Am I going into early/pre-labor?

[Epileptic_mom]

Good morning ladies,

I am now 33 weeks pregnant and am supposed to get a c-section in about 5 weeks. Due to my intense Grand-Mal Epilepsy and the fact that I've had 2 seizures during my pregnancy, I am not allowed to give birth naturally as it is too risky for both me and my baby.

I'm worried about what could happen if I go into early labor. Will an emergency c-section be done or will I die giving birth. With my son I had a c-section 21 days prior to the due date, but my daughter is schedule to be born only 9 days before my due date. Plus, this pregnancy is not going as "smooth" as my first with epileptic seizures, high blood pressure and a lot of pain and discomfort.

Since last night I've had a heavy, uncomfortable feeling in my lower abdominal which turns into painful cramps at times. My ribs are so sore, that if I sit up straight, it becomes hard to breathe. You can actually see from short distances the way my baby is moving around in my belly as my belly is always moving. My lower back is also in permanent pain.

Can someone please tell me if I'm going into early/pre-labor?

[EpilepsyAction1 Partner Epilepsy Action]

Hi

We’re not medically trained so we won’t be able to answer your question.

But I think it would definitely be a good idea, if you haven’t done it already, to check out with your midwife what they think you should do.

Regards

Cherry

Epilepsy Action Helpline Team

[Epileptic_mom in reply to EpilepsyAction1]

I already spoke to my gynaecologist and he just said that it is normal to feel this much pressure and pain and that we can discuss it at my next appointment in 3 weeks. I told him that I'm worried and scared that the pregnancy won't even last another 3 weeks. If I go into labor, I can have continuous seizures which puts me and my baby in great danger.

[EpilepsyAction1 Partner Epilepsy Action in reply to Epileptic_mom]

Hello Epileptic_mom

As we are not pregnancy specialists we are not able to answer any questions related to pregnancy. I can hear that you have spoken to your gynaecologist, but maybe you could also talk to your Midwife about this. This would give you chance to explore your worries and learn more about what to expect at this point in your pregnancy.

Karen

Epilepsy Action Helpline Team

[Epileptic_mom in reply to EpilepsyAction1]

Good morning

Thanks for the advice. The thing is I'm not ever sure what a midwife is. Here in South Africa if you're pregnant, you go to your local gynaecologist and he handles everything. He also arranges for all the doctors and nurses to be present when the c-section gets done. I don't think SA has midwives in small towns like mine. I'm still in a lot of pain and I still have a heavy uncomfortable feeling in my lower abdominal and lower back but I guess if it was labor pains, I would have gone into labor by now, but then again, I may be wrong.

Greetings

Madelaine

[EpilepsyAction1 Partner Epilepsy Action]

Hi

If you need support and information for your epilepsy, if you haven’t already, you may wish to contact Epilepsy South Africa.

epilepsy.org.za/new/

Regards

Diane

Epilepsy Action Helpline Team

[AmyBadd]

I hope you are ok. It sounds like the way things are done in SA are different to in the U.K. I saw midwives and an obstetrician throughout my pregnancy. I had two seizures during my pregnancy too. They didn't think there was much chance of my having seizures during labour but I was at risk of having more seizures towards the end of my pregnancy as I became more uncomfortable and got less sleep, so I was induced a week early.

I hope everything goes ok for you. You probably will be uncomfortable towards the end. I got SPD (cervical joint pain) from around 35 weeks and from about 37 weeks I could barely walk due to this.

Let us know how you get on xx