HI everyone,
I am a PPD that has been reading posts on AllDoulas for quite awhile. I have a question that I have been struggling in the medical community with concerning myself and I thought that your opinions would be just as valuable.
I am 26 y.o and hoping to get pregnant for the first time.
I was diagnosed when I was 7 with a Preventricular contraction in my heart. Basically it makes my resting heart rate around 110, but is very easily raised when I exercise or even do small things like walk up steps to over 200 bpm. My Dr.s have tried putting me on a betablocker but it really doesn't help to keep my heart rate down when I exercise. I am concerned about HR and pregnancy, all the DRs keep telling me is that I cannot have a HR that high when pregnant and there is NO WAY they will let me deliver naturally.
I was wondering if any of you know of high HR and the effects on the baby, Beta blockers that are safe for pregnancy and how high do the HRs get for the mamas that you help?
Any other thoughts are really welcome. I have been struggling with this for a really long time. I am terrified of the thought of pregnancy and some thing happening to the baby, bed rest, c section etc. . . PLease share any and all thoughts! thank you so much in advance.

hi sara, welcome!
i don't know about your specific condition, all i know is that MY body puts me some limits. i cannot get an epidural, so if ever emergency arised, i'd get knocked out. that's not exactly the way i imagine the birth of my babies!
have you asked your care providers about studies on your heart condition and pregnancy/birth? have you searched the cochrane data base? having evidence based information from a neutral point of view could help you process the situation. (i say neutral because the researchers aren't related to you personnally, of course we always need to be careful of conflicting interests when interpreting any data.) if evidence supports your doctors take, it may take some time to grieve your dreamed birthing experience. do take your time on this! BUT then i believe you could still have a very satisfying birth experience with a c-section, and a very special reward afterwards!! there are a lot of options for c-section births! you could write a c-section birth plan stating your preferences. you could even have a lotus birth and encapsulate your placenta. you can breastfeed if that's what you want.
hope this is encouraging to you!
love, falling leaves

Thank you for your encouraging words. They are very much appreciated.
Thank you for the specific tips, I will definitely have to look into that database as well.
There are just some things I think I have to come to terms with. Butim sure in time I will get there.
Thank you again, very much

I would suggest maybe getting a second opinion from another doctor. From what I know, it may be that the PVC's are caused by your high blood pressure and not the other way around. I had a client (in another position), not as a Doula that had very high blood pressure and was put on very many medications with no improvement. The client had very high anxiety all of the time. I had the client take the blood pressure before we started; and for an hour, while we talked, I had a relaxation tape playing in the background. After the hour, the client took the blood pressure again, and the reading had come down considerably!! I wrote a letter to the doctor for the client to take to the next appointment and it was dismissed! In addition to getting a second doctor's opinion, I suggest you try this on your own and record the results.