Bless you for making this article free! I love your health articles (all of your articles really!) but right now we are (not by choice) a one income household and I can’t afford a lot of “extra” things like Substack subs. And I love that you emphasized prayer. Ultimately, God is sovereign and He knows our hearts.
What do you think about prenatal screening/testing/ultrasounds?
Would you decline any ultrasounds? I am getting pushed to do the dating one, I don't know why they can't just use my period.
Were you subjected to a whole array of other recommendations being over 40? Suddenly the induction recommendation is at 39 weeks instead of 42.... And they want you to take aspirin for preeclampsia "just in case" ......
I'm a proponent of ultrasounds either for your own peace of mind or if there's cause for concern (like if you have underlying health issues). Because I was over 40, they wanted to do multiple 3rd trimester ultrasounds - I declined those, there was no reason IMO to do them because everything looked fine at the 20 week anatomy ultrasound. I had a scheduled c-section at 39+2 due to my pelvic structure - I wouldn't induce at 39 unless there was a reason beyond age. I took aspirin for a week in my first trimester due to blood pressure regulation issues, but had a bad reaction to it, and then had borderline high blood pressure through my pregnancy that never escalated to preeclampsia.
You really have to know your own risk factors and make decisions based on your own comfort level.
Another pregnancy question sorry 😅 ... I am pretty sure you laboured at home for a bit before you had to go in for your C-section? Were you cautioned against that at all because of your previous C-sections? Did your connective tissue disorder cause reason for concern of uterine rupture?
I am asking because my midwives have fear mongered me into going to the hospital as soon as I am in labour for fear of uterine rupture. .... There wasn't any red flags from the healing of my previous C-section, it is just a blanket recommendation they give to all vbac trial of labour clients.
I did labor at home for the weekend before my scheduled 3rd c-section. I started having mild contractions very far apart Thursday night and was scheduled for Monday morning. Typically, with my first two, my water broke before my contractions got intense. They did tell me to come in if my water broke or I was having contractions and I would have gone within 24 hours of my water breaking or if my contractions got strong. But, I really wanted to stick to my schedule because we flew my MIL out to watch our first two kids while we were in the hospital.
During my second c-section, which occurred much later in labor (I was having significant contractions 3-4 minutes apart for several hours, and had been in active labor 30+ hours) - the surgeon had trouble stitching up my uterus as it was so thin from labor and kept tearing and she had to use a special glue strip. As she left the OR she leaned over me and said, "No more long labors." I was closer than we all would have liked to a uterine rupture.
So yes, between EDS and my history of long labors, which thin the uterus even more, there was a risk of uterine rupture, but I knew that since my water hadn't broken yet and my contractions weren't that strong when I was stalling over the weekend before going in for my scheduled 3rd c-sec, I was unlikely to be reaching that risk point. I didn't actually realize my contractions were only 10 minutes apart until I got hooked up on monitors in the hospital, because they weren't that strong.
Ah ok that is a good thing to note about the water breaking. Thank God you didn't have a rupture. Thanks for all this it does help me in weighing my options. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to Bible study 🤗
Thank you so much. I am so glad you are triumphing - I have been on a similar journey in certain ways and have not attempted pregnancy yet but learning everything I can. I am so curious if you recommend any specific practitioners familiar with RCCX/MTHFR as it relates to fertility? Thank you so much! I appreciate your wisdom immensely.
While many practitioners are familiar with MTHFR, very few know about RCCX, so I unfortunately don’t have any recommendations there. I struggle with recommendations when I haven’t actually used a practitioner. But I would look up NaPro providers near you and try to get a sense of their general understanding - they don’t have to know RCCX theory by name to understand how to help this population as it pertains to fertility.
Basically everything listed here with a heavier emphasis on antioxidants, and maybe systemic enzymes if there are any potential clotting concerns. I had worse fertility in my early to mid-30s that got better later, having my second and third kids at age 37 and 40.
