High Risk Pregnancy ~ General Discussion and Support

[crumpet]

Hi Beema, I thought I would crash your thread lol. This will be my 4th High risk pgcy. The first was due to multpile m/c's, the second was the same but also due to the previous c/s, the 3rd Little V age came a problem as well as previous c/s's and finding out the reason I have had to be on Aspirin for the previous two pgcys. I am ANA positive. Also V had a high risk of DS, which you already know and had several u/s's to check on her heart etc.
Now comes to this one, still high risk, age, previous c/s's ANA positive, on Aspirin, maybe changed to clexane this pgcy due to Little V being so small full term as well as I have been told frequent u/s's to check on how bubs is doing, likely to be every month. Still not sure if that will be the case, as the Baby Dr's at the hospital havent said this yet, but the physcians have.
Im also not allowed to go into labour naturally, yet I would hope they will let me, but highly doubt it. They are worried about rupturing.
So here I am, have had the NT scan which almost wasnt a great result, but thankfully turned around, and now waiting for the 18wk scan to see how bub is doing.
So thats it for me atm, hopefully I get to enjoy the rest of this pgcy.

csab!! welcome here hun!!

u know what, i think the only perk to a high risk preg is the amount of scans we get!!! i love it, means we can see wormette regulary and i can relax knowing all is travelling along as well as we can expect!!!

Crumpet, woohoo on the cervix. I hope it keeps behaving for you and you get to have3 your stitch in 3 weeks time when the "good" assistant is back
AFM, I had some acupuncture and moxibustion this morning. mainly to see if it helps bub to turn but also I have a pinched nerve above my left buttock and sometimes it pinches really bad and stops me in my tracks. I'm going to have it every 2 weeks from now on and I'm also hoping the acupuncture helps with keeping my Bp at bay too.

thansk hun, im taking it easy so fingers crossed i keep some length in there to make my OBs job that little bit easier!!

ouch!! u poor thing!! i get that here and there and its sooo painful!! lucky we have a good friend who is a osteo so i call on her when im desperate to be able to move properly!! lol......
hope bub turns soon....

u have probably already herd about it but a lot of ppl recommend the spinning babies web site, personally ive never looked at it and havnt needed it, i delivered Gus breech, but im not sure it would be helpful for u??

Great news on the cervix length Crumpet!!! I gained some length betwen 12-16 weeks, then two big loses after that, another smaller loss and sitting jsut over 3.0cm atm with my next scan on Tuesday, so crossing my fingers we haven't lost any more length
AFM having confident and not so confident days, I think it gets worse as I approach each scan, and after I have done a few things around the hosue I then worry should I have not done that..... sigh....

thanks hun!!!
last preg i had a length increase while i was on rest during the 12-14 week mark so hopefully it either stays the same or grows a little bit more.....
oohh ill be thinking of u tuesday!!
my OB was telling me the general rule for IC is if anything is going to happen it will happen between 18-23 weeks, not sure if its true but hopefully thats the case and u are over that hurdle in the next week or so!!!

its such a hard ride a high risk preg..... i know what u mean about the confident and not so confident days, im feeling good atm, ask me again in 2 weeks before im in hospy and it might be a whole different story!!
and having a little person in the house would make it harder to rest, i honestly dont know hoe i would cope with all the resting if i had a child already......

AFM: am starting to adjust my life to rest more than i already do...
my OB is happy im home resting everyday, but ideally would like me to cull ad much actitity as possible over the next few weeks, which means even more for Dh to worry about which = me feeling guilty.....
so ive ordered my groceried online to be delivered, then DH doesnt have to do it after work and i dont have to wander the supermarket....
and ive planned my dinners to make sure its as little standing as possible, things like bologniase in the slow cooker, rissoles i can make sitting down, all that sort of stuff.....
then i only have to go to appts or the chemist for my usual million things!!

hope u have all had a great and un-eventful weekend!

