Blood Thinners During Pregnancy

Hi! I do not know if this helps but I had a miscarriage before my first pregancy. Then my doctor tested me for cardio lipid protein antigen - the tendency for the blood to clot . He was very conserative and recommended I take an baby aspirin evry other day. My 3 pregancies went fine and I no longer have the antigen. Good luck!

Hi R.....I don't know if this will help, but my sister is attempting to get pregnant and while she does not have a heart arrythmia, she has suffered from blood clots 3x in her life (she is only 30). Therefore, her ob/gyn has told her for years that she would need to be placed on heprin which is a blood thinner and does not cross the placental barrier. It sounds as if your doctors are right on and while your pregnancy is considered high risk, it simply means they are right on top of things and there is no reason to believe that this pregnancy will not result in a healthy birth for you.
I can't imagine how it must have been for you in October, but I do believe in an awesome and faithful God who will see you through this one. Keep the faith and may God bless you in this most awesome time.
A little about me....I am almost 37 and just delievered a beautiful, healthy baby boy on Saturday, 2-23-08. I have an awesome 8 yr old as well and had an extremely high risk pregnancy with him. Good luck and let me know how things are going. God bless---T.

Do you understand what the 'arythmias' are? He's saying that your heart is beating somewhat irregularly, and therefore some blood pools in one chamber of the heart ...when that happens, it can start to clot. They are concerned that the clot will then get pumped out of your heart and travel somewhere in your body to create a blockage: in your brain , that would be a stoke, if it's in a leg, it is deep vein thrombosis, if it goes to the uterus, it could hurt the baby.

It seems to me that your doctors have done exactly as they ought: if you have a cardiologist, then you've had heart problems before, and a high risk group will have dealt with these problems before, rather than being with a 'regular' OB who hasn't had the experience. In medical matters, almost the most important variable is the doctor's experience with difficulties: if they have done thousands of procedures with very few complications, then they are a far better bet than the doctor who sees only one of such patients per month.

I'm not a doctor, I just read a lot, and had my own issues with high blood pressure during my pregnancies, but it seems to me the best thing you can do is to get the doctors at your 'high risk group' to give you an appointment just for talking, or to ask for extra time for your next appointment. Tell them that you aren't trying to run things, but you need to understand. Ask about the risks, ask about the side effects, ask about danger signs and instructions of what to do 'in case'.Get them to tell you the actual percentages of risk: I often thought early on that while the dangers I was facing were catastrophic, they couldn't be that likely....and that I'd let them convince me to have a c section unnecessarily. I later understood, that, no, it wasn't unnecessary: the risk in my case *was* too high. Knowing that has made me much more content with the decisions I made.

Good luck.

Dear R., I was with similar problem in my three gestations, and the arythmias are typical of this condition of blood thinner. Don,t fear, relax.The doctor will give, Iron to up the blood, because you are begginin your pregnancy, and you will need too, to eat food source of Iron like: beans, lentel, spinac, grape juice, prunes, etc, plus your medic. Be carefully yourself, think in you and your baby.God bless you. M..

I have a blood condition, Factor V Linden, which casued a miscarriage. So, I had to give myself blood thinner injections throughout my entire pregnancy. I was very nervous about having to give myself the injections everyday. But I can tell you I have a Beautiful and HEALTH 1o month old baby girl.

I am 36, this is my first child.

My daughter in law took blood thinners --heparin shots during her pregancy and all worked out with carrying and delivering healthy babies. She also went to a high rish doctors. Arrythmias need coumadin or other blood thinner to make the heart resume a proper rhythm and prevent blood clots. You can find out more on the med help .org and most of all ask your doctor questions until he gives you and explains your medical condition. Write down your questions before you visit him so you can clarify things .

Hi rebeca!

Well my youngest sister after having a miscarriage of twins 4 yrs ago and then another miscarriage a yr 1/2 afterwoods she had several test done they told her she develops blood clots and needed to take blood thinners and also her uterus was to soft and that those were the reasons for her miscarriages.
Finally got pregnant after trying and trying, well she went to a high risk doctor here in miami his name is dr. Burkette excelent dr. He gave her blood thinners she needed to onject every day and also a med. To strengthen her uterus, well she has a lovely boy of 6 months now and as weird as it may sound she is almost 4 months pregnant again we say its a miracle baby because she had 4 yrs trying to get pregnat and now she is taking blood thinners again and the other med.

So dont be scared if thats what u need to do, just think positive and dont stress yourself its not good for u or the baby, good luck and god bless.

R., I don't have any advice for you, but just wanted to wish you Good Luck! I had my first, and only child, at your age - it's such a blessing!

Hi R.,

I'll be 9 weeks tomorrow. I am also on Blood thinners due to a blood clotting disorder that was discovered after my first miscarriage. Not fun - I have to ingect myself daily for the durantion of my pregnancy and 6 weeks after birth. How long do you have to be on it? A little about me: I've been married for a little over a year and this is our first baby. we're vey excited. It's been a long stressful journey but we're here and very happy. This is my 3rd try with in-vetro fertilization and thank goodness it was successful. So far so good - I already saw the heartbeat - that's what make those shots bearable. Hang in there. This is my personal email incase you ever want to chat or just vent ____@____.com. Congrats on your pregnancy. L.

hello and congrats on the pregnancy! i am the mother of three as well as an ER nurse so i hope what i share can set your mind at ease. during both of my pregnancies (the second one was with twins) i had an arrythmia which i still have now. the reason behind the blood thinners (coumadin? heparin?) is because with an arrythmia, you have an increase in the possiblility of forming a blood clot. unfortunately, pregnancy in itself is also a risk factor for forming a blood clot, so the double risk is why your doctor wants you on blood thinners. where as the above may sound scary, it is quite common and the blood thinners are just a precaution. what you need to remember is to take care of yourself, follow your doctor's instructions and ENJOY this special time in your life. it will all be worth it! and as for being "high risk", i was with my second pregnancy and it actually was great because i had frequent ultrasounds and saw the doctor quite often (which is always reassuring). so again, take care and enjoy. holler back if you have any questions! good luck!