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Hi I'm currently 28 weeks pregnant with 3rd baby (1st baby post jpouch surgery). I had the surgery 2 year ago. Im classed as  a high risk pregnancy and I am under consultant care how ever the consultant knows nothing about pregnancy and jpouch; she wrote to my bowel surgeon regarding opinion for which route to take for delivery and the reply has left me stuck on what to do! Bowel surgeon has never had a patient go on to fall pregnant after surgery so can only offer her insight after doing some research. they have pretty much left me with the decision on how I would like to deliver after giving me the pros and cons of each option. Has anybody had a vaginal delivery, how did this go and any negative affect to bowel control? How was recovery after a section, I will have three young children to look after, could you still breastfeed? Was pain meds needed? I'm in the U.K. Thanks 

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yikes no experience? you are outside London? how many jpouchers have they ever seen?

I have a good friend who had her first child post surgically about a year out. She sat with various doctors and was advised that indeed technically a high risk pregnancy, along those lines and I forget the details now but at least one reason in particular in regards to risk led her to choose a c section. baby is healthy, as  is mom, life is good for her. if youd like I would expect that she would be happy to share with you. send me a private message with your email info and I can introduce you.

My GI surgeon strongly recommended csection since a sphincter tear could lead to long-term inconintence problems. My OB/GYN agreed that I should be thankful in general that I could even have relatively healthy pregnancies considering my medical history and advised against taking a risk with vaginal delivery. Obviously csection also carries risks but different. 

I just had my second csection 3 weeks ago actually. Compared to my bowel surgeries it really wasn't bad. I had a complication-free operation and baby was healthy. I only stayed one night at the hospital and was extra strength ibuprofen with an occasional narcotic. Not taking anything now. Still it's a surgery so I think I had an exceptionally good recovery which isn't always the case. I was a lot more exhausted after my first.

hardest part has been weight restrictions- my older baby is under two and it's hard not being able to lift and hold her much.

breastfeeding is definitely a possibility- do everything you can to ensure they give you the baby ASAP after delivery! With my first they swaddled her and took her to the nursery before bringing her to me in the recovery room. We had a lot of trouble breastfeeding for the first month, whereas with my second I had him immediately in the operating room. He latched within an hour and we've had no problems since. 

 

Thanks I think I am swaying more towards c-section think just having the choice threw me! Although the doctors do seem more keen on a natural birth however they are supportive of a section. They have said the section could be more complicated due to previous surgeries and scar tissue, so have said a planned section will be carried out by a consultant with bowel surgeons available if they end up cutting something they shouldn't. The doctor did say she would not like to be the surgeon called to do an emergency section on me. I have also asked they cut my across (like traditional section) as they had said they may like to cut back through my scar but this would add extra recovery time on. How were you all cut? How did you find toilet habits after section? I have read they sometimes go into shock X 

How did you birth your first two babies?  Were they easy births?  Were they big babies?  These are the questions that we factored in when deciding how I should proceed with my son.  He was my second baby, but my first after my pouch.  Based on everything being in my favor for a vaginal birth (my first delivery being very easy, history of our family having small babies and he was measuring small, and I was 3 cm dilated), we induced about a week early.  My kids were 6lbs 14oz and 6lbs 10 oz.  Both my OB and GI agreed this was the highly preferred option IN MY CASE.  I have a ton of scar tissue and I form scar tissue easily so surgery was not the way we wanted to go unless we had to.

Again, this was just my situation, but delivery and recovery were very easy.  My son is almost 5 now, and there has been no negative effects on muscle tone or control (yet).  I would definitely choose vaginal delivery again if I were to have a 3rd.  If it were my first baby though, and I didn't know what to expect delivery-wise, I would have likely gone the c-section route.

You can always go in with a birthing plan, which of course, can change instantly once labor starts.  I went in knowing it could go either way.  If everything didn't line up by 38.5 weeks like we were hoping (measurements, dilation, etc.), then we knew c-section could be the better option for me.

 

Last edited by clz81

Also, just wanted to add, that while I did see a high risk OB for my first appointment, they sent me to my regular OB for the rest of my pregnancy.  They said that other there was nothing high risk about my pregnancy.  I was my OBs first pouch patient so she had no experience, but she said it didn't really make a difference.  She said the only difference would be that we would weigh the pros/cons of delivery options at the end of the pregnancy, and that if it did end up a c-section, that a GI would be present to take a look inside before closing me up.

Hi thanks for your reply I think our cases our very similar as my consultant also seems to be more comfortable with me having a vaginal birth based on me already having had two pretty straight forward births. My boys were 7lb11 and 7lb7 we are expecting a girl this time who appears to be on the small side according to growth scans. I'm finding it such a hard decision to make and seem to be changing my mind most days, the thing putting me of a vaginal delivery is if it turns into an emergency section as that seems to be a lot more dangerous than a planned and the right doctors may not be available. Im thinking I may book a planned section (39weeks) but if I begin to labour before Hand I will continue to labour rather than having an emergency section. I have 2 more weeks before I'm back for another scan and they would like a decision for then. 

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