Calling all high risk mamas.

twointow83

I figured we could get a thread going so we can chat through the turbulence that can sometime be in a high-risk pregnancy.

I am going to the perinatologist on Monday to outline a plan of action during this pregnancy. I was high risk in my last preg, but I am higher risk this time so they want to outline a plan at the very beginning as opposed to last time where I just went there for one 3D u/s. This time they mentioned I may get a prenatal MRI since my youngest was born with a cyst in his brain that wasn't seen on u/s. But I don't think he will be my regular OB, just additional support. I'll find out more on Monday.

I am considered high risk because:
1. I lost my second child due to an ONTD called Anencephaly and a severe congenital heart defect.

2. My third child had too much amniotic fluid, was macrocephalic (big head) and macrosomic (big in general- born 9 lbs 3 oz and they had to use a suction cup to get him out during c-section because he was wedged in so tightly). He also had a congenital brain cyst that we didn't learn about until he was 2.

3. I have malabsorption issues. In other words, I may eat they right food and take the right supplements but that doesn't mean I will absorb everything I need. I had a vitamin and mineral panel ran just before I found out I was pregnant and my levels were perfect, I just pray they will stay that way!

What about you all? Do you all know what to expect as far as how your pregnancy will be monitored? Will you be seeing a specialist? Exclusively or as support? Why are you considered high-risk? Do share

SomedayInMyArms

I am so sorry for your loss and all that you have been through. I am glad you have a plan forming and doctors around you that are willing to help and keep you prepared, 

I am monitored closely because of previous losses. I have had 5 miscarriages, 4 of them ranging between 4-5 weeks and 1 going to 6-7 weeks. The dates were off because I measured right at 5 weeks during an ultrasound, but I should have been about 6 1/2 based on ovulation. I have never experienced a loss late in the pregnancy, so I do not know how long I will be monitored.

I go to a reproductive endocrinologist. I had every test ran with almost everything coming back normal. I have raised FSH (12) for being only 26 and I have elevated natural killer cells. Basically my RE believes my body attacks the baby before the pregnancy can progress. I had to have an infusion of intralipids (fats like soy and egg) at ovulation and again 4 weeks later (at about 5 1/2 weeks). I have had my HCG tested and progesterone levels checked. I also took Clomid to hopefully help with the elevated FSH and this was my second cycle using it. 

I am also getting ultrasounds weekly and will have my second on Tuesday. My first was at 5w4d and we saw the gestational sac and yolk sac. My doctor told me that is exactly what he would expect to see at that stage. 

I am hoping once I am out of the 1st trimester I will feel better about this pregnancy, but every day is a challenge for me. All of my losses have happened around this time or earlier. I feel like I am just waiting for something to happen. So far I have been okay, but not having very many symptoms drives me crazy. I really only have sore/swollen boobs and cramping off and on. I haven't felt sick really at all, so that scares me because I have never made it to a point where I feel sick. I know it is silly to want morning sickness, but I really do just to feel better. 

twointow83

@SomedayInMyArms (((HUGS))) for your losses. I nearly went batcrap crazy over my one loss.. I  can only imagine multiple. (((((MORE HUGS))))) Wow! You really have a lot to contend with! Forgive my ignorance but I have never heard of that... will you have to do all that the whole preg? Or will your body figure out its a baby at some point and stop attacking??

I will be 5 w 4 d on monday and get my first ultrasound on  Monday, and they told me over the phone basically the same thing. They said 5w4d is right on the cusp so we may see a heartbeat, but more than likely it'll just be the gest and yolk sacs. Then I have another u/s at 7w 5d.

I am no expert but I think you will. With my last pregnancy I was semi-ok with first tri because I never had any losses or even any threat of losses during that time so I was more ok than not, but I struggled with the fear more than I liked. The day I hit 2nd trimester panic set in. We had lost him (based on size and guestimations) around 17-18 weeks  and didn't find out until the big gender u/s. the closer I got to the gender u/s the more panicked I became and the day of the u/s I was a nervous wreck and asked the u/s to look for the heartbeat before anything else. My worry became less instantly. We had passed the danger zone and we could see very well tht he was still in there kicking and having a good time... something the one we lost never did... he just kinda floated around not moving much. BUT I didn't feel completely safe until we had the 3D u/s and could see that his head was normal shaped (Anen babies have flat heads). So I was able to enter my 3rd tri with hope. I still couldn't wait for him to be out, so I could see he was safe every minute, but I felt a lot better after that. I think it will work the same for you. I think once you are out of YOUR danger zone that you will feel a lot better!

imfunsizeniki

I am high risk for a couple reasons.
1. My husband is a carrier for a rare chromosome imbalance. It has caused six 1st trimester miscarriages and 2 infant losses.

