@janetdafoe.bsky.social has made me think of whether a different energy production system is in place for those initial first few weeks that avoids the itaconate shunt?

Very conscious that we need to find a sustainable level before these wear off to avoid a big crash as other women have reported beyond the first month

Surgery recovery has been slightly more difficult than usual due to orthostatic intolerance, but overall after 10 days, she’s doing very well. No doubt the hormones are overriding a lot of her symptoms and maybe even preventing PEM, as the disrupted sleep and energy exertion haven’t had blowback yet

Just as an update, successful delivery of our baby boy 10 days ago via c section. But my wife did go into labor for around 12 hours before the operation could start. The autonomic impacts of labor were severe as we anticipated, and there was no way she could have been able to continue to delivery.

Great resources, thank you very much for taking the time!

Thanks for replying! For sure, C-section seems to be the general advice, but was thinking about stress states and where the body pulls energy from in those moments, which might make that decision even clearer for her.