QuestionI damaged my tailbone while delivering my daughter. She's now 17 months old and I finally feel almost back to normal, although I still sit to the side in order to stay off of it since I still feel soreness. We're planning our 2nd child now and I'm nervous about my options. I understand the risks of c-section, but I'm wondering how many women are actually successfull at giving birth the 2nd time around without re-damaging the coccyx. Breast feeding was almost impossible the last time and I gave up on it because of the constant pain. I'm wondering if my baby would be better off if I have a c-section this time around since I'll be more likely to breastfeed. Also, does the size of the mother have anything to do with the tailbone breaking? I'm 4'11" and 96 lbs. Very small framed.
AnswerYour size should not, by itself, have caused your tailbone injury during childbirth. Even very small women like yourself can easily birth even very large babies...under the right circumstances. Unfortunately, managed birth in hospitals today is far from the right circumstances.
Your pelvis has joints in the front and back, and the hormones your body produces during pregnancy allow those joints to loosen and stretch. In addition, your baby's head has joints that allow it to squish and mold during birth. However, in order for both of these things to happen efficiently, the baby needs to be in an anterior position, with her back facing your front, and you need to be in an upright position.
If you were in bed for your last birth, lying on your back or semi-reclined, all of your weight was on your tailbone, forcing it to curve inward and create a body obstruction to the passage of the baby's head. If your baby was also in a posterior position, or "sunny-side up", she would have had a larger portion of her head presenting, unable to mold. So you would have had a double-whammy to your small frame: A pelvis that was constricted to 30% of its maximum size, and a head that was as much as 30% larger than it needed to be. The combination of that with forced, coached pushing (holding your breath and counting to 10) is what hurt your tailbone.
When you think about having a c-section, think about this: After a c-section, you will be very much immobilized for weeks. You will be unable to roll over or sit sideways for weeks. You will be stuck, on your back, reclined...on your still-sore tailbone.
On the other hand, if you can arrange for a natural childbirth this time, with the ability to move about during labor, staying upright or (preferably) on hands and knees during pushing, and only pushing as your body wants to rather than as you are told...you can likely avoid any pain or further injury to your tailbone, no matter how big your baby is.
You may want to seek out the services of a midwife instead of an OB, as a midwife will be more familiar with positioning and its effect on childbirth.