2. The unhealthy babies I carried past the 1st tri caused pre-term labor and delivery. So now even if I were carrying a healthy baby I won't likely make it to 40 weeks since my body no longer thinks a pregnancy is 40 weeks.

I receive early u/s to confirm a heartbeat, and then a level 2 u/s at 16 weeks with an amino to check the health of the baby. The results of that u/s and amino determine how closely monitored I am the rest of my pregnancy. I will also start weekly progesterone shots at 16 weeks to try and stave off pre-term labor as long as possible.

twointow83

oh, and as far as morning sickness, I kinda get it. I have had a few issues with my tummy NOT liking what I eat, but no real sickness. Kinda seems weird to me because I have had some degree of it with every preg so I was a bit worried... not that I am AT ALL looking forward to it, but in my first preg, when I was so sick that just sitting up would send me on a mad dash to the bathroom, my OB said that it was a sign that everything is good with the preg. So, that always kinda stuck with me. Anyway, I was a bit worried until I remembered that it normally doesn't hit until about week 7.... just a few more days away. Not looking forward to it, hoping for a really mild case, but it will help me know things are progressing normally.... then again not getting it might be a sign I am having a girl since I was sick with all my boys But I get it, just be careful what you wish for.... it is often the worst the first time because it is the first time your body have experienced that level of hormones, and I kinda think it freaks out lol. Not in every woman, but in a lot.

Marchmellow2

I think I'm high risk but I'm not sure. I haven't seen a doctor yet because they just don't see a reason I'd need to until 8-12 weeks along. Maybe I need to see a new doc?? The reasons I would be high risk are:

1) I had DS 6 weeks early

2) I had a in miscarriage in 2007

3) I had Preeclamsia after delivering DS in 2013.

I just want to give you all ((HUGS)). Sending you all major positive vibes!

Marchmellow2

I am so sorry @SomedayInMyArms for all your losses! I can't imagine what you must be going through! We are here for you! ((Hugs)) I really hope this one sticks and this one is your rainbow baby!!

twointow83

Hmm, that is odd... I'd get a second opinion if I were you... esp with a miscarriage history. I won't see my reg OB for an office appt until 8 weeks but I see the specialist Monday and my reg OB has been running BW to monitor everything. Just seems odd to me that, with a hx of miscarriage that they are completely hands-off but that is just my opinion.

Marchmellow2

twointow83 said:

Hmm, that is odd... I'd get a second opinion if I were you... esp with a miscarriage history. I won't see my reg OB for an office appt until 8 weeks but I see the specialist Monday and my reg OB has been running BW to monitor everything. Just seems odd to me that, with a hx of miscarriage that they are completely hands-off but that is just my opinion.

I didn't know there were specialists! I've googled high risk OBGYNs in my area and I don't see any specialists. Maybe I'm googling the wrong thing.. Maybe I should just find another OB and tell the nurse over the phone my history and see if they want me to come in sooner..

twointow83

Marchmellow2 said:

twointow83 said:

Hmm, that is odd... I'd get a second opinion if I were you... esp with a miscarriage history. I won't see my reg OB for an office appt until 8 weeks but I see the specialist Monday and my reg OB has been running BW to monitor everything. Just seems odd to me that, with a hx of miscarriage that they are completely hands-off but that is just my opinion.

I didn't know there were specialists! I've googled high risk OBGYNs in my area and I don't see any specialists. Maybe I'm googling the wrong thing.. Maybe I should just find another OB and tell the nurse over the phone my history and see if they want me to come in sooner..

