Natural Birth and Baby Care.com

Urinary/Urethral Sling - Wanting to Get Pregnant Again

by RD
(Dallas, Texas)

I have a urinary sling b/c of stress incontinence after the birth of my girls. What happens if I want to get pregnant again?

I had the sling procedure 2 years ago after the birth of my second daughter. If I exercised, I had stress incontinence. We have been thinking of having a 3rd baby. I want to know the risks, possibilities of having another child? Also, I have been on 150 mg's of wellbutrin. Do I wean myself off slowly so if I do become pregnant, it will not affect the baby?
Thank you!

Answer:

Hi RD,

I had a hard time finding much information for you, but I did find the results of a study that followed women who'd had a urethral sling throughout their pregnancies and the births of their babies.

Out of their research subjects, it was divided up about 50/50 between vaginal and cesarean births. The women didn't have any major complications during pregnancy.

Some women (about fifteen percent) did have recurrence of stress incontinence after childbirth, but their method of delivery didn't make any difference in rates - so it didn't matter if they'd had a vaginal birth or a c-section.

It doesn't seem like it complicates your ability to get pregnant and most likely won't cause any issues during pregnancy or with birth - though there is a possibility you'll see a recurrence of stress incontinence.

The best person to consult about the Wellbutrin is going to be your doctor, but weaning yourself down off of it slowly will probably be the best idea. You should talk to your doctor and find out what he or she advises, if it is advisable to wean, and what rate you should do it at.

If you wean off the medication completely I would give yourself 2-3 months of no medications before your try to conceive. This will give your body time to rebuild nutrient reserves that have been depleted by the Wellbutrin.

Best of luck to you as you prepare for conception!