Hi Jan, I have helped a woman with severe scoliosis. Her curvature was in the upper back. She underwent surgery for it when she was young but she still has a very obvious curvature. She doesn't have a rod in her back as far as I know. In our discussions around her history she did not verbalize this to me. She came to me after having had two babies (in another province) so I did not anticipate any problems with her. She had all her babies vaginally. Her first baby was in hospital with the familiar chain of intervention, second at home with midwives, third at home with me. It would seem to me that what is relevent here is where in the back the curvature is. Does it affect the pelvis at all? The other relevent thing is what you have already stated regarding her lack of candidacy for an epidural. (Sometimes I wish I had more clients who fell into this category!!) Too bad in this case now she has the added "black mark" of two previous sections. It is so unfair how women get labelled like this when they weren't given an honest fair shake in the beginning. For us caregivers, it really underscores how important it is to facilitate normal birth for that first baby. It may be hard work, but it is not as difficult as witnessing and assisting with the grief that comes when women realize they have been misled and wounded unnecessarily.
Meaghan At 07:00 PM 2/1/02 +1100, you wrote: >Dear list, > >Does anyone out there have any experience in caring for women who have had >scoliosis in childhood, which has led to surgery (involving insertion of a >rod down the length of the spine to correct/stabilise the situation). > >I ask, as I have a friend who has experienced the above, having had surgery >at the age of 14 due to severe scoliosis. She has since had two children, >both born my caesarean under GA (now aged 5 and 8 years). On both >occasions, she ruptured her membranes at 38 weeks, and was wisked into >theatre there and then. She tells me she did experience some contractions >after rupturing her membranes, and whilst in transit to hospital and waiting >to go to theatre. > >She is planning to have another baby in the future, and has recently >verbalised her concern, that maybe the caesareans were performed more out of >ignorance or convenience in her situation. She accepts that an epidural may >certainly have been out of the question given the rod in her back, however, >she was never given an opportunity to discuss this further with >doctors/anaesthetists during either pregnancy. > >She was never really told why she "wasn't allowed" to labour on both >occasions, and now wonders if this was done out of fear or ignorance on the >subject. She asked me as her friend and a midwife, what knowledge and >experience I have regarding this sort of situation. I thought I would share >this with the list to get other's views in the hope that maybe someone else >out there has had a similar experience. I > >I presume the rod has some degree of flexibility, as this friend of mine has >played netball over many years, and has also attended gyms in the past. She >can sit, lie, knee, stretch, etc. She experienced absolutely no back >problems during or following the previous pregnancies and births. > >I welcome your comments, thoughts, experiences! > > >Jan > > > > >-- >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
