doctor reccomended baby aspirin- sorry, long read

[stellababy]

they did an antibody blood test on me and it came back slightly elevated on one type of antibodies. now, the doctor is recommending once a day baby aspirin. her reasoning is that i had a prior 20 week loss that happened 5 years ago, so it wouldn't hurt.

now, i also had carried 2 kids full term with no issues. my previous doctor (who is no longer available to me) treated my sons pregnancy as regular as she said it was probably a fluke, my loss. and he was fine.

i really hate pills and would hate to subject my unborn baby to drugs if its not needed. do i really have to take this? the docs attitude was, oh just to be safe, your level is "slightly elevated" but not medically significant.

any advice?

 

[Scout]

Idk. I took a baby aspirin throughout my entire pregnancy with dd, but I had 3 miscarriages prior to her and no healthy pregnancies. My OB was like yours and said it couldn't hurt and might help. You, however, have had 2 healthy pregnancies since the loss, so I'm not understanding the reasoning, tbh. Can you get a second opinion from another OB? Your situation is different than mine was so I really don't know what I'd do. Sorry, wish I could be more helpful.

 

[Mummafrog]

I understand your feelings and you need to weigh up the pros and cons for yourself, perhaps research baby aspirin in pregnancy, look at the NICE guidelines.

I'm also advised to take it for bmi as supposedly high bmi gives you a higher risk of blood clots and miscarriage and the very minor blood thinning effect of the low dose aspirin is thought to reduce both.
I am reluctant to take meds too, even avoid paracetamol.. but the research behind baby aspirin seems pretty robust. I'm advised to stop it at 36 weeks so my blood isn't still thinner when I give birth.. because that wouldn't be good
Good luck with your decision xx

 

[SonnyH]

A second opinion might not hurt if you can get one easily? but I'd personally probably go on the better to be safe than sorry route I guess. I'm not against medication in pregnancy though. I'm still taking ondanestron, ranitidine and laxido daily! The latter two are considered totally safe in pregnancy, the anti-sickness is less certain. But it stops me throwing up every meal and getting dehydrated. So better to stay well in my opinion. I tend to trust my doctors opinion, perhaps rightly or wrongly!

 

[Mrs Dragonfly]

If it would make you feel better, maybe getting a second opinion would be beneficial. Or do serious research on baby aspirin yourself.

Currently I'm on a baby aspirin daily for lowering my risk of pre-eclampsia happening again this pregnancy.

 

[blessedmomma]

I'm on baby aspirin for this pregnancy. I have 8 children and 5 losses. 1 on the way. I have had healthy pregnancies a few times and have also had pregnancies where I had a bleed or clots under the placenta. I almost lost one baby from it and barely got induced in time at 37 weeks before he would have passed away. His placenta was pulling away. And my last baby I lost due to the same thing at 15 weeks. The thing with antibody problems is that they are unpredictable. In the same woman you can have all healthy pregnancies, all miscarriages, or a mix of both. I chose not to take any chances.

 

[stellababy]

Thank you all. I will ask for a second opinion, I think. I have an appt with my regular ob in two weeks and see what she says. The aspirin recommendation came from the maternal fetal medicine department where they do tests.
My BMI and blood pressure are normal at this point.
I just stay away from all pills , especially in pregnancy. The thought of taking 6 months of pills terrifies me!

 

[misspriss]

I had severe pre-eclampisa with my first, so I was put on baby aspirin from 13 weeks with my second. I did not develope pre-eclampsia again. Second is healthy, even more so than my first. I will be put on baby aspirin again with this pregnancy as well and will be taking it.

You can get a second opinion, but I would take your doctor's opinion seriously. Maternal Fetal Medicine doctors generally have more training than "regular OBs" and I would place their recommendation higher.

I also avoid medicine, but I am not afraid to take medicine that my doctor instructs me to.

 

[CatchBabyDust]

i hate putting drugs in me if unnecessary too!! Especially if i'm pregnant.. i am on baby asprin and also progesterone .. i didnt want to take neither.. I've had a miscarriage before and after DD thats why the dr prescribed to me these two.. I was torn between taking them or not.. then i just listened to my dr and hoping for the best because i did have two miscarriages ! Knowing more about baby asprin now, so many pregnant women take them.. A friend of mine took them from week 6-week 29 or something...her child is well and healthy.. Just praying for the best!! Hopefully theres no harm

 

[CLF]

I have been prescribed aspirin 75mg as I had pre-eclampsia with my first baby and it has been given as a preventive measure to keep blood thin and veins open.