Well, my specialist requires referral and only takes on the most seriously high risk patients as their sole provider... mostly they work WITH my OB. You'll have to ask when you call if you find someone. Try looking up "perinatologist" or "maternal-fetal medicine".

twointow83

And you can absolutely just call another OBs office, they likely won't tell you much, prob say they can't until you are seen but they may be willing to get you in to be seen sooner!

SomedayInMyArms

twointow83 said:

@SomedayInMyArms (((HUGS))) for your losses. I nearly went batcrap crazy over my one loss.. I  can only imagine multiple. (((((MORE HUGS))))) Wow! You really have a lot to contend with! Forgive my ignorance but I have never heard of that... will you have to do all that the whole preg? Or will your body figure out its a baby at some point and stop attacking??

I will be 5 w 4 d on monday and get my first ultrasound on  Monday, and they told me over the phone basically the same thing. They said 5w4d is right on the cusp so we may see a heartbeat, but more than likely it'll just be the gest and yolk sacs. Then I have another u/s at 7w 5d.

I am no expert but I think you will. With my last pregnancy I was semi-ok with first tri because I never had any losses or even any threat of losses during that time so I was more ok than not, but I struggled with the fear more than I liked. The day I hit 2nd trimester panic set in. We had lost him (based on size and guestimations) around 17-18 weeks  and didn't find out until the big gender u/s. the closer I got to the gender u/s the more panicked I became and the day of the u/s I was a nervous wreck and asked the u/s to look for the heartbeat before anything else. My worry became less instantly. We had passed the danger zone and we could see very well tht he was still in there kicking and having a good time... something the one we lost never did... he just kinda floated around not moving much. BUT I didn't feel completely safe until we had the 3D u/s and could see that his head was normal shaped (Anen babies have flat heads). So I was able to enter my 3rd tri with hope. I still couldn't wait for him to be out, so I could see he was safe every minute, but I felt a lot better after that. I think it will work the same for you. I think once you are out of YOUR danger zone that you will feel a lot better!

Monday was my last infusion. Some women get it until the third trimester, but they may have higher levels and other immune issues. I had no idea about natural killer cells until I was referred on to my RE. I know some IVF women have it done also. Thank you for the positive thoughts and words of encouragement.

I am very sorry for your loss. I am not saying I am thankful for my miscarriages, but I am thankful they have been early on with very little complications. Hopefully we will both have an easy pregnancy without anything big happening. 

twointow83

SomedayInMyArms said:

Hopefully we will both have an easy pregnancy without anything big happening. 

From your mouth to God's ears

Ssoccerball

These stories always break my heart. I wish that we all had the luxury of enjoying our pregnancies without all of the extra worry.

If there is a scale of risk, I don't think I'm that high, but I am monitored very closely. I have PCOS with very low progesterone. My first pregnancy, I had a missed miscarriage at 11 weeks. It was terrible to go to my ultrasound thinking that everything would be okay only to see no heart beat. With my next pregnancy, my son, I went into preterm labor at 22 weeks and was on bed rest for 5 weeks. Then at 36 weeks, I developed preeclampsia and had to be induced immediately. He had the cord wrapped around his neck and came out blue.

In comparison, my next pregnancy was a cake walk, even though there was a point in time where they thought I had developed a blood clot. Add in our fertility issues and my age (38) and doctors just think it's best to keep a close eye on us, which I'm fine with.

I always hope for good outcomes for every pregnant woman, but tend to cross my fingers extra hard for those that have had losses and been through that extra heartache. Hugs to you all.

JNegril

Sorry to hear all the losses and sad stories. I am high risk and my condition is rare (or so they say) I have a placenta problem that has a high reacurance rate. It's called chronic hystiositic intrevillenositis (CHI). My first son was still born at 26 weeks. I had a 15 week loss, another boy. And then with a treatment plan I got my rainbow baby and he's a happy healthy two year old! I had an 11 week miscarriage after him so this is my 5th pregnacy. Nothing is wrong with my babies it's all about a crapy placenta which makes me feel awful. They are still researching but believe it's an auto immune related condition. I just had an ultra sound at 5 weeks and I am taking baby aspirin, progesterone and lovenox injections daily. With CHI, basically this placenta thickens and my babies become IUGR until placenta gets so clogged it shuts down. Thankfully there has been sucsess with the treatment and since it worked for me once before I am Hopful! Lots of prayers as well!! I am monitored very closely and with my DS I had scab three times a week up until delivery. I hope all of you healthy babes in your arms and glad we have each other's support!