[*Beema*]

Evening all!

thanks hun!!!
last preg i had a length increase while i was on rest during the 12-14 week mark so hopefully it either stays the same or grows a little bit more.....
oohh ill be thinking of u tuesday!!
my OB was telling me the general rule for IC is if anything is going to happen it will happen between 18-23 weeks, not sure if its true but hopefully thats the case and u are over that hurdle in the next week or so!!!

its such a hard ride a high risk preg..... i know what u mean about the confident and not so confident days, im feeling good atm, ask me again in 2 weeks before im in hospy and it might be a whole different story!!
and having a little person in the house would make it harder to rest, i honestly dont know hoe i would cope with all the resting if i had a child already......

That is interesting about the 18-23 week mark for IC, I haven't heard that before. My OB is going to keep monitoring mine, but not sure what she will do if the stitch goes in....

Another OB appointment in the morning, and TBH I am in two minds about it, I have just posted on my Blog my thoughts (link in my sig), but in short, it is darn risky to do a stitch now, and I am really concerned about the risks of doing it. I trust my OB and know that she will do everything to ensure that it goes smoothly but nothing is guarenteed.

In some ways I feel that if it has shortened to 2.5cm but isn't funnelling I would prefer to wait a week or two, not because I want to risk delivering and it shortening more, because I feel that if we are going to take the risk of putting in the stitch and should something go wrong, Flicker will have a better chance in a week or two if something went wrong than if we risked it now....

Hopefully we don't need to make such a huge decision..... ah just rambling along, been a long few days so I think I best be off to bed

No labour vibes and belly rubs all round

[crumpet]

Evening all!



That is interesting about the 18-23 week mark for IC, I haven't heard that before. My OB is going to keep monitoring mine, but not sure what she will do if the stitch goes in....

Another OB appointment in the morning, and TBH I am in two minds about it, I have just posted on my Blog my thoughts (link in my sig), but in short, it is darn risky to do a stitch now, and I am really concerned about the risks of doing it. I trust my OB and know that she will do everything to ensure that it goes smoothly but nothing is guarenteed.

In some ways I feel that if it has shortened to 2.5cm but isn't funnelling I would prefer to wait a week or two, not because I want to risk delivering and it shortening more, because I feel that if we are going to take the risk of putting in the stitch and should something go wrong, Flicker will have a better chance in a week or two if something went wrong than if we risked it now....

Hopefully we don't need to make such a huge decision..... ah just rambling along, been a long few days so I think I best be off to bed

No labour vibes and belly rubs all round

i havnt got to ur blog will do that in a sec......

do does ur OB want to do the stitch??? my OB likes to do them earlier than later, obviously, and for the same reasons u have mentioned....

are u on bed rest yet???

its prob very hard with miss N but i know i have to lay down where possible to take as much pressure off my cervix as possible, sitting is good, but not as good as laying down, and if u can elevate ur bottom on a angle, like feet in the air on a diagonal if that makes sense that will take even more pressure off, thats how i spent 7 days in hospy, doesnt seem like it but it was hard work!! i had the worst headache for days!!

fingers crossed u get some length back!!!

hope everyone else is well!!

[black_rose]

Crumpet I was in hospital two days last time and then going in for ctg monitoring three times a week and that was bad enough!

Good luck today Beema, would be hard to decide whether to wait a week or two or go ahead with a stitch now. I guess you can only trust your instincts and talk it through with your ob.

AFM the BH have eased again so they are following a pattern, so I am waiting for them to pick up again at the end of the week. I have lost some of my mucous plug every day since Saturday, but I remember reading that it reforms (I think that was you Beema). My next checkup is in a week, but at the moment I am not overly concerned about it, I don't think I will be making it to term though! I had all these same signs with dd2 for a few weeks too. With dd1 I have no idea, I was clueless as to what was happening, ignorance was bliss with her!

[crumpet]

Crumpet I was in hospital two days last time and then going in for ctg monitoring three times a week and that was bad enough!

