I had a healthy baby boy at the end of February. Life is great!

I would really like to have another child, but don't know if I should. (obviously this isn't something I'd do tomorrow)

My doctor suggested that I do not do it because I am overweight, 33 and he had a rough delivery due to adhesions and my weight.

I have every intention of losing more weight, I am less now than when I got pregnant. I know the risks of having a baby once you reach 35.

It is not that I want to go against the doctors advice. I realize how blessed I am to even become a mother, and don't want to seem selfish. I could just use your opinions out there.

What could happen if I did get pregnant again, obviously the adhesions would be worse, because now I've had four surgeries?

I do plan on consulting my GI doc. And I've thought of getting a second opinion from an OBGYN, as mine is "old school"

Just need your thoughts/words of wisdom.

I think that the decision should be based on how much you want another child weighed against the risk to your health (not the difficulty your OB had during this past delivery). You need to find out what the real risks to you are and decide what you think are acceptable risk. It is not a given that your adhesions would be worse, but definitely something to consider. Age definitely factors in too.

But bottom, line YOU should be the one who weighs the pros and cons and makes the final decision.

Jan

I was a few months shy of 35 when I delivered my son in 2006. I'm now expecting a daughter in July and just turned 37. I have a perm ileostomy. I saw a high risk OB for baby 1 and have continued with him this time.

I had a near total bowel obstruction during 1st pregnancy and many people thought I should have stopped there and not chanced another problem. After LOTS and LOTS of consideration (esp because we needed IVF to get pregnant) hubby and I decided to give it one more try. I'm 32 weeks so far, no obstruction in sight. In fact, no issues other than the usual pregnancy stuff (indigestion, heartburn, etc...)

I guess I would say you have to be ready to live with the possible consequences if you go ahead, but also know that you might not have the problems you had last time. Get more specifics about the issues your dr has and consult a high risk OB if you aren't already seeing one. They generally have a more open mind about unusual circumstances since they deal with that every day. I was fortunate enough to find a high risk OB with other j-pouch and ostomy patients so we feel very comfortable with him.

Thanks very much Jan and Jill, I really appreciate your thoughts.

Congrats Jill, hope everything continues going well for you!