JNegril

Scans* sorry for the typo

twointow83

imfunsizeniki said:

I am high risk for a couple reasons.
1. My husband is a carrier for a rare chromosome imbalance. It has caused 6 1st trimester miscarriages and 2 infant losses.

2. The unhealthy babies I carried past the 1st tri caused pre-term labor and delivery. So now even if I were carrying a healthy baby I won't likely make it to 40 weeks since my body no longer thinks a pregnancy is 40 weeks.

I receive early u/s to confirm a heartbeat, and then a level 2 u/s at 16 weeks with an amino to check the health of the baby. The results of that u/s and amino determine how closely monitored I am the rest of my pregnancy. I will also start weekly progesterone shots at 16 weeks to try and stave off pre-term labor as long as possible.

Somehow I missed this post. Wow! Sounds likebyou have been through quite a bit (((((hugs))))). I cant see if u have a signature/ticker... how far along r u? Have you had your 1st u/s yet?

twointow83

((((Hugs)))) to u too! Prayers for another "cake" pregnancy!

twointow83

JNegril said:

Sorry to hear all the losses and sad stories. I am high risk and my condition is rare (or so they say) I have a placenta problem that has a high reacurance rate. It's called chronic hystiositic intrevillenositis (CHI). My first son was still born at 26 weeks. I had a 15 week loss, another boy. And then with a treatment plan I got my rainbow baby and he's a happy healthy two year old! I had an 11 week miscarriage after him so this is my 5th pregnacy. Nothing is wrong with my babies it's all about a crapy placenta which makes me feel awful. They are still researching but believe it's an auto immune related condition. I just had an ultra sound at 5 weeks and I am taking baby aspirin, progesterone and lovenox injections daily. With CHI, basically this placenta thickens and my babies become IUGR until placenta gets so clogged it shuts down. Thankfully there has been sucsess with the treatment and since it worked for me once before I am Hopful! Lots of prayers as well!! I am monitored very closely and with my DS I had scab three times a week up until delivery. I hope all of you healthy babes in your arms and glad we have each other's support!

((((Hugs)))) Glad they found a treatment plan that works for you!!!! Like I said before, one loss nearly sent me to the looney bin... those of you who lost 2+ and maintained your sanity are very strong... stronger than I think I would be! Here is praying none of us ever have to experience another one.

N_Koz

I am so sorry to see so many losses I can't imagine how painful that is. I am high risk because of me essentially. I had a pulmonary embolism at 19 and they believe it was the triad effect of being overweight, smoking, and being on the strongest birth control you could get. So when I got pregnant with my son I had to take lovonox twice a day to make sure I didn't throw a clot although I am no longer overweight or a smoker. To add to the fun I developed Gestational Diabetes so essentially I was a human pin cushion. That said I was blessed to have a healthy baby boy after induction at full term. I didn't want to be induced but my OB basically needed to time things to switch me to heparin in the last six weeks, then four days before induction take me off the heparin so I don't bleed out giving birth. I am bit nervous until I see my OB at 9 weeks not being on blood thinners, I was fine last time but I worry.   

GalLaura

I'm not high risk but just wanted to wish you all a happy and healthy pregnancy. Sending lots of love and good vibes to all of you.

twointow83

N_Koz said:

I am so sorry to see so many losses I can't imagine how painful that is. I am high risk because of me essentially. I had a pulmonary embolism at 19 and they believe it was the triad effect of being overweight, smoking, and being on the strongest birth control you could get. So when I got pregnant with my son I had to take lovonox twice a day to make sure I didn't throw a clot although I am no longer overweight or a smoker. To add to the fun I developed Gestational Diabetes so essentially I was a human pin cushion. That said I was blessed to have a healthy baby boy after induction at full term. I didn't want to be induced but my OB basically needed to time things to switch me to heparin in the last six weeks, then four days before induction take me off the heparin so I don't bleed out giving birth. I am bit nervous until I see my OB at 9 weeks not being on blood thinners, I was fine last time but I worry.   

