# High platelet count and pregnancy



## Nathalie (Sep 6, 2003)

Hello dear fellow mamas,
I'm six weeks pregnant and my CbC came back with a high platelet count (620,000). Have any of you had that problem before? My midwife says I need to see a hematologist, and that I have a higher risk of miscarriage. About a year before getting pregnant, routine blood work detected a high platelet count too (840, then 760, then 570, then 450). But because it kept going down steadily, my doctor gave me the OK to get pregnant.
Because it means that I clot easily, I'm also worried that the baby is not getting enough blood to the placenta! This is my second pregnancy and I had no problems with the first. Please tell me if you've had this and what your outcome was, was your baby OK, how you treated it, etc. I really appreciate any help and information you can offer. Thank you so much!!


----------



## cee3 (Oct 24, 2005)

I have lupus (SLE) and, because of that, I have an antibody in my blood that causes blood clots to form. This causes the blood to not effectively reach the placenta and miscarriage can occur, usually in the 2nd trimester. In order to treat this, my doctor prescribed one baby aspirin daily throughout my pregnancy. Other treatments for this are heparin or low-doses of prednisone (as a last resort).

Before having a doctor who was knowledgeable about lupus pregnancies, I had two miscarriages. After being treated with the aspirin, I had one successful pregnancy (my little boy, now 2 1/2) and I'm now 18 weeks pregnant - and everything's going really well.

I wouldn't recommend taking aspirin during your pregnancy without consulting your doctor or your midwife (it thins your blood in general, so they'd definitely need to be aware of what's going on), but it might be something you can ask them about.

(this is my first post here - I hope you don't mind if I just jump in







)

Edited to add: I know lupus isn't what you asked about, but I thought the treatment for blood clotting might be helpful to you.


----------



## Nathalie (Sep 6, 2003)

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply! Anything is helpful and I will ask my doctor about baby aspirin. My midwife mentioned that this could be a course of action. I wish you well in this new pregnancy!


----------



## bass chick (Sep 7, 2005)

My mom has high platelets and she has to take a medication called hydroxyurea. I'm pretty sure this is not safe to take during pregnancy as it is a medication also used to treat some forms of cancer. She is also supposed to take a low-dose aspirin, but had to stop because of a stomach ulcer. I don't know much about high platelets except for what my mom tells me. She said that her specialist told her to be careful when she cuts herself because she could bleed a lot. I was confused because platelets are what cause the blood to clot. But she said she was told that platelets are what tell your blood to clot or not to clot. This seems like a lot of she-said-that-she-said-that-he-said, but this is the unofficial information that I have been given. I would definately see a hematologist. I hope everything goes well and that you give birth to a beautiful healthy baby.


----------



## shannon0218 (Oct 10, 2003)

Have you been tested for clotting problems?? This list is huge, some genetic some not. Many of them get worse as you get older (the reason many women with clotting disorders have a healthy pregnancy and then suffer multiple miscarriages.
For Molly's pregnancy I was on twice daily injections of heparin and a baby aspirin at night (always take aspirin just before going to bed)
There is a thread in Health and Healing of many mama's here who have dealt with clotting disorders in pregnancy. I would not wait long to get testing done, if possible I'd get the tests run before the appointment with the hematoligist. You could also see a peri (a doctor that specializes in high risk pregnancy) if you can't get into a hemo quick enough.


----------



## shannon0218 (Oct 10, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bass chick*
My mom has high platelets and she has to take a medication called hydroxyurea. I'm pretty sure this is not safe to take during pregnancy as it is a medication also used to treat some forms of cancer. She is also supposed to take a low-dose aspirin, but had to stop because of a stomach ulcer. I don't know much about high platelets except for what my mom tells me. She said that her specialist told her to be careful when she cuts herself because she could bleed a lot. I was confused because platelets are what cause the blood to clot. But she said she was told that platelets are what tell your blood to clot or not to clot. This seems like a lot of she-said-that-she-said-that-he-said, but this is the unofficial information that I have been given. I would definately see a hematologist. I hope everything goes well and that you give birth to a beautiful healthy baby.

The medication your mom is on is a blood thinner, which makes her more apt to bleed. During my pregnancy we found a small clot in the cord so my dose of heparin was increased and at that point I needed to wear a medic alert bracelet identifying myself as being on an anticoagulant.


----------