Good luck today Beema, would be hard to decide whether to wait a week or two or go ahead with a stitch now. I guess you can only trust your instincts and talk it through with your ob.

AFM the BH have eased again so they are following a pattern, so I am waiting for them to pick up again at the end of the week. I have lost some of my mucous plug every day since Saturday, but I remember reading that it reforms (I think that was you Beema). My next checkup is in a week, but at the moment I am not overly concerned about it, I don't think I will be making it to term though! I had all these same signs with dd2 for a few weeks too. With dd1 I have no idea, I was clueless as to what was happening, ignorance was bliss with her!

oh i know 7 days of hanging by my feet nearly killed me, and the thought of being there for what could have been 8 weeks nearly killed me!!!
thankfully for my stitch ill be in 2-3 days for the op and then monitoring at my OBs request and then all going to plan that will be the only admission......knowing my luck ill be in and out, things seem to happen that way for me!!!

so glad ur BH have settled hun!!! just saw ur ticker, nearly 33 weeks!! ur doing so so well!!!! not long to go now!!!! i to have herd that ur plug can re-grow! it was on here i read it but im not sure where!!

[glamachic]

hi ladies,

im quite new "posting" around here, although i have been reading lots of the information on this FANTASTIC website.

i just wanted to ask a question in relation to this high-risk business.

how did our parents and grand parents do it? i know my mum didnt have any ultrasounds throught both her pregnancies, and she was over weight!!

why is it all of a sudden that we have the bmi (fat) issue and blood pressure issue.

my mum was overweight and gave birth to both me and my brother with a naturopath in 1978 and 1981.

i am just on 14 weeks pregnant, and i have been told by my doctor that i have to lose weight but not from strict dieting, just have to watch what i eat and do some walking daily, and that i am prone to high blood pressure.

how does this make me different from my mum? was blood pressure different back then? or was fat different?

i dont get it!

help!

[black_rose]

Hi glamachic, I am overweight but it's not the reason I have been classed as high risk, my ob never takes my weight as my blood work and blood pressure is perfect. Last time with the gestational diabetes I was watched to make sure I wasn't losing too much weight because of the restricted diet. I am a private patient so that could be why my bmi has never been an issue? I know there are few threads about public hospitals turning away woman with a bmi over 30.

[glamachic]

public hospitals turning patients away....no wonder i hate them!

i have no private health and even if i did i wouldnt want to see an OB, they do my head in.

i trust my body and i have full faith in my baby and that if i eat healthy my blood pressure will stay down.

i am convinced doctors are idiots.

after seeing "the business of being born" i am opting for home birth!

[Sally2]

Ooooh, great thread idea Beema!

