Hi guys

Many thanks for your words of support...much appreciated!

My Ob. did suggest to me that he would more than encourage me to get a second opinion...which I guess is good!

Shannon...he wasn't sure about the % risk of uterine rupture. I asked him whether they could do a scan to see how much scarring is on my uterine wall...but he said that generally the scans aren't accurate enough.

Although embolisation was a great procedure for me back in 2002 (I had severe heavy bleeding and was very anaemic due to my troublesome fibroids), it's a relatively new technique (ie. 10 years old) and therefore there really isn't much known about the impact on pregnancy and birth. In fact in many of the scientific papers I read, it suggested that the pregnancy rate is much lower for those who had embolisation, with a m/c rate of 30%...it took us 3 years to get pregnant! This baby really is a miracle for us!

In the biggest lit. review on embolisation (and it's not that big), 70% women who had embolisation had a c-section. The article certainly acknowledges that Obs. are very conservative when it comes to women with embolisation as they just don't have enough information on how well their uteruses deal with the surgical technique...especially when the uterus has to work hard in contractions! Most of the women in the article were in their mid-30's too (just like me!)...

So...although it is ultimately my choice (that's what the Ob. said)...I guess it's about weighing up the risks of rupture and the risks of c-section. The risks of rupture include emergency c-section, and surgery on the uterus (if it ruptures) which could ultimately (worst case scenario) lead to hysterectomy to stop the bleeding...

I also wonder how "natural" they would let me vaginally labour, given they would need to be monitoring the possibility of rupture fairly closely...

I have so longed for the experience of child birth...but more than anything, we've longed for a baby...

I've been thinking that the birth-baby concept is similar to the wedding-marriage concept...if I had to have a choice, I'd have a great marriage any day over a fantastic wedding...(thankfully I do have a great marriage!!!)...ultimately I'd love to have a great birth and baby...but if I had to choose...the baby is what I really really want!