United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I am a 33 year old married woman. Are there any adult women who have lived with a BPI and been pregnant/had/have children? One of the major reasons I am not considering having children is because I am afraid that the nerves damaged from my brachial plexus injury might get worse or that my brachial plexus/spinal cord nerves might not be able to tolerate the affects a pregnancy would have on my body. I know that seems selfish, but I want to be able to hold my children if I have them. Right now, my BPI isn't so severe as many others. It affects my left shoulder & arm, I have limited rotation, some minor arthritic type aching, and the only back/shoulder nerve pain was when I sneezed hard once & it sent me to the hospital, but nothing else. Curious what anyone would say who has a BPI and has been pregnant. Thanks for the info!!

I would say that my BPI injury is not a severe case. I also was worried about having children but from the aspect of how I would carry my child. I had NO problems with BPI during preganancy. However, I learned very fast to use a stroller when ever possible and carry as little as possible in the diaper bag. Carrying a baby, purse, and diaper bag made my back so sore. My son is now 15 moths and weighs 26 lbs. I can not carry him with my BPI arm. I am thankful that he is walking now. I will say that the pain in my back is much greater than before I had him. There are many nights when I sit on the couh or lay in bed fighting back tears because my back or my neck on BPI side is throbbing, tingling, or having sharp pains. I love my son to death and if I had the choice again I would still get pregnant. You learn how to handle a child based on your needs. I will never regret my son but I might regret not using my stroller enough or trying to be super mom and carry everything on my own.

Traci???...calling Traci F...!
HUGS,
Gramma Carolyn J
LOBPI/72

I would not let it stop you from having children. I have one child and would not change it for the world. If there is a will there is a way. There are plenty of Obpi that have children. Yes it is hard but doable and so worth it.E-mail me if you would like.

Judy (ROBPI) 49

Kath respond.

Thank you everyone for your reply posts to my question - the information is so helpful! While this is only one factor in a decision to have children, it is something I felt was important to find out about so that if I do have children, I will have realistic expectations about the experience. My husband and I have been married for more than 10 years and have been about 95% certain that we won't have children, but we are still young enough to keep the option open. Whether we do or not, life is a blessing. Children are a miracle and they deserve 120% of everything we've got and they deserve to know their parents really thought about them and what it would mean to bring life into this world. The information you all have provided is great. Thank you & God Bless!!

It never dawned on me that having a baby might be a problem. I have a global robpi along with Horner's syndrome.

I have three children, my first two girls are 14 months apart... that was really rough on my arms and back. I don't think I would advise anyone to have them that close, unless you have lots of help. I had no help, my Mom was elderly and dying when I had my girls, so I was young and on my own... It was great for the girls but I knew I could not do that again because my arms and back were rough during that time. Both my girls were about 16 lbs and tall at a year old. I waited 4-1/2 years before I had my son. He was a big baby and about 28 lbs at a year old. Lucky for me they all walked before a year. I spend a lot of time on the floor playing and working with the kids... I was down to their size and it was less lifting. I did not want to admit,, to anyone , that it was hard on me so i did way too much carrying on my own... Other than my own dumb mistakes... I would never let the jerk that injured me, take away my right to choose how many kids I had.

All tree of my children are grown and I have 5 grandchildren, I changed them, cared for them and feed them ... without having too much trouble until the 5th one... when my back gave out... But I was 64 when she was born... so that is OK to be tired and a bit achy then...

Pregnancy was hard on my back and I had sciatica on the right leg during all three pregnancies... I had large babies an did not know much about proper birthing procedures so I delivered on my back... I had all three SD and thank God the doctor who delivered my first two knew what to do... My third child the doctors was a nasty creep and thought he injured my son... so he had a doctor measure his chest and shoulders... He had no injury but the doctor was so horrible I never went back to have a 4th... He has since lost a case, of bpi injury, in open court. I found out about it when my son was 27 and it brought me great joy!!!!


Please don't let that doctor, that injured you, rob you of the joy of parenting. I am so glad that I did not let it hold me back. Either i was too dumb or too stubborn to give up on something I really wanted...
Kath robpi/70

I am a 36 year old mother of 4, 2 of which are twins, and one child we lost. My twins are now 5 and our youngest 2. I had a lot of the same worries but I found my desire to have children was stronger. While I have had to adapt a lot, even though my case isn't particularly severe, I don't think having children has caused any more damage to my arm. Has it put strain on the rest of my body, probably, but in my opinion the joys far outweigh the risks.

I had excellent carewhile I was pregnant and in the doctors who delivered the children (who were all via c-section for different reasons). I did worry a bit about what ifs but but I think everyone does that. I think that in this day in age BPI is much more widley known and watched out for than it was in our day. Dealing with twins was definitely a challenge especially when they got bigger but I made a wonderful discovery and used a sling which was a life saverand I used with my next child who outweighed the twins together. Like the other poster I used my stroller (make sure you get one that rolls easily and is easily manuvered) a great deal and when I had to carry a diaper bag made it as light as possible or slung it over the handle bars of the stroller. Like I said before, I learned to adapt.

I never considered life without children. I'm in the last month of pregnancy now with my 2nd son. My biggest complaint is the belly getting in the way, whatever reach I did have seems to be lessened by the belly in the way. Heck, I'm still picking my 4 yr old up. But one thing I've done for the past couple years with him is to lift him with 1 arm, so I adjust as he grows.

I'm a little nervous with 2, but I'm hoping to use the sling more than I did when I only had one.
I was afraid I'd have back pains while pregnant, something I get on occassion, but I've lucked out both times. And if my husband is around when we go places and something or someone needs to be carried he helps with that.

And most of all each time I reach a point that I don't know how to make something easier on me and my body I come here and check in with all the other OBPI parents. Honestly I think having kids keeps me more active than I'd be without.

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

-Traci

Traci, YOU are my Heroine.You GO Girl, awesome!

If I could I'd have another child too,FOR SURE!!!
HUGS,
"Gramma"Carolyn J

BUMPING UP
Carolyn J
LOBPI/75++++