15oz. So I would just really monitor this babies size and any other factor that may have lead to the BPI birth. Good luck to you! Heather

[admin]

Thanks for replies so far.
Sophie was delivered at 37wks and 4days through spontaneous labour. My waters broke at 6am but my first contraction was at 5:30pm, then another at 6:30pm then they went to every 5 minutes, she was delivered at 9:32pm. I arrived at the Hospital at 7:30pm and had the pushing urge, so wasn't given an epi as there wasn't really enough time to have it administered.

[Tessie258]

While natural child birth might be something that you really like to plan for, I believe that after having one child with an injury it wouldn't be worth the risk. Of course this is just my opinion but I had a c-section the next time after my son was born and it was harder in some ways and easier in other ways. The delivery was less traumatic and the stitches healed much faster (compared to ripping all the way to my rectum!!) The recovery time took longer but..... I would gladly give up anything or even part of myself to not have to have a child that will live with a life long disability.
Best of luck to you!
T.

[Pauline]

Hi Belinda.
I have 4 beautiful children. My one daughter (3rd child) got stuck during delivery, but she is ok.
I was not told how dangerous this could be. She was 7lb 11.
My next child was my son Josh who weighed in at 12lb 5ozs.
(I have since heard that if you have one child who suffers shoulder distocia you are 4 times more likely to have similar problems with further deliveries, especially if these are larger babies).

My son Josh has RBPI, cerebral palsy, developmental delays and a receptive language disorder.

I sooo wish I knew then (at his birth) what I know now. There would have been no doubt, I would have demanded c section.
I don't wish to tell you what to do, it is your choice. But you cannot turn back the clock & change your mind after the event.

I would strongly suggest you are monitored closely, and a csection is often better than the consequences difficult deliveries bring.
I just thank God my son survived.

Love to you and your darling, whatever you choose good luck, hugs & best wishes
Pauline

[Lenni]

Hi Beedle, as others have said, good luck with what ever you choose to do! This is a difficult decision to make, I had to do it myself. After months of thinking about it and research.....this is the conclusion I came to. I would have a c - section but not scheduled....I wanted to go through active labour first as there is some research that finds the baby does better and is at a lower risk for lung problems if they go through active labour . So that is what I did......Frannie came at just under 38 weeks, I was ready to push at the time of anesthetic, and she was the healthist newborn cesarean baby recorded at the hospital. Apgar scores were perfect.......8 lbs 11 oz.........crying before she was even all the way out into the world!

I don't regret my decision and I would do the same again in a heart beat!

So that is my experience, good luck with yours.

Lenni

[Karen Hillyer]

have you had a chance to discuss this with your clinician who will be with you during your delivery?
over here in the UK it's normally a midwife - I'm not sure about Australia.
There are some things which you can agree with your clinician prior to delivery - regular scans to check the fetal growth with a final once at 36 weeks (they are not considered to be accurate for fetal weight after 36 weeks) to give you a "guestimate" of the size.
If the hospital has a regularly PRACTICED shoulder dystocia drill and a well rehearsed protocol for this emergency - are they willing to discuss it with you?
Can they guarantee you a clinician who is familiar with and happy to perform the manouevres needed to overcome a SD for your labour and delivery?
check for the warning signs of a larger baby and make sure that your clinicians keep a close eye on you.
It is possible to deliver a baby naturally following a shoulder dystocia birth, but everyone needs to be aware of the potential for difficulties and to have a contingency plan if things show signs of becoming difficult.
I wish you well, I think it takes a huge amount of faith and courage to have a child following a difficult delivery which results in a baby with an obpi- I never had the courage myself and I bitterly regret our family's lost opportunities.
Karen

[Clint]

Belinda,

Most doctors will argue that there is no evidence to suggest that subsequant pregnancies result in larger babies. But I think the is enough anecdotal evidence out there, it has just never been collected.

However, there is ample evidence that indicates that prior shoulder dystocia is a significant risk factor for future shoulder dystocia. And be careful with ultrasounds. Late term ultrasounds are highly inaccurate.

As a father (and male), I'm not really sure what "natural" delivery is. Does having an epidural disqualify you? What about vacum/forceps, episiotomy, AROM, or pitocin? Is the opposite "unnatural"? I just don't understand why it gets labeled that way. I also think it puts a lot of pressure on first time moms.

I spent over 20 hours in the delivery room as my wife delivered our daughter semi-"naturally". I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy. And now Hannah deals with the results everyday.

I say any delivery that results in a healthy infant with the least amount of stress on the mother is natural!

At least that's this guy's opinion.

Good Luck.

Clint

[Beedle]

Sorry for not making mt full post the other night, Sophie demanded food,... baby style.

I had no GD and was given a 36wk scan as my OB thought Sophie may have been a biggie. I had the scan and they said at 36weeks that she was anywhere 3.1kg give or take 500g, which in Victoria/Australia is in the 90th precentile of babies weight.
At 35wk I had a fill in OB for my weekly check-up and he said that he thought it would be a larger baby and that we should maybe consider a C/S. I was scared to death of that prospect, but had I known that this thing even occured I would have said "sign me up!"
At delivery they performed a manouver I can't remember the name of where they placed my feet in stirrups and pulled my knees back to my chest, this was meant to aid the delivery as she wasn't progressing down the birth canal.
Clint... By natural I meant vaginal, but wasn't sure the word was allowed on here or not?.
I only had local aneasthetic for the use of the forceps, and received 8-10 stitches. I am all for a healthy baby, who wouldn't be?!!
I am seriously considering a C/S for my next baby, I just don't think that I could handle another birth injury like the one Sophie has endured.
Our Physio aslo said that families with babies that have OBPI are likely to have had a mild occurance in a previous birth.
Sophie has now had her first op to have all the nerve grafting done, they only had C5 and C6 to work with. So we will wait and see what the future holds.
I am thinking of making a play mat and a padded book with different textures for her to play with, to help her awareness of her arm and textures.

[Pauline]

My physio was really keen on sensation therapy. I had a bag of objects I used on Josh's arm to stimulate him.
I used warm & cool flannels, textured paper, cotton wool, koosh ball, fabric strips from soft silk to rough textures.
I was always collecting things to add to the bag!
Josh has progressed brilliantly, and has sensation in his arm now (first EMG tests at 3 months he didnt even feel, the second set of EMG tests he screamed the place down, not plesant but a huge relief... he could feel the needles).
I also found that while friends & relatives were reluctant to help with the Physio exercises, they were happy to help with sensation therapy.
A play mat is a great idea, keep us posted how it goes.
Best wishes
Pauline