New Zealand Talipes Part 1

It is strange to think that this time a week ago I hadn't even heard of Talipes, now, after hours of reading and research, my husband and I think we're virtually experts on the subject, although we won't know what it's really all about until we meet our baby some time around March 19, 2012.

We innocently attended our 20 week anomaly scan 3 days ago to be told our baby has club foot.  The very second the sonographer said it, I felt my heart break.  I didn't really even understand what it meant but I had an image in my head of those poor kids at primary school in the early '80's with limps and leg braces. 

Confused and sad, I left the clinic and immediately phoned my Mum and my Midwife.  Mum always knows the right thing to say, as she did when we told her that my husband had just been diagnosed with thryroid cancer around this time last year.  She was great as usual, a total support and my midwife, well she almost brushed it off as if to say "Talipes? Oh, that's nothing to worry about".  That made me feel a bit better.  She said she'd put us in touch with the orthopedic team and that we won't know the severity of it until baby is born, so for now, there isn't a lot we can do. 

This is our first child, and we never even imagined a hurdle like this, but after getting through an adversity like cancer and now armed with information and encouragement from other parents about Talipes from websites like this, my husband and I feel supported albeit by complete strangers, but we can deal with this, as there is succesful treatment. 

We're back to have a second scan in 4 days time to have a good look at baby's other organs as baby is breech the sonographer couldn't see everything she needed to, so I'm trying everything I can between now and then to help it turn to a more photographic position.  So far i've tried hands & knees and rocking, frozen peas on the top of my belly with a heat pack on the bottom, I'm just about to go swimming, then acupuncture tomorrow.  My midwife told me there can be other conditions associated with Talipes, but right now, I'm unsure of what these could be. 

We'll hopefully know more on 10/11.  It is sad, as it's not how you imagined your baby to be, and you want the very best for your child before you've even met them.  But, for now, I will stop crying and deal with the sadness by turning this into a positive experience by reminding myself it could be worse.  This problem is one that can be fixed.