We have been on bed rest from 24 weeks to 30 weeks in Melbourne due to a shortened cervix ( 1.7cm at 24 weeks down to 0.7 at 26 weeks ) and previous pre term labour DS born at 28 weeks.
It's been a hell of a long road, we are at quite a comfortable 33 weeks now, but have been seperated from each other and DS for the last ten weeks, with Sal ( tummy mummy ) in hospital or living in a caravan as she is only allowed to be 15 mins from a tertiary care hospital until this baby is born. Our home town doesn't even have a birthing facilities at the hospital and the nearest bigger hopsital is 45 mins away so going home wasn't a good option.
In hopsital, she was on lots of drugs to try and hold off labour, progesterone & Nifedipine, plus blood thinning drugs to prevent blood clots from not being allowed to walk around, vitamin D because of no sunlight and sleeping tablets, cause sharing a room with ante nates for 6 weeks with crying newborns makes sleeping hard!! Since coming out at 30 weeks, she has been weaned off all of them, with the result that she has been having contractions for nearly FOUR weeks!!! Only last night, we were in the birthing suite because they thought this baby was coming soon!
The contractions have been getting stronger and more regular, when we went in to our appointment last Tuesday she was 1cm dilated with a 'sloppy' cervix, no change for the next few days but increasing intensity with contractions. On Sunday night in ED when they checked, she was 3cm with bulging membranes so they put her in overnight. Contractions all night, irrregular but strong so not much sleep to be had. From 1pm yesterday afternoon, she had regular 3 & 4 minute contractions, quite intense but not so bad she couldn't manage without drugs ( though my wife has an incredible pain threshold ) but as they didn't stop, they moved her to birth suite about 6.30pm saying they would do an internal down there. She was in quite a bit of pain by this stage but confined to bed because of the monitors and given panadeine forte to try and take the edge off and we were just waiting it out to see when this little man was making his appearance.
They didn't do an internal until 11.30pm, even though we'd asked for one before we were moved to birth suite, and found it to be EXACTLY THE SAME! 3cm, bulging membranes. I know it's crazy, as we are still 7 weeks early, but we were soooo upset that this wasn't going to happen in the near future. Our whole lives have been flipped upside down for the last 10 weeks, our son is at home being cared for by his Nana at the moment, we don't get to see him more than once a week as I can't leave Sal alone for any length of time and Nana can't drive in Melbourne so I drive back up there, pick them both up, they stay in the caravan for a couple of days and then I take them back again. It's been really, really hard and as much as we would have loved our full term take home bubba, we made our peace with not being able to have that a long time ago. What we want is two healthy little boys at home and if both our kids have to journey through NICU or special care to get there, then thats how it is. At the moment though, our 19 month old is missing out on both of his Mum's and his little brother should be just fine being born at 33 weeks with no other problems such as IUGR. Sal has been soo strong through this whole thing, making such a huge sacrifice to get our baby boy to this point, where if he's born, he will be okay, and we just want it to be over.

Thanks for reading girls, just really needed to vent to people who don't take it for granted that all pregnancies are straightforward affairs & that everyone gets a take home baby.

Looking forward to following your journeys

[crumpet]

sally ive been following ur story with great intrest!!!

so glad ot hear things are going well, but wow what a situation!!
i bet u guys will be glad when its all over and ur little one is here!!!
have they given u a indication of how much longer this will go on for??

the staff at the mercy are fab, we couldnt fault them when i was there

[csab]

Thanks for the welcome ladies. As soon as I get a chance I will be more actively involved with everyones discussions.

Sally - I was only reading your thread yesterday about Sally being on bedrest since 24wks. I was so excited for you thinking that you were about to meet your little man. She has done terrifically getting your little bubba boy to 33wks, well you both have. Being away from your little one at home would be so hard, I know how hard it can be. It doesnt sound like it will be too long until your little man will arrive, how exciting. What a road you both have travelled. Thankyou for sharing yours and Sally's story, Im so sorry you havent been able to have an easy time of it. I cant wait to hear the BA of your precious little man that is being so eager to meet his mummy's. Hugs


Well today had my hospital appt with the physcians, well ended up having to see the endocologist or something like that as well, as they have now said that I have an under active thyroid So now on thyroid medication. At least I dont need to go on the clexane, will be keeping on taking the aspirin instead, and have been advised should definately be 4-6wkly u/s's to check up on bubs.
So now have my next appt in 2wks with the OB and the physician then 2wks later have to go back in for a BT then the following day back to see the endocologist. So yippee for me. Not.... lol.
So thats it for me for now. Hope everyone is doing well, and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day to catch up with everyone. hugs

Beema - I hope all went well today. Hugs

Crumpet - So happy to be in here with you too, I hope all turns out well when you go in and have the stitch done. Know that I am here for you. hugs

[black_rose]

Crumpet I have to change my ticker!! It's out by 6 days, so I am 32 weeks tomorrow, my hospital will take me from now on though.

Csab, thinking of you the things we go through to hold our little ones. Hope they can sort out the thyroid.

