316 | Maddi, two births, miscarriage, MGP, vaginal birth, PND, chiari malformation type 1, caesarean

Maddi shares her very interesting story and talks at length about her experience with postnatal depression. After her first positive vaginal birth, she was diagnosed with chiari malformation type 1 where part of the brain at the back of her skull bulges and puts pressure on the spinal column. Her neurologist confirmed that she could birth vaginally but she wouldn’t be able to have an epidural or spinal block if an emergency situation arose. Maddi accessed all the evidence she could relating to chiari malformation and vaginal birth yet she couldn’t find any information on the ongoing effects after birth. Subsequently, she made the informed choice to plan a caesarean birth under general anaesthetic.