Considering pregnancy with back injury?

only 25 yrs old, 108lb petite
what are my chances of ever being able to deliver myselfI am considering pregnancy but have a multi level L-spine and hip injury from falling at work. Both cause major pain in left side all the way to foot. No treatment has helped. I have pain from my low back into entire left leg and also tingling into the foot.

Saw my GYN today and she said it would not be a good decision for me and would cause too much stress on a baby. She said I could have sciatica with normal pregnancy and my injury could complicate things more.

Any advice would be great




what if the reward is worth the risk to me

Hi. I'm 30 yrs old, and 4 months pregnant with a bulging disc in my lower spine as well as a bone spur atop of my thigh bone which has been grinding into my hip. There may be other problems occurring, but, due to my pregnancy, I cannot find anything more until I deliver. I, too, have pain all down the left side of my body, mostly in my lower back and hip. My pregnancy was quite unexpected. I had pain for a full year before even finding out what I know now.

I don't know about you, but my pain can be quite unbearable at times. Before I was pregnant, I was taking Vicodin and Soma on a fairly regular basis just to curb the pain. Nothing has ever actually been able to take it away. Now, all I can take is Tylenol 3, which barely does anything. I have to use crutches some days in attempt to keep my weight off my hip. And I'm barely showing! I'm just going to get heavier. I worry daily that the stress will hurt the baby or myself. I wonder to myself how bad the pain will be by my third trimester and if the combination with labor pain will take a serious toll (kill me???). I've had one child already, and so I have been able to compare my back/hip pain to the pain of labor. It does get that severe--so severe I've contemplated suicide at times (though I'm determined to see this through and am not seriously allowing it as an option).

I have been seeing a high-risk pregnancy doctor who has tried to help me find options, but to no avail. My primary doctor, as well as ER doctors and orthopaedic doctors, have little sympathy for my condition, not because they are cold-hearted necessarily, but because once you are pregnant it becomes all about the baby and not you. It is frustrating, but I understand their points of view. I would feel extreme guilt if I were to take a medication or had a procedure done that, in the end, harmed my baby. I and the baby would pay for it the rest of our lives. That is a serious and real consideration.

Once I deliver, I will be getting an MRI, a few other procedures, and ultimately surgery to (hopefully) take care of my problem. Is there anything that can be done to fix your injury, or at least minimize the damage? If so, I would wait for pregnancy until you can do whatever you can to minimize the pain without medications. You are still young and have plenty of time to assess the situation.

I'm no expert, but I am in a similar situation in which you're considering, so I hope I've been somewhat helpful. Babies are wonderful, so I can see why you want one. Don't give up hope.

You could take your husbands sperm and yoru egg and have someone else carry your baby... but that's expensive and I wouldn't want to do that. But it is an option. If you want a baby that bad, then go for it. Just make sure you aren't on your feet a lot and that you are in a comfortable position. Children are the best gifts in life. I say go for it, as long as you know the risks and are willing to take the risks. I say go for it though. Good luck!