Sally I have been reading your thread too, was hoping to see a BA this morning. Will they put her back on the nefidipine, or help her along? I was on it for two weeks and it didn't stop the contractions. Hope you will be home with your two boys soon, I feel the same about having a 33 wk baby if I go into pre term labour I would have to seriously think about what to do, having a premmie in scn or stuck at home on bed rest trying to find someone to watch the girls, esp since the meds didn't stop the contractions too well.

[*Beema*]

Good evening girls

Update from my OB appointment today, I updated my blog but didn't get back on here

My cervix grew by 0.5cm so we are back out to 3.6cm , which is just awesome news!!!

Flicker has shifted, cheeky little on and is now transverse/breech position, but as I know Flicker can go head down I am less concerned than I was a few weeks ago when it was thought it was going to be a bigger issue.

The placenta is still small, but Flicker is growing, so we will be monitoring Flickers growth later on in the pregnancy, my OB said we aren't out of the woods yet, but we should take this time and hopefully we will have a few weeks to enjoy the pregnancy.

My fundal height was bang on 23 weeks, which was lovely as with DD at 24 weeks I was measuring 30 weeks and it was the start of Polyhydrominous (excess amniotic fluid), my fluid levels have remained stable as well after looking very low for a few weeks there, so hopefully they won't become an issue from here on in.

The great thing is that throughout the whole pregnancy my BP has remained relatively stable!

i havnt got to ur blog will do that in a sec......

do does ur OB want to do the stitch??? my OB likes to do them earlier than later, obviously, and for the same reasons u have mentioned....

are u on bed rest yet???

its prob very hard with miss N but i know i have to lay down where possible to take as much pressure off my cervix as possible, sitting is good, but not as good as laying down, and if u can elevate ur bottom on a angle, like feet in the air on a diagonal if that makes sense that will take even more pressure off, thats how i spent 7 days in hospy, doesnt seem like it but it was hard work!! i had the worst headache for days!!

fingers crossed u get some length back!!!

hope everyone else is well!!

My OB has said that she would do one if I kept shortening, but sooo happy today that it went out to 3.6cm such awesome news my OB was really surprised and very very happy as was I !! I have been doing plenty of rest, but I am not on bed rest, but no lifting (which is really easy with a toddler ) and not doing too much generally. I still have another check in two weeks on the length but today my OB said that it was unlikely that she would do the stitch now, unless we had some drastic changes. We will just go with the Progesterone and the Nifedipine, I have had cramps but the BH's have been at bay for a few days now so hopfully along with my cervix everything settles for a while.

Crumpet I was in hospital two days last time and then going in for ctg monitoring three times a week and that was bad enough!

Good luck today Beema, would be hard to decide whether to wait a week or two or go ahead with a stitch now. I guess you can only trust your instincts and talk it through with your ob.

AFM the BH have eased again so they are following a pattern, so I am waiting for them to pick up again at the end of the week. I have lost some of my mucous plug every day since Saturday, but I remember reading that it reforms (I think that was you Beema). My next checkup is in a week, but at the moment I am not overly concerned about it, I don't think I will be making it to term though! I had all these same signs with dd2 for a few weeks too. With dd1 I have no idea, I was clueless as to what was happening, ignorance was bliss with her!

I am glad your BH's have settled again, hopefully they go away for a while for you, is there anything that you think you are doing different which is causing them to ramp up? It was me that poted it, it was something my OB said to me and I actually rechecked it with her today, but if it is larger then to be more concerned, but also keep in mind that one of our fellow BB'ers lost bits of plug a similar size to you and ended up delivery her bub very early, but she is doing well and praying that it continues that way, so I guess it isn't the best indicator about labour..... The pieces I lost with N weren't very big, and were very sporadic, weeks appart, and I haven't lost any for quite a few weeks now which is good! I totally get you with the ignorances is bliss, I feel it can be quite an overload sometimes looking out for signs....