Bless you for making this article free! I love your health articles (all of your articles really!) but right now we are (not by choice) a one income household and I can’t afford a lot of “extra” things like Substack subs. And I love that you emphasized prayer. Ultimately, God is sovereign and He knows our hearts.
Thank you for this article and the whole series!
What do you think about prenatal screening/testing/ultrasounds?
Would you decline any ultrasounds? I am getting pushed to do the dating one, I don't know why they can't just use my period.
Were you subjected to a whole array of other recommendations being over 40? Suddenly the induction recommendation is at 39 weeks instead of 42.... And they want you to take aspirin for preeclampsia "just in case" ......
I'm a proponent of ultrasounds either for your own peace of mind or if there's cause for concern (like if you have underlying health issues). Because I was over 40, they wanted to do multiple 3rd trimester ultrasounds - I declined those, there was no reason IMO to do them because everything looked fine at the 20 week anatomy ultrasound. I had a scheduled c-section at 39+2 due to my pelvic structure - I wouldn't induce at 39 unless there was a reason beyond age. I took aspirin for a week in my first trimester due to blood pressure regulation issues, but had a bad reaction to it, and then had borderline high blood pressure through my pregnancy that never escalated to preeclampsia.
You really have to know your own risk factors and make decisions based on your own comfort level.
Another pregnancy question sorry 😅 ... I am pretty sure you laboured at home for a bit before you had to go in for your C-section? Were you cautioned against that at all because of your previous C-sections? Did your connective tissue disorder cause reason for concern of uterine rupture?
I am asking because my midwives have fear mongered me into going to the hospital as soon as I am in labour for fear of uterine rupture. .... There wasn't any red flags from the healing of my previous C-section, it is just a blanket recommendation they give to all vbac trial of labour clients.
I did labor at home for the weekend before my scheduled 3rd c-section. I started having mild contractions very far apart Thursday night and was scheduled for Monday morning. Typically, with my first two, my water broke before my contractions got intense. They did tell me to come in if my water broke or I was having contractions and I would have gone within 24 hours of my water breaking or if my contractions got strong. But, I really wanted to stick to my schedule because we flew my MIL out to watch our first two kids while we were in the hospital.
During my second c-section, which occurred much later in labor (I was having significant contractions 3-4 minutes apart for several hours, and had been in active labor 30+ hours) - the surgeon had trouble stitching up my uterus as it was so thin from labor and kept tearing and she had to use a special glue strip. As she left the OR she leaned over me and said, "No more long labors." I was closer than we all would have liked to a uterine rupture.
So yes, between EDS and my history of long labors, which thin the uterus even more, there was a risk of uterine rupture, but I knew that since my water hadn't broken yet and my contractions weren't that strong when I was stalling over the weekend before going in for my scheduled 3rd c-sec, I was unlikely to be reaching that risk point. I didn't actually realize my contractions were only 10 minutes apart until I got hooked up on monitors in the hospital, because they weren't that strong.
Ah ok that is a good thing to note about the water breaking. Thank God you didn't have a rupture. Thanks for all this it does help me in weighing my options. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to Bible study 🤗
Thanks for your input 🥰❤️
Thank you so much. I am so glad you are triumphing - I have been on a similar journey in certain ways and have not attempted pregnancy yet but learning everything I can. I am so curious if you recommend any specific practitioners familiar with RCCX/MTHFR as it relates to fertility? Thank you so much! I appreciate your wisdom immensely.
While many practitioners are familiar with MTHFR, very few know about RCCX, so I unfortunately don’t have any recommendations there. I struggle with recommendations when I haven’t actually used a practitioner. But I would look up NaPro providers near you and try to get a sense of their general understanding - they don’t have to know RCCX theory by name to understand how to help this population as it pertains to fertility.
Thank you so much :-)
Thanks so much for your deep dive into this.
Would you have any particular recommendations for those who are aged 40+ that are TTC?
Basically everything listed here with a heavier emphasis on antioxidants, and maybe systemic enzymes if there are any potential clotting concerns. I had worse fertility in my early to mid-30s that got better later, having my second and third kids at age 37 and 40.