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Myopia (short-sighted) and vaginal delivery
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Kotena
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Hello
I am near-sighted (myopia -6), So I wear contacts. From my childhood I was kind of told that I would have to have c-section because my vision is poor and I will not be able to push hard as it may result in blindness. That is still the info in the country where I am from. My cousin delivered there last year and her OB requested a signed letter from vision doctor to cofnirm that she would be ok doing natural irth. When I spoke about it here in AMerica, the OB was surprised and said she never heard of this before. I am due in march. Was anybody ever told about poor sight and delivery problem?? I have 2 other friends who are expecting, and their OBs also were surprised by this statement. |
Anonymous
| I have severe myopia ( - 8) and delivered vaginally this year. I even saw an ophthalmologist (retinal specialist) while pregnant and she made no mention of any such thing. Check with eye doc if you're worried! |
Anonymous
| LP here. Sorry for the mistake the face is supposed to be a "negative 8" |
Anonymous
| Are you from Russia by any chance? I have a second cousin there and she wasn't allowed to labor because of myopia. My vision is -6/-6.5 and my OB had no problem with letting me labor. I did end up with a c/s, but after 16 hours of labor for failure to descend. I wear contacts and there was no problem with wearing them during surgery. |
Anonymous
| OP. I have very severe myopia (-9.75 in one eye and -8.50 in the other) and I delivered naturally a healthy 7lb baby. I pushed and pushed and pushed. No one ever told me there was a risk of going blind, and I do not believe the risk exists. I have been seen by opthalmologists every year (and even a retinal specialist on occassion) who never mentioned this problem, and my OB never mentioned anything at all. I did not wear my contacts, only because I wasn't sure how long my labor would last and I felt I would be more comfortable in glasses. I don't think you should worry. This is something women in the US would definitely know about if there was real risk, since a large percentage of the population suffers from some degree of myopia. |
Kotena
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| Thanks for all the replies. I am from russia. I am going to see the ophtalmologist, but not sure even how to explain what needs to be checked. I can understand why Ob would be worry. I thhink when you push really hard which is the case when you are in labor, it applies pressure on your arteries, veins etc, and probably if you have weak eyes muscles (that's how you get myopia) they maybe impacted by pushing... On the ohter hand I would think that here in US doctors would know if it was the case. |
Anonymous
| I am from Russia too, but i live in US. My vision is - 8.5 and I've never been told about any risks y my OB. While I also still remember that the eye doctors in Russia would tell me that I am a candidate for a C-section. I'm going to see ophthalmologist anyway just to make sure. |
Anonymous
| I am -9 and -7.5 and pushed for three hours (12 hour labor). No effect on my eyes and I had my contacts in too. I just had an eye check last week (DD born 8 months ago) and my eyes look great. |
Anonymous
| I have myopia around -6, like the OP. I developed preeclampsia, which includes high blood pressure, and pushed HARD to deliver my son. Not only do my eyes feel normal but I had them checked afterward to see if the preeclampsia had damaged them. My eyes are still perfectly healthy. Talk with an doctor if you are concerned but I think the fear is probably not backed by medical evidence. |
Anonymous
| I have moderate myopia, wore my contacts the entire time in the hospital, pushed hard during labor, burst blood vessels in my eyes during the pushing phase, and have no vision issues as a result. |
Anonymous
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This sounds like one of those cultural myths that even the medical establishment in a particular country just takes as truth. For example, in Korea, there is a very commonly held belief that sleeping in a room with a closed door and a room fan will result in "fan death". I think that in both the cases of laboring with myopia and "fan death", there have been documented cases where someone had a negative outcome -- but was the outcome a result of the set of conditions? Unlikely. Just coincidence.
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Anonymous
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I have NEVER heard of this.
I am -10 and -9 so you don't get much worse off then me. I had a vaginal delivery and pushed for about 30 minutes, delivered a healthy 7 pound baby WITH contacts on. I've had my eyes checked since then (routine yearly check up) and it was never brought up. I go to the eye dr. every year, and certainly he would have seen a woman of childbearing age and told me if I was planning on being pregnant I should consider a c-section. This sounds like a myth to me. |
Anonymous
| There have actually been several studies done on this and each of them have found no correlation between laboring with myopia and retinal damage. You can find them easily if you google "myopia labor". |
Anonymous
You should be careful while pushing because you could end up popping your eyeballs. My friend's sister got two black eyes during labor because she ruptured the capillaries around her eyes. OMG!!!! OP, you should definitely check with your eye doctor. 
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Anonymous
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Was anybody ever told about poor sight and delivery problem??
No, I was never told this. I have severe myopia (-9.5 and -8.5). I delivered vaginally 7 years ago. I had no eye complications/issues. |