Anyone been pregnant while having chiari?

General
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I am 8 weeks pregnant and only found out that I was diagnosed with chiari when I was younger. I am 31 years old never had symptoms and this is my first child. Is this something that can pass to my child? Also does labor affect your chiari symptoms and make them worse or flare up for the first time? Any advice is appreciated! I am slowly freaking out but trying to stay calm :cold_sweat:

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Hi! Iā€™m Cindy. I have a CM, too. But, I didnā€™t know what my ā€œreal problemā€ was until I reached 37 y.o. I am also a RN and was practicing with the same issues everyone has described in the posts. It got so bad that I literally refused prescriptions for pain meds and begged the MDā€™s to help me. Thatā€™s when they really knew something was wrong in my diagnosis. They did the MRI of the head, etc.

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I had also been pregnant three times. I did finally, deliver a healthy baby in 1974. I did have a tough labor. However, it had nothing to do with the CM. I know this since I was a labor & delivery nurse.

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Thank you very much for your reply! I feel a little better. Waiting to talk to my ob and see what she says

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Great! Stay updated with your OB/GYN and your neurologist/neurosurgeon. Make sure any medications are not contraindicated during pregnancy and you should be okay. Make sure you discuss having an epidural during labor. My 2nd cousin is a neurosurgeon in practice with the MD/neurosurgeon who did my surgery for the CM here in Huntsville, AL. If you need more information, Iā€™m sure Rhett Murray or Joel Pickett would be happy to send it to you. Rhett is my cousin. Joel did the posterior fossa decompression with removal of C1 and C2 in 1993. He literally saved my life! :smile:

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This a great question!!! One Iā€™ve thought about a for a while! What if you have a syrinx as well!? Can carrying a baby put extra pressure on your spine and further damage the spinal cord?
What could be involved? Ahhh so many questions?

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Hey! Congratulations on your pregnancy.To answer your question I personally didnt start having symptoms or knew I had chiari until the birth of my 4th child hes 2 now.Hopefully since you do know your dr will monitor you carefully and as for passing it downā€¦well theres not enough evidence saying that it will be however im having my 16 y/o checked now only because hes symptomatic.I hope this helps-Stay strong warrior :purple_heart:

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Hello! I was diagnosed with ACM Type II when I was 26 years old with two children. I had the decompression surgery at the same age. I had my son two years later. I had a very easy labor and delivery so I didnā€™t do a lot of pushing, but I had the same concerns you had. It didnā€™t make any of my symptoms worse. None of my children have been diagnosed with ACM as of yet and thier ages are: 11, 15, & 18. I hope this helps, happy to answer any further questions!
Amber