Reply to Synthia’s 4-6-09 post on pregnancy

Synthia,
Your post brought a prompt to my email box. I have not been on the GBS/CIDP site for some time because as a mom of a GBSer, I have not yet healed or reconciled with the fact that my daughter has been permanently affected by this unforgiving illness. But I am happy to post a reply for you. I think that C may have responded to your posting herself as well.

My daughter, whom I’ll refer to as “C”, is just about 2 years post-onset of her very debilitating bout with GBS. By all statistics, C was in the 5% of people that do not survive GBS. Today, she is within a few weeks of delivering her second baby. She has been monitored closely throughout her pregnancy, and so far all is well with baby. C, herself, has found this an extremely taxing pregnancy, undoubtedly exacerbated by the GBS and its residuals–residuals that will likely persist throughout her lifetime.

It was a few months after hospitalization that C’s periods returned to a new normal. Baby is due almost 2 years to the date of the onset of her GBS. Getting pregnant was not difficult. What was difficult was finding information on getting pregnant after GBS and how GBS might affect pregnancy or baby or mom. C said that the best advice, and almost only advice, came from other GBSers and not from doctors. The medical community still seems to think that GBS/CIDP is RARE. I vehemently beg to differ.

Plan your family carefully. Be prepared for pregnancy to take an extra toll on your body because of the GBS. Be sure to have good support network because you will need it.

All the best,

Jane, cv’s mom