I have three herniated discs. L3-S1. They are more like tears. I have had them for 12 years. This is my first pregnancy. I am 38 weeks along. My question is, will going through a vaginal birth potentially do more damage to my back? Or should I resort to a C-Section? I really want to experience a vaginal birth. I am planning on having an epidural. I am not worried about pain. What I am worried about is that pushing might make my back problem worse, permanently. My chiropractor who has read my latest MRI report from two years ago, said that I should be fine as long as I try to strengthen my back while I can. To be honest, I haven't done much of the back exercises as I should have, therefore, my back is weak.
Second question is, how does pushing affect or put strain on your lumber discs? Before I was pregnant, I was seeing a personal trainer for three months and he worked me out as hard as someone who didn't have back problems. I did numerous versions of back strengthening and it never made my back worse, but eventually took the pain away. My point is that if I was able to do strenuous exercises, how can pushing a baby out vaginally be harmful? I am laying flat on my back and pushing while tucking my chin to my chest. It's not like I am doing back flips. I just want to better understand what physiological changes and adverse reactions pushing can do to a person with L3-S1 herniations. Thanks so much!