44. Navigating Pregnancy with Shanda Dorff, MD

Pregnancy can be a time of new physical challenges, and hypermobility may make the season even more complex. Hormones can change tissue elasticity and the body may struggle to adapt.

Dr. Shanda Dorff began working with connective tissue disorders in 2008 and has helped countless women through pregnancies and beyond. She imparts her hard-learned wisdom to Bendy Bodies on this complicated subject.

Dr. Dorff shares important considerations for someone with connective tissue disorders to consider in a pregnancy, and discusses higher-risk issues with various types of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. She lists things to watch for during pregnancy, and gives advice on how to prepare for possible complications during a delivery.

Dr. Dorff offers things to do - and avoid - during the post-partum weeks, as well as exercise considerations for hypermobile athletes during and after pregnancy.

Finally, she reveals possible considerations for breastfeeding when hypermobile, and suggests ways to find specialists to help someone navigate a “bendy” pregnancy.

For any bendy body considering pregnancy, as well as all healthcare providers, this episode shares decades of hard-won expertise with our listeners.

Resources:

https://hiddenstripes.com/ (Disjointed Book)

https://www.complexcaresmn.com/ (Dr. Dorff's clinic)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32148151/ (Drs. Dorff and Afrin article, Mast cell activation syndrome in pregnancy, delivery, postpartum and lactation: a narrative review)

https://www.scirp.org/html/2-1920604_97524.htm#%23%23 (Drs. Chopra and Bluestein article Perioperative Care in Patients with Ehlers Danlos Syndromes)

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#pregnancy #pregnant #podcast #EhlersDanlossyndromes #EhlersDanlos #BendyBodies #BendyBodiesPodcast

#highriskpregnancy #zebrastrong #heds #hypermobile #connectivetissuedisorder #JenniferMilner #HypermobilityMD --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bendy-bodies/message

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