Oh my! That would be scary. I am no expert but what I know about pulmonary embolisms says you are lucky to be alive! Throw a second life into the mix and I can definitely see your concern!  Prayers for safety between now and your appointment and then for the rest of... well.... forever  

Razberii

I'm glad someone started this. ((Hugs)) to everyone and hopes a prayers for H&H 9 months.
This is my first pregnancy and I'm high risk because of my sickle cell trait. It's not threatening to pregnancy yet but they are worried that I could have a sickle cell crisis during 3rd trimester and delivery due to blood loss, low oxygen and low circulation.

twointow83

@Razberii I always wondered how sicklecell affected pregnancy and baby. So basically they aren't concerned until the 3rd tri? Thats a good thing... well not good but... I hope u know what I mean lol! Only 3 months to worry, and worst case scenario, if baby needs delivered early, the odds of baby making it are pretty good. Will you be taking/doing anything special to increase your odds of a healthy full-term preg? Does anything exist to help? Forgive my ignorance please?

Razberii

@twointow83 trust me I was completely confused too. I only put it on my history because I just have a trait, and I know my husband doesn't, so at the most baby has a 50% chance of developing a trait.
I completely forgot that I can have a sickle cell crisis with just a trait because I've never had one. They usually happen when red blood cells drop or my blood oxygen lvl drops (never been seriously injured and not one for extreme exersise lol) so it's never happened to me.
My plan is just to increase my iron intakr along with a prenatal vitiman. I have a specialist that's going to deliver baby because of all the blood loss and stress of labor. I have my first visit with him on the 29th, and he's going to do all my ultrasounds.
I think my OB is just extra cautious because I'm so nervous about everything.

imfunsizeniki

@twointow83 I am 6w4d. I had an u/s at 6w2d and saw a heartbeat of 125

I hate that we all need to be here.... But glad that we all seem to have treatment plans in place that will hopefully get us to a healthy baby

on3in2015

Hello everyone,
I do believe I'll be high risk. I'll find at my 8 week app.
My daughter was stillborn at 6 months due to complications of turners syndrome. I had to be induced so I tend to go into pre term labor around that that time. Also my last pregnancy resulted in misscairage.
Hoping I'll be able to bring home a 3rd healthy baby this time around.

mamagard4

Hi mama's! I am high risk for a couple of reasons. I have Crohns Disease and have have 3 mc. I am going to a midwife for now and we take every pregnancy as it comes. With my second daughter, my water broke at 25 weeks, so with my last, they did more ultrasounds to double check the fluid levels. I am praying that this is a healthy, uneventful pregnancy.

twointow83

@on3in2015 (((HUGS))) I don't know much about Turner's but losses, no matter their cause, SUCK!! P&PT for a H&H 9M!

@mamagard4 Ugh! Crohns, that is no good. I have a friend who's son has Crohns so I know it is no good   (((HUGS))) for your losses. P&PT for the healthy, uneventful preg you are praying for!

I am SOOO anxious for tomorrow! I am dying to know how close they are going to watch me! On one had every peek I can get at baby, just to know s/he is okay in there. Pregnancy hasn't felt safe for me since my loss, as I am sure the majority of you can understand, unfortunately. Granted, first tri isn't AS scary for me as later in my pregs... which is odd considering the condition that killed my son develops before most women even know they are pregnant, but everything has always gone right along with no issues during 1st tri. Still, at 12-16 weeks I can check on baby using a home doppler... before then there is no way for me to know baby is okay w/o an u/s. On the other hand, if they feel they have to monitor me supremely closely that is going to make me worry even more, knowing that they feel something could go disastrously wrong... It is a catch 22, so I am hoping for something in the middle, but either way I am going to do my best to keep my cool and enjoy this pregnancy as much as possible.

imfunsizeniki

@twointow83 I was able to find hb on home dappler (sonoline b) at around 8 or 9 weeks. Of course if you don't hear it that early that doesn't mean anything necessarily, so if you would totally freak out, don't check that early. But I went into it knowing I may not hear anything for a couple weeks. But once I did it was such a relief to be able to check whenever my anxiety was high.

