Chiari and pregnancy?

General
1

I am curious about being pregnant and giving birth with chiari…
is it safe? are there any things to be avoided? what about labour I get head pain from any kind of strain… cough… sneeze… laugh… toilet things… and have done for 10years now so i was always scared of having a baby because of the pain i get in my head would attack during ‘pushing’ my partner and i are trying have been for 3 years now but i have pcos so have yet to fall.

can we have the pregnancy process just like ‘normal women’

2

anyone? :frowning:

3
Below is what I wrote on another post that is going on right now under the title "Pregancy and Chiari and other conditions" ...check it out. Other have written responses as well. Always talk to your NS/NL and GYN and get a secong opinion as well. They can give you the best advice for your specific condition. I think just becasue we all have Chiari doesn't mean we would all have the same response to pregnancy. I think it depends on the severity of each case.
Good luck! XOXO Monique
Soheyy,
My NS told me exactly what were told...chances of me and baby only given 10% of surviving a pregnancy. I've known since I was a teenager that I probably couldn't bear children due to gyn problems . My NS and GYN both told me to make sure I took every precaution to make sure I didn't get pregnant. They said even though chances of actually becoming pregnant were slim to none that I should get a hysterectomy or DepProvera to be sure I 100% could not get pregnant. We are in the process of adopting right now! I'm sure everyone has a slightly different story depending on the severity of their Chiari. Get a second opinion to put your mind at ease.
Good luck! I know its scary and tough to hear!
XOXO Monique
4

why only 10% survival rate… never heard such thing before

5

I think it's becasue thye were trying to let me know how serious they were...I can't imagine he TRULY had a statistic! It's just always stuck in my head...so I guess it worked.

Monique :o)

6

Are you planning decompression surgery at all prior to pregnancy?

7

I dont plan on surgery at all… ive yet to see my neuro again since diagnosis since ive been out of the country for 3 months my app is April 19. in the letter he said he doubts will want to do surgery so I dont know full details of my condition yet just in letter its written as ’ significant chiari anomaly ’

8

I certainly don't mean to sound so negative!! Just MY experience. Thats why I said, everyone is different depending on the severity of their case. I also mentioned I have other GYN issues. Like I said, get more than one opinion for your situation. This was just my personal experience (and it was 10 years ago) If you go through other posts, it seems like LOTS of Chiari women have had kids.

Wishing you nothing but the best!

Monique



mochico-Monique said:

Below is what I wrote on another post that is going on right now under the title "Pregancy and Chiari and other conditions" ...check it out. Other have written responses as well. Always talk to your NS/NL and GYN and get a secong opinion as well. They can give you the best advice for your specific condition. I think just becasue we all have Chiari doesn't mean we would all have the same response to pregnancy. I think it depends on the severity of each case.
Good luck! XOXO Monique
Soheyy,
My NS told me exactly what were told...chances of me and baby only given 10% of surviving a pregnancy. I've known since I was a teenager that I probably couldn't bear children due to gyn problems . My NS and GYN both told me to make sure I took every precaution to make sure I didn't get pregnant. They said even though chances of actually becoming pregnant were slim to none that I should get a hysterectomy or DepProvera to be sure I 100% could not get pregnant. We are in the process of adopting right now! I'm sure everyone has a slightly different story depending on the severity of their Chiari. Get a second opinion to put your mind at ease.
Good luck! I know its scary and tough to hear!
XOXO Monique
9

Hope mine isnt the case when i go see him and i can have a baby saftly, thank u for your reply :slight_smile:

10

Flowerbun,

I hope you have a great appointment and everything goes smoothly! Please let me know!

My thoughts and prayers are with you!!

XOXO Monique

11

While I get what Monique is saying, and her doctor was probably being overly dramatic to make a point, I would be shocked to find any supporting literature in the journals on such a survival rate (ie, 10%)!! One study followed 50 pregnant women with type on chiari, all 50 went to full term, some had c-sections, more delivered naturally and all did relatively fine (nothing outside the normal rate of complications).

I would think the most important thing would be to have a Neuro surgeon who knows this disease very well. The first one I saw actually said, "I remember reading about this in Med School", then completely missed the diagnosis.

There's no universal answer as each pregnancy is unique, but there's no universal "you only have a 10% chance of surviving" either. Be happy with a solid NS and see what he or she says.

12

Before being diagnosed with Chiari I had two beautiful children. Labor was less than 2 hours combined and no tramatic issues. It may depend on how severe your symptoms are. The only discomfort I felt was the pressure on my neck from pushing.