Conference moira::parenting_v3

    
    re.0
    
    I don't have any experience with the cyst, but if you doubt your
    doctor's judgement, call up another doctor for a second opinion.
    
    About the c-section, I had one 5 years ago and plan on the second
    one in 4 weeks (I hope sooner!!!). Comparing my experience with my
    friends who had similar size first babies (8+ lbs babies), the 
    recovery is maybe a week of 2 longer for the section (no big deal). 
    When I was sent home after the c-section, I could do light housework. 
    A friend had a 4th degree laceration in the perineal area, when she 
    was sent home in 2 days, she couldn't walk or sit, she had problems
    with elimination and didn't resume her love life for months. So, 
    vaginal delivery may not be a breeze and c-section may not be that bad. 
    
    Good luck,
    
    Eva
    

    Re: 0
    
    I too had a c-section and if I were to get pregnant again, I wouldn't
    mind having another one. In my case, I forced myself to get out of bed
    a walk several times a day while still in the hospital. I was
    definitely sore, but I think getting up and moving around alot speeded
    up my recovery. By the second week, I was even helping my husband stack
    wood!
    
    In your situation, it sounds like your doctor hasn't given you as much
    detail on what could or could not happen if you attempt to deliver
    vaginally (or you may not have asked). May I suggest that you go back
    to your doctor and ask as many questions as it takes to satisfy you
    that you understand the situation and your options? Also, if you're
    still not comfortable about things, perhaps get a second opinion from
    another doctor? I know you're very far along, but you seem to want to
    make the birth of your child as comfortable as possible, and I think
    you need to understand and examine your situation as much as possible
    before doing ANYTHING.
    
    Good luck!
    
    Nancy-

    I also don't have any experience with a cyst, but I can relate my
    experience of having a C-section 8 months ago.  I too, wanted a normal
    delivery and resisted the idea of the C-section, but my daughter was
    breech and my Dr. felt it was too risky to try to deliver her naturally 
    with an "unproven" pelvis (i.e. since she was my first, there was no way 
    to determine if I could deliver a baby her size, I didn't have the 
    experience of delivering a bigger or the same size baby previously).
 
    In any case, I was in the hospital 4 days after delivery, instead of
    the normal-delivery two days, but I really didn't have much trouble
    once I was home - I only had one day of feeling uncomfortable enough to 
    take the pain killers my Dr. prescribed, and I did lite housework and
    after the first week climbed the stairs, etc.  My weight was pretty
    much back to normal (within a few lbs.) after a few weeks.  I am normally
    very active, and my Dr. told me I could resume normal exercise after
    two weeks (if you can find the time with a newborn!).
    
    Bottom line, I didn't find the C-section to be that horrible experience
    I had expected!  I hope I will be able to naturally deliver #2 someday,
    but if I have another C-section, I won't be upset as long as I have a
    nice, healthy baby!

    With our first two, vaginally -delivered children, my wife was up and
    ready to do most anything within 2-3 days, tops. Our third, also
    vaginally - delivered, had her incapacitated for at least 3 weeks, and
    then it wasn't up to full speed. He chose to come out with his arm over
    rhis head, so (according to the doctor, who measured the circumference
    around his arm and head together, after he was born) it was like
    delivering a 12 - 13 lb. baby. She, who never even had an episiotomy
    with the first two kids, had a fourth degree tear. She could not sit,
    stand, walk, lie down comfortably, go to the toilet comfortably...in
    short *everything* caused large amounts of pain! Add to this caring for
    a newborn and 2 other kids, and you have a v--e--r--y prolonged
    recovery period. A C-section could not have been worse...maybe not
    better, but certainly not worse. I would encourage you to check into
    all the options, and to *definitely* get a second opinion, if you are
    the least bit uncomfortable with what your doctor is telling you. He
    may be right, but it would be nice to know that another doctor concurs
    with him!
    Good luck....you're almost there, and when its over, no matter how that
    little one is delivered, you will love him/her tremendously!
    
    --dave--

    Gosh, I must be in the minority here.  I had a C-section and two
    vaginal deliveries, and I must say I found the C-section most
    unpleasant.  It took weeks to recover from it, whereas the normal
    delivery only days.  That's only natural however, as a C-section is
    major surgery, involving the cutting of some major muscle groups that
    carry your body, as well as recovering from being pregnant.
    
