The daily routine of putting two injections in my stomach is really getting old.  Some days it goes very smoothly, but some days I psych myself out and it takes several stabs to get it right.  What gets me through this routine is the fact it keeps me alive and my baby girl, hopefully, will be healthy.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m counting the days until my baby’s birth when I can switch back to my oral blood thinner Coumadin.

The injections are Lovenox, which I’ve written about before.  By giving injections rather than swallowing a pill, the blood thinner doesn’t cross the placenta, which is safer for the baby.  The injections are also necessary for me so that I don’t develop any blood clots, which could result in another stroke.  The downside of doing injections, other than the annoying jab to the belly everyday, is that I can’t have an epidural during labor.

Since my pregnancy is high risk, I have three doctors on my case.  While my high risk OB says I could go off the Lovenox 24 hours before giving birth, my neurologist says NO.  That’s because he told me the risk of developing a potentially deadly blood clot is much higher not only in a pregnant woman but one who is in labor and even afterwards during early postpartum.

If I have an epidural while on Lovenox, there is a chance I could have problems within my spine and while rare even suffer paralysis.  I could have a C-section and be put under altogether, but doctors say they would only do that in an emergency because of the risk of bleeding.  So it looks like natural labor for me. Oh boy, looking forward to that!

The reason some people have a tendency to clot is because they have thrombophilia.  People with this condition tend to form blood clots too easily.  It can be because their bodies make too much of a certain protein or too little of anti-clotting proteins that limit clot formation.  One in five people in the United States have thrombophilia.  Some people don’t even know they have it.  Often the clots form in the lower leg area.  Symptoms include swelling, redness and discomfort.  Sometimes the clots break loose and travel through the blood stream.  When the clots block blood vessels in the lungs, brain or heart, it can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Pregnancy is a time when thrombophilia is more common.  However, most women with it have healthy pregnancies.  Complications include stillbirths, placental abruption or poor fetal growth.  That’s why it’s best to talk to your doctor about the condition especially if you or your family have a history of blood clots and stroke.