twointow83

@imfunsizeniki I am a plus-sized mom to be. I lost a lot of weight since my last preg (roughly 100 lbs) so I may be able to hear sooner than before but I am still roughly 20-40 (docs goal-my high goal) over my goal weight and still have fat that dwells in the loose skin on my tummy (sorry if TMI) so I may not. I'll have to buy a new doppler, though. My youngest is turning 5 in June so it has been a LONG time since I was prego lol. I think I gave mine away or something at some point.

imfunsizeniki

@twointow83 I'm with you.  I am about 50 lbs over my true goal weight... and have lots of excess/loose skin from my previous pregnancies.  When my water broke with my son at 26 weeks, the lower half of my belly just sagged and drooped, and it just kept getting worse and worse until I delivered 9 weeks later.  Then with my daughter, that part of my belly never did get tight and round like the rest of my belly, it sagged even further from before.  I also have next to no feeling in the skin in that area, so I think it's donezo.  I look like I've had gastric bypass surgery and lost weight extremely rapidly.  Well... I almost sort of did.  With my daughter I put on an unknown amount of weight.  The last time they weighed me I'd put on either 50 or 60 lbs, and I added about 20-30 more lbs of fluid over the next week.  All but 20 lbs of it came on in under a month due to severe fluid build up.  And after delivery, all but 10lbs of it was gone within a week.  So It came on really fast, and came off even faster.  It doesn't matter if it was actual weight gain or fluid gain, the skin still stretches out nonetheless.  I now weigh 20 lbs more than I did 1 week post partum.  GRRRRR {I've had hormones and levels checked this year, everything keeps coming back perfectly normal}

Sooooo I had all that extra "baggage" last time around, and through checking back on old blog posts, I heard the heart beat at 9w4d.  I can't remember if I checked earlier than that or not.  My advice for you is elevate your pelvis, so that it helps to tilt things back and all that.... then don't be afraid to kinda move your belly out of the way.  Be VERY patient with the doppler.  The TINIEST adjustment can make all the difference in the world that early on.

313Meg

Not currently high risk though I think they will just keep an eye on baby w my ulcerative colitis as they did w DS.
But I wanna say so sorry for all the fear and previous pain. I can't imagine. You ladies are so strong!! Praying for healthy pregnancies!!!

nik6499

Thank you for starting this!! I think it's great to know other people truly understand where each other stand and the fear and anxiety that goes along with a complicated history. My mom just got through telling me that I need to be more optimistic, it's hard to explain how difficult hope can be. While I want everything to be ok, I don't think anyone can really tell us how to feel.

This is also my 5th pregnancy. I'm high risk for a few reasons, compared to my recent pregnancies I consider my daughter uncomplicated. However, I was a gestational diabetic, I was borderline pre-eclampsia and she had shoulder dystocia and spent 24 hours in the NICU for tachycardia. I was single and completely alone in this pregnancy (well from a partner standpoint, my parents were very supportive). 4 years later I met the love of my life and after 2.5 years together as I was finishing my graduate degree we figured out we were pregnant. I was so afraid to tell him because of the way my daughters father reacted, but once I did we were both so excited. I had a dr appt for 9 weeks, seemed perfectly normal to me I never fathomed anything could go wrong until three days before my appointment i miscarried. After another 1.5 years of trying we finally were referred to an RE, there was no reason we couldn't conceive from the tests so we started clomid. 3 cycles in I got pregnant. I was so anxious and afraid I was minimally functional. We started serial hcg, looked good started ultrasounds at what we thought was 5 weeks and saw a sac, next week a little more and even a heart tube forming some flutter, then next week some more size but no more flutter and then I lost that one at 8 weeks a few days after my husband left for Germany. We waited a few months and went to try again, three more cycles of clomid and I got pregnant again, this ended in a chemical just shy of 5 weeks. Believe it or not I felt like this was the worst one. It was like hopes up and dashed before you even knew what hit you. All the recurrent pregnancy labs were drawn, NOTHING wrong. So they decided to do an HSG as a last ditch maybe something was wrong there. Nothing, one tube was a little slower to spill but that was all. So I got a prescription for femara and picked it up friday, Saturday we were having a party. I took a pregnancy test just to be sure before drinking and BOOM damn if there wasn't a faint line. And now here I am.

