Third Trimester: Passing Out

I did not have this in any of my own pregnacies; however, a very good friend of mine that I have known for 25+ yrs experienced the same thing. Her issue had to do with the position of the baby and the vagus/vagal nerve. I do not know all the details but I think if you google this word along with the word pregnancy that you might get some more information about it. This is also mentioned in the babycenter article link someone sent you below. I know her doctors were stumped and said they too had never seen this and at one point, they told her to go see her primary care physician. I hope this helps.

I am kinda curious about the responses you get. Same thing happened to me w/both pregnancies starting around 6-7 months. The 1st thing they checked was blood sugar...That wasn't it and since everything else seemed good, my OBGYN never pursued it. But I have always wondered why it happened.

YES! My doctors thought I was crazy too, but I noticed that the places I was passing out at were ones that had little air flow. I was passing out at church (mid way through) or even in restaurants. I found that when I increased my oxygen rate (like going outside for about 5 minutes) I was good to go for a while again. Also, places like these for me kept me sitting for a long time, so I wasn't breathing as rapidly. Had this problem with both of my boys. Hope this helps you too. Good Luck!

When I was pregnant with my son, I would "almost" pass out daily. I never actually passed out. I was always able to catch it in time and lay down and I would regain my vision etc...I'm pregnant now and haven't experience that side effect as much, but I've had my episodes.
I've never heard of anyone passing out that many times a day. It must be very hard to function.
My mother, when pregnant with my brother, apparently would pass out all the time and for no reason. She once dropped right in the middle of the street in Boston. Luckily she was with someone.
Her doctor told ehr that they baby was resting on something. I don't remember the details. It sounds like it's all related to the position of the baby.
All I can suggest is, if you feel it coming on (I would start to slowly lose my vision and feel weak), make sure you sit or lay down. I'm sure I'm not telling you something you don't already know.
Good luck and I'm sorry you're going through that.

As an OB nurse, I totally agree with Laura W.
it deffinitely sounds like a vaso-vagal response. Your baby is not in danger at all...he/she is in the best place possible. I have seen lots of babies born at 37 weeks not do well ~ end up on a vent, etc. (my own grandson was 36 5/7 weeks when he was born due to pre-eclampsia and he was on a vent for 5 days, then oxygen, not home until he was 9 days old).

Make sure you are eating small meals several times a day.
Keep hydrated! you can't have too much water.
stay safe ~ maybe avoid driving if possible.

Maybe it's cardiac? it could be an arrhythmia...they often make you feel short of breath because your heart isn't beating correctly. But then your heart is converting back to it's normal rhythm. Ask also for a cardiology consult (along with the perinatologist)

D.

I agree with HN H.- this is most likely what is called a vaso-vagal problem with positioning of your baby - it is not caused from lack of oxygenation, but is a reflex response from your body. I would double check that your doctor has followed up with your blood sugar levels and your blood pressure to be cautious. Also,consider asking your OB for a maternal fetal medicine (high risk OB)consultation because you are concerned that they don't know what is causing it and you want to follow up - that should get their attention. Your doctors are being careful about "taking" your baby early because even 37 week gestation babies can have immature lungs and/or other organs and could end up with complications related to that. This is a constant risk/benefit analysis - is your baby better off out than in? Obviously, your doctors are not too concerned about the health of your fetus related to this condition of yours, but I would be worried about falling, driving or any other circumstance that could be traumatic to your body, and thus to your baby. Get a MFM consult if you haven't already - I am willing to bet they can figure this out. Hutzel and St. John's in Detroit have exceptional MFM's.

My husband (although not pregnant, obviously) had passed out 3 different times unexpectedly (once while driving, very scary!) and the doctors determined, after a lot of testing, that it was his vaso-vagal nerve. Sounds like that is what you are experiencing. They may put you on a tilt table, and determine this. Good luck!

Oh my gosh! This sounds scary.

The only time I ever felt like I was seconds away from passing out when I was pregnant, was when I was lying on my back for too long during my 20-week ultrasound. The veina cava was suppressed.

I'm no doctor, but my guess is that it could be that you're carrying your baby further back than you realize, and part of the baby's extremities are putting pressure on that vein. Here is more from babycenter.com: http://www.babycenter.com/0_dizziness-and-fainting-during...

I am assuming they checked your blood pressure and it's normal? The only other thing I can think of for you to ask your doc about is if it's somehow related to blood pressure.

If your doctors can't help you figure out what's causing this — and fast — maybe you should consider a second opinion, right away. Even if you have to go to the emergency room, I would do it.

The good news is that you're almost there!

Hang in there!

This completely happened to me with my last pregnancy!
I passed out many times a day for 6 months straight. They wouldn't let me drive, I couldn't stand up for 10 minutes, even sitting I passed out a few times...it was awful!

I had the not breathing feeling, then my vision would go, get really hot, then I would be out, and if I had not already laid down, I would just completely fall wherever I was. I was in the ambulance twice, overnight in the hospital, had every test done as well...etc. They never found anything out. They had no idea what to do with me either. The week the baby dropped, I never passed out again. She was sitting very high (I was measuring at least 10 cm--15 cm ahead for those 6 months) so I think that had something to do with it.

I am now pregnant again and have had probably 10 episodes of this, but nothing like my first pregnancy. As long as you stay safe (DON'T DRIVE), I don't think it harms the baby. One thing that is hard is that when it is happening you are not able to fully understand what is going on or make a decision to lay down. I used to think it wouldn't happen, of course it always did, but I did get better at laying down after a while. I did hit my head a few times though! I know it is terribly uncomfortable and rather hard to deal with. I had a note on my cell phone: EXPERIENCES PREGNANCY RELATED FAINTING-PLEASE CALL HUSBAND, and my school had to use it once because I passed out while teaching my first graders!! (I soon after had to stop teaching)