labor

Mothers in the group! I am currently 5 months pregnant with a baby girl. My doctor proposed to me that I MIGHT be able to have a vaginal birth if I take an epidural. I have long Q-T syndrome and have an ICD implant (pacemaker and defibrillator). Here are my concerns:
1 - My heart tends to beat fast normally and makes me very tired in certain strenuous situations. I am still able to exercise, quite intensely actually. But what if I get too exhausted to continue with my labor?

2 - and this is the big one - What happens if I shock during delivery? I know this scenario won't happen, but I have this terrible visual of getting shocked and my baby comes flying out across the room. If I do get shocked, there is no way I will be able to continue with labor.
Moms, did you have to have a C-section or regular birth? I am torn on what my decision should be. I need to do what will be best for my daughter. Either way, I will be receiving medicine so natural labor is out of the question. Opinions? Stories? All are welcome!

1 Comments

labor

by Tracey_E - 2014-04-29 02:04:01

I'll start by saying my problems are very different than yours. I have a pm, not an icd, for complete heart block. I had two babies with no epidural, no complications.

My ob never had a paced patient before me. He wanted to wrap me in bubble wrap and send me to a high risk specialist and I forget what else. My cardiologist is all mellow and laid back and always tells me to live my life and forget I have heart problems. The two of them chatted, the cardio talked the ob down, and I was allowed to exercise right up until I delivered, and they even let me deliver in the birthing suites rather than the main hospital. I was on a heart monitor the whole time, my cardio was on call, and I was told that if my heart showed the first sign of stress there would be an immediate c-section with no discussion.

As long as your cardio is ok with it and you are monitored, you should be able to try to deliver however you want. Yes, you will get tired, everyone does whether they have heart problems or not. The fact you can exercise says a lot and the epidural will help a lot with fatigue. If you get too tired to continue or your heart shows signs of misbehaving, then they'll do a c-section. You don't have anything to lose by trying, imo.

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