Hello-
Last week my husband and I received the surprising news! My due date is November 22 and I will also be turning 40 at the end of this year!!! We had been trying but gave up 4 years ago - and then BADA-BING - I'm pregnant!
I have a question for all of you SCI families - I was in a car accident 22 years ago (I was 17 yrs old) and I broke my back and severed my spinal cord (T-9). My question is this - does anyone out there know of a woman that is or has been pregnant AND paraplegic? If you do, then I have some questions for her!!!

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Leesa

Check out MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/leesakohl

Hi Leesa...CONGRATULATIONS!!! what a cool birthday present!

Yep..there are plenty of para ladies who are or have been pregnant. Have a look at the topic ' feeling the baby kicks" for one of them. I wish you all the best!

Hi first of all CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK that's fantastic.
I don't know of anyone with SCI who is preggers but I am C5 C6 Quad who is trying for a baby. My husband and I have been trying for 5 months but having no luck yet. Fingers crossed!!!!
I was only young when I had my accident too (car accident and broke my neck and squashed my spinal cord), It was almost 9 years ago and I was 15 years old.

I would love to hear how your pregnancy progresses and I'll keep you posted if I receive any exciting news.
Email me or post me a message anytime.

Congratulations! While I don't know anyone who has experienced paraplegia and pregnancy, I would appreciate hearing about your upcoming experiences. My husband and I have decide to have a little one of our own and have scheduled a "pre-pregnancy" consultation with a specialist this week to discuss the risks and precautions for pregnant paraplegics. So, any advice that you may offer along the way would be greatly appreciated!

My wife and I have had 2 kids they are 5 and 4 now. My wife is a T12-L1 since a car wreck in 1985 she has been in a chair for 22 yrs now. Upon finding out we were pregnant we were both overwhelmed with joy. Both kids pregnancies were different and not much else changed with her the only thing that she said bothered her was the last month and a half when she was full blown pregnant. No complications and both are healthy and happy as can be.

I am 30 weeks pregnant, have 5 children, have become paralyzed almost 3 months ago while I was pregnant for my 5th child. I am now only 8 weeks away from delivering and while I amy not be able to answer all your questions, I would love to answer what I can. Let me know and congratulations!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Please do keep us updated!

wow we do have a lot of babies coming !!!! Ahem.. if anyone is in the UK is intrested.. I have a new range of All in one birth to potty nappies in organic bamboo velour!!!! heheee PLUG PLUG !!!!


Sorry if I havnt been around much lately.. new venture and all that.. I've been in the sewing room for weeks it feels like now!!! And the great news is I just broke even last week !!!! LOL

Thank you! Glad to hear that everything went so well I am 13 weeks pregnant now and so far so good - even dodged the morning sickness. Fingers crossed!

Check out jamiegoodwin.wordpress.com
She is expecting her 3rd baby!!!
She has a blog with answers that you may being looking for.
Hope this helps and wishing you all the best!!

Jamie is wonderful and a great friend!! She is a higher level than me but her description of pregnancy and paralyzed is right on!! Having had children AB and now pregnant paralyzed it really is harder to be paralyzed. I think mostly because the bigger you get, the harder it is to transfer, roll yourself, balance, and breathe while sitting!!:) I am afraid my little fellow will have a permanent kink in his neck from not stretching out, but the doctors assure me he won't!:)

No babies of mothers who can't stand up are just as/no more squished than babies of AB mothers. Uterus keeps the babies snuggled into a pretty tight ball regardless.........they don't call it "the fetal position" for nothin'.

I am a C6 & T12/L1 para (no permanent damage from the C6 break). I had a car accident in 1989 when I was 18 years old...I just turned 38 in June.

I have two beautiful children, our son will be 19 next month, and our daughter recently turned 14. I didn't have any major complications with either pregnancy....I gained about 50lbs. with my son because I ate everything I could get my hands on...LOL...it didn't take me long to take the weight back off after he was born....I had to, I couldn't transfer....lol. Then, with my daughter in 1995, I had morning sickness that lasted 24/7 for 8 months!! It was awful -- I lost about 65lbs. with her, and was constantly dehydrated and had to have IV fluids. Everlasting sickness isn't that uncommon, and there were no other complications my entire pregnancy....thank goodness, because that was enough! Neither baby was squished or red, or anything any different than if they'd been born to a walking mommie.

I had broken my leg while pregnant with my daughter (another car accident) and got staph infection in it and had a couple of surgeries to set it and attach a Hoffman fixation device, and was on very powerful IV antibiotics at home for months while pregnant with her. The doctor told us there was a chance she could have kidney failure and could possibly be deaf because of all the antibiotics, but if I didn't take them, I wouldn't make it at all. It was a VERY difficult decision, but we had to try because no way was I aborting! Silver lining....she was 1 month early, weighed 5lbs....and was TOTALLY healthy....and is to this day!! She is a "normal" teenager, if there is such a thing...lol, with absolutely no effects or complications from the antibiotics. We are TRULY blessed.

There are things you have to learn to do differently, or in a way that's comfortable to you, and sometimes when I would watch my children play, even now, I miss not being able to do certain activities with them....jumping on the trampoline, rollerblading...things like that.....but still, it's the most rewarding feeling in the whole wide world to watch them grow and smile....and they won't love you any differently because of a wheelchair than any other child would love their parent. My children never thought I was anything out of the ordinary, they adapt very well and very quickly....it's as second nature to them as it is to you. They would sometimes get questioned by their friends, but it was nothing but just plain curiosity because it was something new and different to them. My kids use to climb my chair like a jungle gym....all thru the spokes of the wheels, up on my arm rests, underneath the back and pop up between my pedals...LOL! It was fun to them. Thinking back....they were always climbing and wallowing on me.....sometimes, they still do -- and although they're a little more to handle now....I wouldn't trade it for the whole entire world!!

No one should let the fear of not walking, or being confined to a wheelchair stop them from having with children --- it's absolutely AMAZING!!

If anyone has any questions about being paralyzed and pregnant, I'll be glad to answer them...if I can.

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