I am thankful to see so many strong women that are here and I truly hope there is a rainbow in this for us all.

Aholton88

I am considered high fish for a few reasons as well

1. I had hypertension throughout my whole pregnancy but it would then randomly drop down to normal so they could never put me on any kind of medication.

2. My daughter had IU GR and I was induced at 37 weeks with the failed induction which led to a C-section. I knew something was wrong at my 20 week ultrasound when she was measuring two weeks behind. They couldn't see enough so came back at 24 weeks and she was only measuring 20 weeks and that is when they started to get concerned.

3. In January I had an ectopic pregnancy which had to be terminated via the shot.

4. I was referred to the Mfm in the very beginning because I have a genetic muscular dystrophy disorder in my feet.

I am not too sure on how this pregnancy will be going. I know my doctor is the bust there is in the county and they will send me to the Mfm if needed.

Beckah31

I'm late to the party, but high risk.
I'm an IVF mama. This is my second pregnancy. Our first was twins, a boy and a girl. After five years of trying we were over the moon. But then at 23 weeks, I started having cramping. The hospital couldn't tell I was in knit ms didn't want to check my cervix.. until it was too late. Owen passed the night he was born, Kate spent two days in the NICU before following him.
I'm now 5 weeks following a single blast transfer.
Other than Kate having a slight IUGR, nothing was wrong. I had an ultra sound the morning I delivered, and everything was cool. We have no signs, symptoms, or trails to follow to find a clue as to why I went into labor. Just one of those things.
I encourage anyone who has had a loss to check out the National Share group for infant and pregnancy loss. You may even have a local chapter that hosts meetings in your area. These have been so helpful to me, and I've made really great friends with people who "get it".

ssinnwell

I'm high risk due to being overweight and having diabetes type 2. I haven't seen my OB yet, I am 7 weeks. I have already seen my diabetes dr though and am on insulin. As far as I can tell I won't get an ultrasound until 20 weeks. Is that normal? Should I ask for an earlier one?

laxdixdar

I will see my regular ob this Friday then schedule to my high risk soon after that. I'm high risk because of my hypothyroidism and my ob suspects I have lupus due to a flare I had last month. I was supposed to be benched this month to figure out what is going on with me, but my ovulation was way off and BOOM pregnant.

We will see, hopefully we get some answers as my miscarriage in Jan was completely unexpected and unexplained after 5 perfect ultrasounds.

lmgagliardi@hotmail.com

This is my second pregnancy and my first went well with no complications. However I was first marked high risk with this one because I'm not supposed to be able to get pregnant. I have 2 diseases tubes that happened sometime after my daughter. That fact that egg and sperm met, and imabted properly is a miracle. I've already had 3 u/s every 2 weeks as soon as my levels were good to confirm uterine pregnancy. Now that I'm sure this baby is a little miracle (in the uterus with strong heartbeat) I am still considered high risk and see a specialist in 2 weeks because of my bp. After I got pregnant my blood pressure spiked and he had to put me on meds.

kmkaull2

There are some amazing stories here. I hope you all have the smoothest possible pregnancies and very healthy babies!

I have a uterine anomaly called a unicornuate uterus. Essentially half a ute. It is very rare. I have two ovaries but only one tube. Coupled with male factor infertility, we had to do IVF three times before getting pregnant with our daughter.  This pregnancy was unassisted and we were not trying. A big surprise!

Last pregnancy I went into preterm labor at 29 weeks.  The weight of the baby and the small uterine cavity dilated my cervix. I spent 7 weeks on strict bedrest.  My water broke at 37 weeks, exactly a week after being let off bedrest. My daughter was just 5 pounds, but very healthy.

I'll be watched again for a short cervix and early contractions. I am also 39, so that adds an element of fun.

imfunsizeniki

@ssinnwell that may be normal protocol for non high risk patients, but even most of them are getting at least one 1st trimester u/s these days it seems.  So when you see your DR at 7 weeks, mention it for sure.  The office may just be stating standard procedure, and your dr will make other arrangements since you're high risk.  I always have to go straight to my DR to get an early u/s instead of just calling the appt line and saying, hey I'm preggo, let's get me set up.  His nurse will then set up the appts that the appt line doesn't have the ability to do, since it beaks procedure.