Nerve Damage from Childbirth

Foot Drop Awareness Day: 2 Years of Recovery

Today’s blog post is by Jodi M, who suffered from severe peroneal and tibial nerve damage in 2016 after the birth of her first child, resulting in foot drop. A huge thank you to her for all her advocacy work.

I cannot believe that this is my third year participating in National Foot Drop Awareness day!! As hard as 2020 has been, I am beyond blessed that my journey has lead me to be celebrating another year of foot drop recovery! I had never heard of foot drop until I sustained a nerve injury giving birth to my first child that resulted in severe damage to the peroneal and tibial nerves in both of my legs. I hope that my story can help others who are dealing with foot drop as well as bring about awareness of maternal nerve injuries.

Keep pushing, keep exercising, keep hope: A story about foot drop

Today’s blog post features the tenacity of Farrah W, a mama who suffered from foot drop after the delivery of her child. Thank you, Farrah, for sharing your story. We wish you continued healing and success.

I joined this page (Moms with Femoral/Peroneal/Sciatic Nerve Damage from Labor and Delivery Facebook Group) years ago after having my first son in England on the Mildenhall Air Force base. I was a new and young mom; I was scared and had only the support of my son’s father. All of my family lived in the United States in Louisiana.

Toward the end of my pregnancy, I was experiencing nerve pain and a lot of health issues, so I was induced two weeks early. I didn’t really have a birth plan – I just had a good attitude/feeling about my birthing experience. I really thought it was going to be so magical and smooth. Everything started fine and I received an epidural with no problems.

From labor to present, pain and neuropathy

Below is a Brooke’s story. She’s from regional Western Australia and suffered neuropathy in her foot and leg after giving birth. Brooke, thank you for sharing so much of your journey with all of us.

At 1:30pm, on my due date, my water broke.

An Interview with “Someone You Should Meet”

Recently, nerve damage from childbirth was featured on Claire Renwick’s YouTube station “Someone You Should Meet.” Claire chatted with Paula Wroble, the founder of the facebook support group Moms with Femoral/Peroneal/Sciatic Nerve Damage from Labor/Delivery, and Martha Tutrani, the creator of MICA Month. So grab a cup of tea, maybe a box of tissues, and learn more about this injury and what we are trying to do about it:

Femoral Neuropathy: Q&A

Below is a Q&A with Jeni M, who suffered femoral neuropathy after the birth of her baby. Thank you Jeni for sharing your story! You are one strong mama!

What type (if you know) of nerve injury do you have?

Femoral neuropathy- right side

How was it diagnosed?

Concluding MICA Month

As May and therefore MICA Month, come to an end, I wanted to thank the entire MICA and Unhindered Steps teams for their work. I would also like to thank the entire nerve damage from childbirth family, who shared MICA month updates, stories, and information.

When I created this website, I had the goal to not have any new mom flounder out in the world thinking they were alone in this injury, with no one to turn to and no support. I did for over 6 lonely weeks, until through a chain of “small world events” got connected with the Facebook support group (a HUGE shout out to Paula, the creator of the group. So many of us would have been so lost without you!). That group is private, as it should be, but that also makes it harder to find. I hoped that a public website would be more easily found and could then direct to the invaluable support group. I didn’t want to stop there and I wanted to share some of the information I spent hours finding. So I put my thesis thinking cap on and spent hours more researching medical journals, libraries and more to provide medically supported, well researched information to help with recovery, prevention and all the whys that come up with this injury. Not being a medical professional I wanted to cite everything, as you can see at the bottom of most pages.

She Gave Birth and Lost Her Ability to Walk!

Today’s post highlights Unhindered Steps, an advocacy partner of MICA month. Thank you to all of the volunteers for you tireless efforts to bring awareness to nerve damage from childbirth.

Most women imagine walking into a hospital to give birth and walking out with a newborn. However, few think that they would lose their ability to walk just by the natural act of giving birth. This is an uncommon condition, but it happens and unfortunately most medical providers have not seen it before!

MICA Month 2020 Standing Up for Those Who Can’t

By: Martha Valentine Tutrani

Welcome to MICA 2020, year three of Maternal Nerve Injury from Childbirth Awareness Month. Our theme is Standing Up for Those Who Can’t. While we have been united in dealing with MICA as a global community, we are additionally united in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. I have great confidence, that with the perseverance and tenacity I have seen our MICA moms utilize to deal with nerve injury, they will use that same focus to cope with Covid-19. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7.

Shattered Dreams and Blessings: A Birth and Recovery Story

Amanda K shares an amazing, detailed and emotional story about her journey with femoral nerve damage. A huge thank you to her for sharing her story with us.

I had my last prenatal appointment on a Monday. It was October 15, 2018 and I was told to come back at 6:00 p.m. that night to be induced. My daughter was due on October 9th and I was told that the benefits of inducing outweighed the risks. I remember leaving the hospital in tears. I desperately wanted to meet my baby, but I had this huge fear of being induced because I knew that there would be an increased risk for c-section. I wanted my baby to come in her own time.

Five Months of Femoral Nerve Damage

Today’s blog post is thanks for Carissa M, a strong mama who suffered from femoral nerve damage from the birth of her daughter. Many thanks to her for sharing her story and helping so many along the way. We wish her the absolute best in her continued healing.

Where my Story Begins

As I sit here in preparation to share my story with others, I find myself welling up with tears and uncertain of where to begin. I am sharing my story and my journey to bring awareness, inspire and bring hope to others. As a first-time mom I, just like many of you experienced so much excitement and anxiety all wrapped up in one as we set on to prepare for our baby girl’s arrival. I just couldn’t wait to meet her and be the mom I envisioned I would be. Many say nothing prepares you for motherhood and boy were they right. Continue reading “Five Months of Femoral Nerve Damage”