Pregnant with CHB no pacemaker yet

Hi everyone :)
I am just hoping to get some advice pls from any ladies out there who have gone through a natural labour (rather than cesarean) successfully/no complications PRIOR to having a pacemaker inserted?
I have recently been diagnosed with CHB (congenital and asymptotic) and recommended to wait for a PM until after the birth, however as 'precaution' my cardiologist said to have a cesarean birth over natural. I am devastated about this as I feel so strongly towards a natural birth if at all possible - has anyone out there gone through something similar? Of course I only want the best for my child so I will have a c-section if necessary but as I am 34 and have never had one symptom of CHB, it is hard for me to accept this without as much research as possible (as I didn't feel my cardiologist really understands the pregnancy side of things). Thanks!

3 Comments

I did

by Shell - 2013-11-06 05:11:14

Like Tracey I was born with CCHB (1971 for me) Growing up my heart rate was usually in the 50's.(and never went up, but it did go down at night) I had no limitations though. (I was a cheerleader in high school)By the time I got pregnant I think it was in the mid 40's.

I was never told not to get pregnant. The only recommendation my cardiologist was that I had an epidural during labor to relieve the strain on my heart. Also, I usually saw a certified nurse midwife but they wanted me to see a reg. ob during my pregnancy. Since there were no complications my second pregnancy I saw the midwife. So there were no problems with me giving birth naturally. (though my mom was stressed out in the waiting room) The only complication that time was that I tore and needed stitches. I didn't get my pacemaker till my youngest was 6. Good Luck!

baby pre pm

by judyblue - 2013-11-06 09:11:23

I had my baby 24 years before my pm! I had a cesarean. It was an emergency and I was devastated, I thought I had failed! But I healed up. I questioned my doc for years as to whether the decision was made too impetuously. But in reality, the only regret was having a scar on my abdomen, which is so not important now. She was and is amazingly healthy. And she doesn't care she was not born "naturally". So much can go wrong in childbirth, please ask yourself why it is important to have a vaginal birth. It is not just important for the baby to be healthy, but his/her mom, too. good luck.

pacing and childbirth

by Tracey_E - 2013-11-06 10:11:57

If you are asymptomatic I would ask to start off on your own and see how you do. They can monitor both you and the baby so it's safe. This is a tough one because ob's don't know much about hearts and most cardiologists don't have many pregnant patients. Odds are neither of them has any experience with this (neither of my docs had!) so everyone has to make it up as they go along. Stand your ground. Scheduled c-sections are a lot easier on the dr and they all live in fear of malpractice so they can tend to be very conservative, doesn't mean you have to go along with it. Take their advice but make your own decision.

I had my pm before I had my babies. I was occasionally symptomatic with a heart rate in the low 40's that never went up, so was told absolutely do NOT become pregnant before getting the pm. I was monitored during delivery, was told if either of us became distressed it would be an immediate c-section. I don't think I would have sailed through it as easily as I did without the pm, but that's just speculation.


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