Would you do UC if you had SVT

[dalmom]

This is my first post here. I was directed here from another board. I am trying to decide if I can do UC. I have a mild heart condition called SVT. It is an irregular heart beat that can and has shot up to 200bpm on a whim. I had my second son while having it and being medicated for it with no problem. He was born with the help of a midwife in a hospital. But I am older now and my SVT has acted up a bit more this pregnancy and I started lebatalol at 12wks. I am now 18wks.

What I am wondering is if anyone has had an UC with this condition? I am just trying to weigh my options of a midwife at a hospital again or UC. As long as I am on medication my heart condition is under control. But I am also being monitored for the baby's growth right now so I guess I am just nervous about what to do. I want as little intervention as possible and I want the comfort of my own home.

Opinions?

[zoebird]

is a MW attended home birth completely out?

i don't know enough about your condition to say, and UC is really about how you feel and what you think is best for you. if you think that UC is a good idea for you, then you can make the necessary preparations and go forward, you know?

good luck in your process!

[turnquia]

For me, I've had runs of SVT usually due to high emotional stress and medications. The stress of labor isn't the same anxiety/stress that I've had issues with the SVT. However mine has been so rare I am not medicated for it.

I'd also sit down with a midwife. I'm assuming if your comfortable with a midwife in hospital why not a midwife at home? I normally don't differentiate between types of midwives but for me personally I'd want a CNM with me because they are nurses first and can recognize and know how to treat it or at least recognize it hopefully before there are issues.

I'd also speak with your cardiologist. I'm not sure about during pregnancy but an ablation may be possible to help prevent you from having the SVT or needing the meds to correct it because those are usually class C-D drugs. I was on one that was category X.

For me personally I think UC is great for some but with underlying medical conditions especially ones involveing your heart that are potentially quite serious, I'd want someone there to be able to help out.

Good luck in your decision, you have lots of time to make the decision so start talking to your OB/Midwife and even looking into HB midwives and see if that would disqualify you.

[dalmom]

Thanks for the advice ladies. A home midwife birth isn't out of the question yet, just a matter of finding one I can afford and one I like. I have a midwife now but she doesn't do home births.

turnquia I am going to have the ablation and am really looking forward to it. But I can't have it until the baby is born so I will have it in the fall. I was supposed to have it in this Spring but then I ended up pregnant The risk would just be to great to have it now while pregnant.

I am thinking I really don't qualify for a safe worry free UC now. I am not even sure a midwife would take me a client for a homebirth. Most birthing centers want a clearance from my cardiologist and he doesn't like the idea of a birthing center...period. But I am still early so maybe I can convince him to give me one since I had my last son with a midwife @ a hospital with no complications.

Thank you both for your thoughts on the matter.

[turnquia]

Good luck! I hope you can find what will work best for you and your family.

[jenneology]

I would still probably plan and go forward with a UC in light of the condition, especially if the cardiologist is giving me a hard time about places he'll "allow" a woman to birth. Knowing what I know about UC, I'd do a lot of home work and prepare for the possible situations that could arise with the condition and have plans for each of those situations. Getting to know what you can control and what you can't, what you can do in response and when you can't do anything, or if what you can do is more acceptable to you than what a medical professional can provide is what UC preparation is all about. In that preparation, I'd figure out for myself when its time to transfer or consult or research etc. Regardless of what doctors say, we are able to make decisions for ourselves if we've given enough accurate information.