bilateral femoral neuropathy

[ccarter921]

I am 32 and 10 wks pregnant with my second child. I had very rare complications with my first delivery and I am very anxious about this one. I had a condition called bilateral femoral neuropathy. It was a very severe case I was essentially paralyzed for 4 months and had to have intense physical therapy. It took me a full yr and a half to recover and I still have a numb area above my left knee. I was told another vaginal delivery may escalate the already fragile nerves and they may not heal again. I dont want a c-section but don't want to be paralyzed either. I have searched everywhere I can think of for information on this condition and the likelihood of it recurring, but I can't find anything. I found some excerpts from 50 yr old medical journals but no real answers. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am growing more tense the farther I progress. The first one was a complete nightmare!

[ccarter921]

They said the baby was sunny side up and the fact that I pushed for almost 3 hrs. They are concerned because I have never fully recovered my son is 4 so they are afraid that another vaginal delivery would be putting pressure on nerves that had a very hard time healing the first time around. Thank u for the link I will for sure check it out.

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
If you were my patient, I would query you as to whether your doctors were able to determine what caused the neuropathy? Here is link to an article which may be of interest to you.
http://www.anesthesia-analgesia.org/content/80/5/1036.full.pdf

What I have been able to determine is that the condition is very rare, and when it does happen usually happens in first time moms.  I would think the likelihood of it happening again is vanishingly small.
I also have to tell you that I have personally had both types of delivery and the c section was actually easier.  You have to decide what's right for you, but C sections aren't too bad!
Good luck!
Dr B