Hi everybody,
Bartholin Cysts apparently affect 1 in 20 women so I'm hoping that there's somebody out there who has come across this before.
This cyst has been recurring about once or twice every year for the last 7 years. Mostly it's treated with antibiotics and goes away reasonably quickly.
The last time I needed stronger antibiotics as I was 6 weeks pregnant and I guess my immunity was low. The stronger antibiotics came too late though as the cyst burst!
And now, 6 months later, it's back again. My GP said that if it flares up again closer to my due date, I may have to go with an elective C-section as the birthing process would stretch that area so much it would likely burst and cause more pain on top of the labour pain. sad But then she phoned a gyno at the hospital for advice who said that a normal vaginal birth would be fine. blink
Has anybody had an active Bartholin Cyst during labour? Or just prior to your due date? Were you able to give birth vaginally or did you need to have a C-section?
Any stories very welcome! Thanks heaps.

I had one of those when pregnant with no.2 - it burst during labour but I didn't know anything about it - no pain (giving birth was so painful that a cyst bursting wouldn't even register!!!) and no problems afterwards. It has never come back.

Thanks for the reply ddon. Very glad it hasn't come back to haunt you! smile
Since the original post I've been to the Women's Clinic and was assessed and told that the cyst could either burst during labour or, if it didn't burst, it could actually block the baby's exit causing complications and making interventions necessary. So it was decided that I'd be better to have it drained then and there.
Having a Bartholin Cyst drained and marsupialised is normally done under general anaesthetic but because of the pregnancy it was all done under local. Unfortunately the usual procedure couldn't be done to completion as the actual marsupialisation would have been too painful to do under local. (The doctor did give it a go and even got some stitches in but wasn't happy with it and took them out again! blink ) This means that at the moment I have an open incision which will apparently heal within a week. I've been given anti-biotics to prevent this incision becoming infected, am taking Panadol for discomfort (although there's surprisingly little) and washing the area with water only and patting dry. Easy!
Having a marsupialisation would have meant that the chance of recurrence was extremely low. But not being able to have had that done, I still only have a 10% chance of it recurring - I can live with that! (Especially as it's been a problem for me many times over the last 7 years!)
The doctor did a very good job and there were only a few moments of stinging but it gave me a chance to practice my breathing through those moments of pain!
I'm very glad that I've had this done and am hopeful that everything else will continue pretty normally from now on. With 6-7 weeks to go I'm feeling much better about my prospects for as normal a birth as possible. smile