excruciating pelvic pain-is natural birth still possible?

T

Tracey Nicole

Banned
hi

i am 40+ weeks pregnant and throughout my pregnancy i have been focused on having a drug free natural birth.

however in the last five days since my baby has dropped a notched, i have been in excruciating pelvis pain. the only way i can combat the pain is to remain lie down and horizontal. i now dread having to sit up for dinner or even to go to the bathroom.....

my doctor tested me for urinary tract infections etc but all tests came back normal. he then said to go home and commit to bed rest until labour begins.

my major fear is being able to deliver vaginally. i mean, if i can not handle the pain now, now on earth am i going to handle things when the pressure is really on?
the pain is also wearing me down.....

has anyone had a simiarlar experience and managed it? what are the recommended positions for birthing? are there exercises i could do now? any tips or recommendations would be great.

many thanks in advance and kind regards,
 
you may have "decided" on a natural birth with no drugs... but that may not be possible.

in the long run what matters is the safe delivery of your baby and your health. if this means that you need drugs or if this means that you have a c-section, it does NOT make you less of a mother than if you deliver vaginally.

one of the biggest parts of being a mother is being able to roll with the punches.

i'd try to get used to the idea that may not be the birth that you dreamed, but that's the way it goes.

i wish you luck with the birth, i KNOW what being in excruciating pain while pregnant is like, you have my utmost sympathy!
 
i had a drug-free home birth in london for my first. it was a really special experience and I was thinking that I would have liked to be able to do the same in HK for my 2nd.

however the 2nd pregnancy was different from the first and the 2nd labour was VERY different to the first.

I also had severe pelvic pain in the last few weeks of my pregnancy - it doesn't sound like mine was quite as excruciating as yours though! it was still too painful to walk or roll over in bed.

I have no way of knowing if that impacted my labour or not but second time around, boy was I glad i was in hospital.

I was 41 weeks when I went into labour this time.
I tried my best to go drug free again but I simply couldn't do it. The pain was pretty bad from the beginning - all in my back.
At 8cm dilated I had one low dose of epidural and it was the best decision I ever made.
it enabled me to take an hour to relax and refocus.
After the 1 dose i let it wear off completelyand was able to push on my own urges so that I delivered my 9+pounder without a tear or a graze.

It wasn't completely "natural" but it was the best I could do under the cirumstances.

I agree with carang completley - you need to be able to roll with the punches at the time.

I know of no medical reason why you shouldn't still be able to give it a try - but then again I am pretty clueless about these sorts of things!

Good luck!
 
thanks Carang. i had focused on a natural birth but have always remained open to whatever comes.... i guess I just didnt expect the pelvis pain to come (never knew about it) or having to be in pain for over a week whilst waiting hence my question.....

Aussie mum - thanks for sharing your experience. i am in pain when walking, rolling over and other movements i.e. going to the loo. also when i receive a branston hicks...

you mentioned back pain in labour... did you also have pelvic pain as well???? I ask this because one of my major fears is going into labour and at each contraction recieving the shooting pelvis pains (like breaking glass)???? 24 constant hours of it will send me to the lunatic asylum.

thanks in advance. cheers trace
 
hi. not sure if this is good or bad but i know exactly the type of shooting pain in the pelvis that you are talking about
however .... during my labour the back pain was so bad that I couldn't even feel a single contraction or any pain in the pelvis. the back pain over-rode everything!
 
I know a lot of people imply that a drug free vaginal birth is the best thing ever, but it certainly wasn't for me. An epidural was a great blessing when I couldn't cope with the pain anymore. Do not beat yourself up about having one if it comes to that. We are lucky to live in an age where we can choose to have pain relief if we need it.

There are enough things to worry about in parenting without beating yourself up about things that, in the end, are really not a big deal. My attitude to the birth of my two children was that I was only going to do this twice in life, and I just wanted to get through it without traumatising myself and my body for the rest of my life. My first birth was vaginal and the tear and scar tissue made things very uncomfortable for me for many months, and even now (3 years later) I can't have things like a pap smear without a lot of pain.

Just do the right thing for you and your body, and accept that preconceived ideas of what is the right thing might change when the time actually comes.
 
hi there,

thanks for this jenayds and agree with all that you had said.

i am more specificially requiring information re pelvic pain or PSD etc. has anyone had pelvic pain or a simiarlar experience at late pregnancy / in labour and managed it? if so, what are the recommended positions for birthing? if so, are there exercises i could do now? any tips or recommendations would be great.

many thanks and kind regards, trace
 
Hi

I had terrible lower back pain and pelvic pain in my 40+ week and a bit before too. Like you, walking was horribly painful and I took to getting around the house on the computer chair. I too, was worried about this affecting my the labour I was envisioning (I just wanted the quickest labour I could possible have and fast seemed to equal no intervention- all going well). I found that when the contractions started, they were so full on that all the other pain ceased to exist and all I wanted to do was stand and walk around because it was the first time in ages that I could! I was so pumped to get the baby out because I was so sick of sitting and aching all, it really motivated me to cope with the contraction pain because it was a means to an end. I knew that the contractions would stop when the baby was born but the other pain, I thought that would never end. All the best for the days leading up to the big day. It will come and then you'll be mobile again!!
 
hi tracey nicole...yes i did experience the same kind of pain for my second pregnancy....it felt like someone is pulling yr pelvis apart and it is stretching uncontrollably....my doc suggested i see a physiotherapist....and do some exercices....no drugs could help cure this except pain killers....but i opted to wait it out and sure enough after 3 agonising months it just disappreared....i got it frm the 6th to the 8th month.....it did not affect my labour one bit.....in fact my labour was really short - 3 hours!! so if it does help then just u r plain lucky!
 
hi 7807 - i am sorry to hear your story but many thanks for this, it really has helped me. you have inspired me somewhat. i look forward to standing again!!! did the pelvic pain go away after the baby was born?? I hope so.


hi mushy, thanks for your comments as well. you must have been distraught after three months. i pray for your quick labour.


as a side, what positions did you birth in to take as much pressure of the pelvis???


take care to both of you.... trace
 
Hi tracey Nicole,
I also had pelvic pain for my 2nd pregnancy although it might not be as bad as your situation. I was very determined to have a drug free birth like my first pregnancy. I remained faithful, trusted my own body as well as the doctor's advice who reassured me that I would be fine. My labour went very well and my baby boy was born within an hour and I experienced a totally drug free birth. I do hope my experience will encourage you and wishing you all the best!
 
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