Med and Pregnancy

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! I am sorry you have had such an ordeal.

As another person had indicated, giving your body time to heal after a cesarean is a good thing. Personally, I think trying to avoid major surgery the second time by trying a VBAC might be in your best interest health wise. Pregnancy is hard on your body, add major abdominal surgery to it than you are increasing your risks. Being pregnant, you have increased risks of venous thromboembolism compared to a non pregnant women even without a history of blood clots. Women who undergo repeat cesareans are at an even greater risk of thromboembolisms.

If you are wanting to space your children close together because you are choosing to have a large family know that there are limit to the number of cesareans that you can have. Each cesarean carries increased risks. The first one is not so risky. Later ones are incredibly risky particularly for the mother. The greater the number of cesareans the greater amount of scar tissue. This can lead to placental problems which can affect your future pregnancies and your baby's health.

If you are considering a VBAC with the second, some research indicates that a time frame between 19 and 24 months between births (depending upon the research) is enough time for your body to heal to decrease the chances of uterine rupture.

If you want more information on Cesarean recovery or VBAC support, check out the International Cesarean Awareness Network webite - www.ican-online.org/. There are local chapters in St. Louis and Kansas City.

From a parenting standpoint, I had my children 19 months apart; cesarean with first; VBAC with second. This was incredibly hard the first couple of years but got better as they got older (2 1/2 and 4) and learned to play well together. Obviously the choices each person makes should be what is right for their individual family situation. I was older when I had my children - 37 with my first, 39 with my VBAC, so I didn't want to wait too long. Had I been younger I would have spaced my children a little differently. You may have family issues which necessitate close spacing as well.

Another resource is the March of Dimes http://www.marchofdimes.com; they may have some information on the affects of warfarin on pregnancy.

Best of luck with all your decisions.

2 moms found this helpful

I have a blood clotting disorder and my dr. put me on heparin injections for the full term of my pregnancy. I just gave myself injections twice daily - It was easy and safe for the baby... You should ask if that would be a possibility for you instead of the warfarin, which I think is a much more potent drug...

I don't know about birth defects or anything, but you should be fine to take folic acid/prenatals with it at least.

I would wait at least a year after c-section to try for another baby. That will give you more time to heal and more time with your new baby. I had 3 c-sections and have a lot of scar tissue and adhesions that are still quite painful and youngest is 9 years old now. I know my body can't handle having more children. oldest 2 are 3 years apart, miscarried next one which would have been 3 years from the 2nd and was blessed with our last child which is 5 years younger than 2nd baby. As for the meds you are taking you need to ask your doctor as I have no advice for you there.
My niece and nephew are 15 months apart and feel the oldest got cheated out of her special baby years and had to grow up fast as the 2nd child had a lot of medical problems and was in and out of the hospital a lot his first 4 years so she was at the hospital a lot sitting in waiting rooms and not being home a lot. My sis-in-law was also very tired and cranky with the 2nd pregnancy so she didn't have the energy to spend special time with the oldest as she had to take more naps.

Warfarin is not safe during pregnancy!!!!!! It is pregnancy category X which means highly unsafe. I am sure your doctor will tell you this if you ask....I would wait at least a month off the med before attempting to conceive, and would take whatever measures needed to make sure there are no OOPS while you are on the drug.

Hi S.,

Congratulations on the birth of your son! They are such a joy, as you know.
Regarding the blood clot, were you tested for the many blood clotting disorders (such as Factor V Leiden, APCr, prothrombin mutation, hyperhomocysteinemia, and others)? If you have one, then you probably would be seen by a high-risk doctor and given anticoagulants (likely heparin or lovenox) during pregnancy and for at least 6 weeks after delivery. They will not want you to be on warfarin during pregnancy. I have Factor V Leiden (my first was stillborn at 38 weeks) and took heparin or lovenox in subsequent pregnancies, which were successful. If you have not been tested, I would strongly encourage you to ask your doctor to test you. If you are interested in more information, there's a group called "Factor V Leiden and Pregnancy Issues" at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/FVL-PG/ . This group is for people with any kind of thrombophilia as it relates to pregnancy issues. You are free to join and just lurk, or ask questions. There are currently over 2800 members. I started this group 10 years ago.
Good luck to you and your family. Feel free to email me directly if you think I can help in any way.

-K.

I would give yourself some time after you get off the warfarin before you try getting pregnant. Give your body time to get the meds out before trying to get preggers again. It can take a while for some of those meds to get completely out of your system. On the safe side I would wait a few months after stopping the med before I would try to get preggers. Good luck in the future!

patience is the key! Allow yourself a few months...med-free & time to fully heal ....before trying for conception.

From a timeline standpoint, if you're on Warfarin for another 3-4 months....then add on another 3 months to cleanse your body - that would put you at the beginning of next year, with delivery in September/October. That's only 18 months between children!

Not bad timing....& allows for that special bonding time between you & your firstborn. On another thought, will he require surgery - will it be only one - & will you have time for two babies so close together? Lots of things to think about! I wish you Peace.

My friend had a large blood clot in her leg during her pregnancy and had to be on Lovenox injections while pregnant and then was switched to heparin injections as her due date got closer because it's quicker to reverse if she bled a lot during labor.

Then after she delivered, she was switched to Coumadin/Warfarin. So I'm assuming since she had to give herself SHOTS twice a day when she was pregnant, that the less invasive pill was not safe for the baby. So if you need to stay on a blood thinner, you could ask your Dr about getting the Lovenox shots to give yourself. I heard they are very expensive though.

Good luck

First of all, please talk to your OB before starting to try for baby #2. I think pretty much all OBs will tell you to wait for at least 1 year to 18 months before trying for another baby after a c-section. Even after a vaginal birth most doctors recommend waiting 1 year. The toll pregnancy and delivery takes on your body is great, not to mention the extra healing time a c-section requires.

I don't have any experience with that medication, so I can't comment on that. However, I'd recommend talking to your doctor about this too. I know I wouldn't want to take that risk.

I wouldn't try getting pregnant while taking this medication,make sure that you are well and are able to carry another child so close after just having a baby in March.I would wait a yr or more till I have another one your body needs time to heal all your organs mental health and hormones need to go back I wouldn't say normal but give your body some time off.Some women do get prenant after or before their 6 week check up and go on to have a healthy prenancy.