How was childbirth for you?

[1074014642@facebook]

I am 36 weeks pregnant and was dx with MS two years ago. I would like to hear some labor experiences from woman who also have it. I only had one relapse very early pregnancy but have been in great shape since! Did you have a natural child birth, epidural, or c-section? I was told by a friend that she had to have a c-section because of MS fatigue in labor.

[aitch10]

Childbirth was fine. Labored without an epidural, pushed for 2.5 hours, required vacuum assistance for last few pushes. No mention of MS by my OB throughout my entire ordeal.

[SNOOPY]

I have 2 children, didn't had a relapse during pregnancy or post-partum. My first one was born c-section after trying to deliver natural and my 2nd was a scheduled c-section. The c-sections were not related to MS.

Giving birth can cause fatigue regardless if you have MS or not and in my opinion MS fatigue is not a reason for having a c-section.

The only thing this disease can do in regards to pregnancy is cause a relapse. This disease does not cause miscarriages, infertility, complications of pregnancy or birth.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, 1074014642

[photomama]

My first MS symptom showed up right after (a couple months) I had baby #3 (although my husband swears I've had it since before baby #2).

Having my third child was no different than having the other two. Snoopy is right- MS should not affect your labor/childbirth experience.

Congratulations!!

[LizzyPerez]

Follow Up Question for you all

Congrats on your new addition! I wish you all of the best for the remainder of your pregnancy, and a breezy delivery

I hope its not too much of a bother, and I hope you dont mind me asking, but did you wean off of your medication (if you were using medication)? I am considering starting a family (all the books i've read make pregnancy seem horrible, so thanks to all for your encouraging words), but want to make sure that I stop my medication as soon as I need to. My neuro said I need to ask an OB, and that I needed to be seen by a high-risk doc-- did you all do that?

Again, sorry to be asking a question from a question... i hope that everything works out!

[SNOOPY]

LizzyPerez

There were no DMDs when I was pregnant with either child, so there was no concern about going off of them Everything I have read suggests stopping the DMD before getting pregnant.

It was notsuggested, by my neuro or my OB, that I see a high-risk doctor. MS does not make pregnancy or delivery high risk. There can be other reasons for a pregnancy to be high-risk, but MS is not one of them.

[samandmattsmom]

I have had 2 c-sections and one vaginal delivery since being diagnosed. My MS was not a factor in any of my deliveries....it really was not a factor during pregnancy either. I felt great! Good Luck!!!

[nabean]

Answer for LizzyPerez

Dear LizzyPerez,

Hi there. I was actually at my local MS clinic yesterday to ask questions about starting a family. I am just going to tell you what I was told. I don't know your situation so this is purely from the perspective of someone with MS that doesn't have any other health issues.

Meds: I was told to stop medication for 3 monthes before trying to get preg. The NP was very clear that I should be still using some form of Birth control during this three monthes.

I was also told the being Pregnant gives a sort of protective quality to our bodies and that most (not all) people feel good during pregnancy. That is encouraging.

I was also told that there is a higher risk of relapse after birth. So although breastfeeding does have some protective qualities it isn't as strong as your meds or being pregnant. So The NP said I should have a plan in place for if I want to breast feed or not. I figure I have lots of time to think about that.

I also asked about genetic risks. There was a new study released recently and I wanted some clarification. The people at the MS clinic said that chance of passing it on is between 2-4 %. Which is only slightly higher then someone with no history of the disease.

I asked if I should be seeing the MS doctor if I get pregnant and they said that I can for peace of mind but that I should be able to have a perfectly normal pregnancy as long as I keep myself healthy.

Anyways, I just got all this information and then read your post so I thought I would share. I hope you come back on here and read this thread!

Good Luck!

[1074014642@facebook]

Thanks for all the great info! I actually just had a relapse. I was a little iffy and wondering if my symptoms were related to pregnancy or MS. I went into the nuerologist and sure enough I was. I am dealing with weakness on my right side and horrible urinary retention. Was admitted Thursday night. I am 37 weeks and in the hospital with a lovely catheter and having steroid infusions. After a lot of talks with the doctors they agreed that treating it would be best with my history of relapes. Don't want to not be able to hold or carry my little girl when she gets here.

To answer a previous poster's question, yes I was on copaxone and stopped a couple months before pregnancy. I have had a great pregnancy and no relapses up until now. I am not quite sure what the plan is yet with labor and delivery but am quite curious how my relapsing right now will affect it. I am going to make sure and speak with the attending doctors in the morning.

[whitney21]

I had an easy labor with my son. I got the EPIDURAL my best friend everrr lol...I'm also on copaxone but didn't start until last summer. Congrats on the new addition

[onlyairfare]

Congratulations!

Personally I have had 6 pregnancies, all since MS was suspected but not diagnosed, two of which ended in early miscarriage. The other 4 pregnancies, I literally tried everything: 1) totally natural childbirth, 2) emergency C-section with general anesthesia, 3) natural childbirth VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) though I had planned an epidural but it went too fast, and 4) finally a medically indicated repeat C-section with epidural.

I had only one relapse in all those pregnancies, and that was the last one. I saw a high-risk OB with the last pregnancy, but only because of non-MS problems. back then, I was told that the risk of passing on MS was only about 1%. All of my kids are 20-something now, and none have any health problems at all, and certainly no signs of MS. I know there is no guarantee, but even if the risk is 4%, that means that 96% of MSers' kids will not have MS.

[Sammie]

I had 2 children after I was diagnosed. My son was born 1 yr after my diagnosis. With both pregnancies I felt better than ever. I had not trouble delivering at all. I was in labor 6 hrs with my son & about 3 hrs with my daughter. In fact with my daughter my water broke & 45 min later she was born.

Childbirth was very easy for me. I didn't have any problems

Sammie

[livingwell2011]

Thanks

I'm really struggling with the idea of having another baby and I've tried to convince my self that the one I have is blessing enough but deep in my heart I really want another child so thanks for the encouraging post .

[hope32]

Childbirth was fine. I had an induction, which probably made it a little more intense. It lasted about 12 hrs, including 3 hrs of pushing. Ugh! I ended up getting an epidural about halfway through.

[Nabbosa]

Your "usual" MS?

Do any of you mind comparing your "usual" MS to MS during pregnancy? While I'm kind of afraid to go off the meds, I'd gone over 11 years between exacerbations without the meds - undiagnosed, but apparently suspected.....just before there were meds.

Also, what age were you with the first pregnancy? Or, any late starters among you?