    That however, should not be your major concern.  Delivering a healthy
    baby and recovering yourself from a pregnancy AND resolution of the
    cyst problem are your concerns.  Should the cyst rupture during
    delivery, it would be a serious problem for you.  It sounds to me your
    doctor has things under control, and is aware of all the contingincies. 
    You however, don't have all your questions answered it seems.  Or
    perhaps you don't like the answers, so you continue to ask, hoping
    you'll get a different answer?  :-)
    
    You could ask for a second opinion.  I doubt the doctor will give you a
    much different answer.  There are no guarantees in growing and
    delivering babies.  My feeling on thee subject has always been - as
    long as I feel my doctor has my and my unborn's best interests in mind,
    I defer to his judgement on medical matters.
    

    We though I was going to have a "normal" vaginal delivery till
    the doctor figured out that Andrew got himself in front of and
    completely blocked the opening (it was pushed in back!)
    
    I was in the hospital 4 days, they make you get up and get around.  My
    abdomen was very sore, but getting up and walking around does help the
    circulation and healing process.  My first day out of the hospital we
    went shopping at a local mall (mommy, daddy, and baby). I just moved
    a little slower than most people.  I was able to do sit ups (much to my
    doctors amazement) two weeks after delivery, it's probably not
    recommended, but I truly felt good.
    
    C-sections don't let you experience the sensation of the delivery but
    they're not as bad as alot of people make them out to be.  Friends of 
    mine who've had them have had similar experiences to mine.
    
    If you have to have one for medical reasons and that's your only
    alternative, take it from some who know, they usually go off well
    without a hitch and I'd say the minority really (and truly) feel
    lousy for weeks.
    
     
    
     
             Good luck, I hope your news on the cyst is good news.
    
             Nancy
    

    I don't know the background or medical reasons for it, but ovarian
    cysts during pregnancy and delivery are dangerous.  A friend of
    mine not only had to have a c-section, but her doctor didn't even
    allow her to reach her due date for fear she'd go into labor and
    she had to have it done at the high-risk pregnancy unit of one of
    the Boston hospitals (Brigham and Women's, I assume, but I don't
    really remember).  
    
    I don't think the risk is so much for the baby as it is for the
    mother.  Some of the dangers my friend mentioned were that it
    could partially block the birth canal and keep the baby from
    getting out, and that if the cyst burst, it could spread infection
    all over her abdominal cavity and the scar tissue could make it
    impossible for her to have another baby.  
    
    --bonnie

    I speak as someone who has had the cyst, but not the c-section!
    
    When I was 21 I finally discovered the reason for my ever-increasing
    tummy which had been a problem to me for well over 5 years.  I had a
    cyst which, when removed, weighed around 22 lbs and was the size of a
    baby.  Luckily it was benign, but- here's my point - the cyst was so
    large that they had to make an incision from just below my breasts to
    the very bottom of my abdomen, some 12 inches in length!  The reason
    they did that was that they did not want to risk rupturing the cyst -
    to do so would have serious consequences.
    
    You see they can never really tell the nature of the cyst until it's
    removed, and that's why I would say to you *for definate* that if they
    say you'll need a c-section, don't fight it.  I wasn't pregnant at the
    time - but you have another human being that could be exposed to the
    contents of the cyst and if it ruptures you would never forgive
    yourself.  From what other noters have said, a c-section sounds like a
    small price to pay for the peace of mind of a safe birth and a healthy
    baby.  
    
    Just my 2-pence worth.  Hope everything goes well for you.
    
    [Ruth]

    re: previous note on cutting muscles in a c-section
    
    The low cut ("bikini cut") requires cutting muscles; the higher
    cut doesn't, as it is far enough from the attachment points of
    the muscles that they can be pushed out of the way.
    
    This is what I understood our OB to say.
    
    			-John Bishop

    This could only be called "sort of" related to this, but my cousin's
    wife had apendicitis when she was almost 7 mos pregnant.  She obviously
    couldn't wait another 2+ months for the operation, and the baby wasn't
    ready yet.  They removed her apendix with an epidural, she went on to
    have a normal vaginal delivery on her due date, and 2 more normal 
    deliveries after that.
    
    I would question the doctor if he can't do the surgery now, before
    either the cyst or the baby become much bigger?  If it were me I'd feel
    better knowing that the danger of the cyst bursting during delivery had
    been eliminated.  If you do the surgery now, and delivery isn't for
    another 6 to 8 weeks, you should be healed enough for a natural
    delivery.
    
    Lyn