Health Organization for Pudendal Education

Thank you Lernica .

Actually this is my 2nd baby... I have a daughter who is 11 who I delivered at 29.5 weeks after 14 hrs of labor but the actual delivery she was out in about 3 pushes; of course she was so little, I had no tearing or anything. Now, at 43 yrs young, here i am again, at 32 weeks heading towards the finish line and extremely concerned of the aftermath as if you couldn't tell ....

Thank you for your kind words!

if I were you, I'd just play it safe and have a C-section. Pregnancy is not shown to aggravate the pudendal nerve, but Vaginal Childbirth is.
http://pudendalhope.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=307

ps- Lernica, thanks for your comment

the PN pain I feel now is the exact same burning pain I remember experiencing while pushing out my babies for hours on end many years ago.

It answers my question for years... wondering if PN pain feels like childbirth. HA! Now I can tell all my "mom" friends that basically, I am in labor 24/7, so I'm pretty darn cool for getting anything done with this pain. Vindication!

Great article, Pianogal. You're pretty darn cool with or without PN.

Lernica

Thanks Lernica!: ) So are you!

If anything PregMom, you can show this to your doctor to request a C-section since it quotes Sultan's paper which stated that nerve damage could occur from attempting labor and going to a c-section. The quote is on the lower left side of the page in that link. Dr. Sultan has written a lot about delivery and the pudendal nerve; he had a paper saying that posterior presented babies (the kind that give you back labor) can result in pudendal nerve damage on the left side...which was tremendously validating considering that this was my case in a nutshell.

celeste, why do you think only on the left side? oh... haha... left side of page, not left side of vulva! lol

pianogal wrote:celeste, why do you think only on the left side? oh... haha... left side of page, not left side of vulva! lol

No, both. The paper in the link has a quote from Dr. Sultan on the lower left side of the page, AND Dr. Sultan wrote another paper about left-side nerve damage in women who had had a posterior positioned baby. They're face up when they should be face down...so the less yielding part of their skull is pressing on the mom. You can sometimes tell a posterior lie in a pregnant woman because there is a flatter stomach, not nearly the intense need to urinate due to pressure on the bladder, and then back labor--instead of pain all over the back and abdomen, it's all focused in the lower spine.

Celeste wrote: Dr. Sultan has written a lot about delivery and the pudendal nerve; he had a paper saying that posterior presented babies (the kind that give you back labor) can result in pudendal nerve damage on the left side...which was tremendously validating considering that this was my case in a nutshell.

Me too: posterior-presented babies; now left side pudendal pain. This is the first time I've heard about the connection. Validating indeed. If anyone can find this paper I'd appreciate seeing a copy. Thanks. I'll send it to my ob/gyn.

Lernica

Lernica wrote:If anyone can find this paper I'd appreciate seeing a copy. Thanks. I'll send it to my ob/gyn.

Here's a link to the abstract at least.
http://pubget.com/paper/8297863

I can't find the link to the whole paper. The abstract doesn't mention posterior presentation; I think it was in the full text, though.

It is a miracle that women get through childbirth with no lasting damage at all! If I were you, pregmom, I would inform your doctor that you do have the right to decide what happens with your own body. If he is not willing to perform a c-section then I would ask him to find someone for you who will. If it were me, I would not be having a vaginal birth with even the slightest hint of a problem with the pudendal nerve. My problems mostly stem from SI dysfunction and a pelvis that pops in and out of alignment which leads to mild pudendal neuralgia symptoms that come and go based on alignment as well as pelvic floor dysfunction due to the same issue. Given that, I have zero plans to ever have a vaginal birth and I will advocate for myself until the end of time to ensure that I am not rail-roaded into putting my body at risk for further problems. Remember, you will be the one who has to live with the consequences of having a vaginal birth not your doctor if it turns out that it causes more of a problem than you currently have (I also don't have pain when the nerve is pressed). It may very well be that you could have a vaginal birth with no detrimental effects...it really just depends on the chance you want to take and what you are comfortable with.