YAY Sally for finding us!! I am just amazed how your family has gone for the last 10 weeks, I can completely see why Sal would be so exhausted by now, how long do you think they will let her go? 34 weeks is almost here, such a completely awsome effort to go the extra 10 weeks, it has made such a difference to your little boy!!! We bought DD home at 35 weeks 1 day, and I can tell you it was pretty bloddy scary, but I know that this time it wouldn't be so scary, having been there before! I hope the BA isn't too far away, and that your little man's stay in hospital would be short! Thankyou so much for sharing your journey I can imagine it must have been so very difficult but truely inspirational!!!

Csab your appointment list is like mine! It can be crazy and overwhealming, your pregnancy seems to be flying by so quickly to me now! I hope the thyroid medication does what it needs to, my mum had hers out halfway through her pregnancy with me, I can't remember which way it was, but it is sooo much better they can treat it with meds now!

Hi Glamchic and welcome to BB, I can't answer your specific questions in relation to BMI, but like Black_Rose has said a lot of hospitals have changed their policies, on what constitutes a high risk pregnancy, I hope that you can keep your BP under control with healthy eating and exercise

Well I am off to enjoy my pregnancy for the evening, take care xxoo

[black_rose]

Beema that's the odd thing, Friday and Saturday's I get to relax a bit or just potter around the house with dh home. Will keep an eye on the plug thing but can't see anyone until tuesday anyway.

That's great news for you that your cervix has lengthened, having a normal Bp and measuring spot on 23 weeks. Enjoy the next few week!

[crumpet]

beema awsome news hun!!!



wish mine would grow that long!!!

when i was in hospyi was being fed nifedapine like it was going out of fashion!! it works though!!
when i go in fot my stitch ill be put on that to keep things calm so fingers crossed it does its job!!

what a fantastic appt u had!!!

had to laugh at no lifting with a toddler!! real wasy im sure!!

[~mamaspice~]

girls!

It's so good to hear that everyone is travelling along nicely ATM. for an uneventful next few weeks for all of us!

Beema, awesome news on the cervix lengthening.

My BSL readings still appear to be okay although I still am having a highish fasting reading every now and then. I've been monitoring my BP and it's been okay still too although sometimes it's getting to be at the higher end of the normal range so I fear i's starting to creep up (it did after 30 weeks with my first preg too) And paranoid me has just ordered some of the urinalysis dip sticks to monitor my protein levels. ( I just have a funny feeling about it) and I should get those tomorrow.

PS: Sally, what a journey you've had. Hopefully your little man will be safetely in your arms soon. Sally has done so well to bake him for this long!

[black_rose]

MammaSpice I hated the unexplained high fasting levels, a bad night sleep can make them higher.

Crumpet anyone who asks a mum with a toddler not to lift with a toddler is crazy! I was lucky that dd1 is a climber, I could get her to climb up onto the change table for me but she still needed cuddles and to picked up sometimes.

I have just realised that the only one who knows I am classed as high risk IRL would be DH. I was talking to my dad's wife last night and she was freaking out about my cough there is no way I could tell her, my mum is a bit of a hypochonriac - any illness is worst case scenario and my MIL would just stress out wayy to much. So I am living this thread as a place to talk about it as even DH doesn't always get it.

I am excited to have made it to 32 weeks, my next goal is Monday as I am taking DD1 to Disney on Ice, and after that I want to get to July 21st so I can celebrate DD1's birthday I think having mini targets might make it easier.

I haven't had any BH today which is great, so fingers crossed they don't hit again tomorrow.

[crumpet]

so i had my scan today instead of wendsnesday next week and.....

girls u need to take a seat for this one!!!


MY CERVIX IS ........... 3.3CM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


so its oviously grown which is awsome so no hospital visit until i go in for my stitch!!!

my placenta is low which for me is great coz its a cushion between baby and my cervix so its taking some of the pressure away and it will stop my waters buldging if my cervix starts to act up in then ext 10days!!!!

am so so so happy!!!!

hope everyone else is going ok!!!

beema saw ur post on FB hope ur taking it as wasy as possible hun...