United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

tcraft, this post is over a year old.

Can anyone still answer these questions? How do I find out?...

Yes,they do completely sever part of your abdominal muscle. I was told there were 9 layers of tissue to get through. Csection is NOT the easy option many believe it to be.

tcraft,

Welcome to the board. Do you have a child with a BPI? Feel free to ask any questions you have.

ROBPI stands for Right Obstetrical Brachial Plexus Injury -- meaning that the injury occured during birth and was to the right arm / hand. You might also see LOBPI or some of us use "NOBPI" for our children who don't have BPIs. You might also occasionally see on this board "TBPI" -- which is for Trauma BPI (meaning that it happened at some time other than during birth, such as a vehicle accident, gunshot wound, sports injury, a bad fall, during an operation, etc. (there's a board exclusively for TBPIs).

As far as the c-section question about the muscle, I don't know the answer to that. I do know that my scar is flat (I had a c-s with my 2nd child). When I got the shot in my back, I was in the O.R. lying down on my side. Hope this helps.

~Tina, bpmom@comcast.net, Mom to Nicole (6 1/2 y.o. w/LOBPI) & Joshua (1 1/2 y.o. w/NOBPI)

WELL FOR ONE I WOULD LIKE TO SAY DON'T BE NERVOUS ABOUT A C-SECTION. IT WAS'NT THAT BAD. BUT MY CONCERN IS THAT YOU HAVE NO ONE CLOSE TO HELP. TO BE HONEST I WENT TO MY MOTHER;S HOUSE & STAYED THERE FOR A MONTH TO RECOVER AS WELL AS HELP OUT W/THE BABY. IT'S HARD, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE LIKE ME & USED TO DO THINGS YOURSELF, YOU REALLY NEED TO RECOVER LAY IN BED WATCH TV & JUST RELAXE. I TRIED TO DO TO MUCH AS WELL TRIED TO CARRY THING THAT MY ICISION STARTED TO LEAK OUT A LITTLE BLOOD & FLUID. BUT THE DOCTOR SAID I NEEDED TO REST & MOMMA SAID SO TO, BUT I JUST FELT SO HELPLESS JUST LAYING AROUND. BUT TO BE HONEST I HAD ALOT OF HELP FROM FAMILY-IN-LAWS & FRIENDS. YOU SHOULD TALK TO A DOULA OR CHECK OUT A PLANNED PREGNANCY TYPE OF PROGRAM THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING WHERE YOU CAN RECIEVE SOME HELP. I REALLY FEEL YOU WILL NEED IT. BUT ALL-IN-ALL, IF I HAD TO DO IT AGAIN, I WOULD CHOOSE A CESECTION. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU & YOUR BABY& GOD BLESS YOU.-MELISSA A.

I have nothing to compare to because I had three c-sections. I also had little ones at home and had no help from family either. Personally, I didn't find the recovery bad at all. I think it depends on ones tolerance for pain. However, the more you move the quicker the healing process. Good luck!

tcraft,
I had a c-section 5/10/04 to deliver my daughter. I also sustained a TBPI because of my position during the surgery. If you do decide to go through with a c-section, I would ask that your arms be tied down by your side and not out at a 90 degree angle which is common positioning during surgery. I had no problems recovering from the c-section itself. My pain and problems were with my BPI and not my incision. I did have a lot of help though. And it would have been difficult without help.
Good luck to you!
Michelle

I should add that while my scar healed nicely, I'm sure it depends a lot on the dr. performing the surgery as well as on the patient. I've seen a lot of BP scars that really vary in appearance from smooth, light and barely noticeable to raised, dark, and very noticeable; some with the same dr. / some with different drs. Just wanted to qualify my comment.

~Tina

I'm sorry to hear you don't have a large support network to depend on after your new baby is born.

My Ashleigh is 16 months old and I'm due with #2 in February. I went through the whole gamut of what should I do? I've decided on a c-section as I just felt it outweighed the risks for me. However, I am lucky enough to have my husband be able to take 3 weeks off (he's in the military and his boss is GREAT and very understanding of the situation), plus my mom said she'd take a week off after that.

I was concerned with recovery time too - it's surgery after all and the thought of taking care of a newborn AND toddler is scary! I wish you best in whatever you decide. Oh yeah, and I heard that you may be able to get a visiting nurse or personal care attendant after surgery so you should check into this!

I had 2 c-sections ater my 2nd child was born with BPI. I felt like hell in the hospital and thought I would die, but once I got home I felt really good. Stairs are rough but I only did them once a day. I took it easy for about 3 days. My third child was 11 pounds 6 ounces so I am glad I opted for a c-section. Really not that bad. I had a 4 and 5 year old also at home.