Pregnancy and delivery in tetraplegic women

• Published in: The journal of spinal cord medicine Vol. 20; no. 3; p. 371
• Main Author: Verduyn, W H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.07.1997
• Subjects: Adult; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases; Delivery, Obstetric; Female; Humans; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn; Obstetric Labor, Premature; Pregnancy - physiology; Pregnancy Complications; Quadriplegia - physiopathology; Reflex, Abnormal; Risk Factors; Urinary Tract Infections
• ISSN: 1079-0268

Increase in survival of spinal cord injured (SCI) women, society's acceptance that their lives should be similar to those of non-disabled women and their better general health are increasing the number of SCI women who become pregnant and will be delivered of a child. Vaginal delivery is preferred. Any SCI woman whose level is at T6 or higher is at risk for acute autonomic hyperreflexia as a result of uterine contractions. If induction is with Pitocin/Oxytocin, the risk is even greater. Communication with the woman's obstetrician is essential. The patient should be provided with a packet of information to share with the obstetrician. This should be followed with a phone call from the SCI physician to the obstetrician. Effective management includes epidural anesthesia; vacuum extraction is helpful in the expulsion stage. Episiotomy is usually not needed since the pelvic floor is relaxed. In addition, there is an increased incidence of dehiscence since SCI women should be mobilized early and need to transfer in and out of a wheelchair. Blood pressure needs to be taken during the peak of contraction. This needs to be compared to prenatal blood pressures. If prenatal blood pressure is 80/60 or 90/60 but during contraction is 130/80 with a pounding headache, that indicates autonomic hyperreflexia which is an indication for epidural anesthesia. With improvement of acute care and more effective rehabilitation, pregnancy and delivery in spinal cord injured (SCI) women will occur more frequently. No one has any great experience with this situation and most articles report only a few cases. Even the report by Goller and Paeslack4 dealt with 175 cases from 42 centers in 24 countries. Most women were paraplegic and several who were injured early in their pregnancy had abnormal babies (possibly due to x-rays taken for spinal injury). Our spinal cord injury staff were pleased when we had two tetraplegic patients who were pregnant. It helped confirm our belief that life and its functions continue after paralysis. Staff members were involved in prenatal care, were present during delivery and were involved with postnatal care. Even more important is the fact that rehabilitation from the start was oriented with child care in mind. Occupational therapists used their skills and imagination to develop a program for newborn baby care by the tetraplegic mother.