Doctors Visit

So I had an appointment with the OB who delivered Kaitlyn. I just wanted to get some answers about our loss and my blood work. I was so nervous about going, mainly because I didn't know if I could handle being in a room full of pregnant women. The night before, during my prayers I asked the Lord for an empty waiting room.

Well, I road my bike to the appointment and I was a bit early, when I arrived there was only one woman in the waiting room and she was definitely not pregnant. It made the experience so much easier. The receptionist was very helpful. My meeting with the OB was great. Since the appointment was at noon, I thought I would be rushed out so he could eat lunch. But, he took the time to review the autopsy, and discuss the blood work. There was no mention of clotting in the autopsy report. Because I had tested positive for the lupus anti-DNA antibody, he was sending me to Dr. Laskin, a rheumatologist in Toronto. We discussed how he would be able to help and why I would wait to have further blood work done at his clinic. It will be determined if I will need to just take a baby aspirin throughout my pregnancies or if I will also have to give myself a daily injection of a blood thinner to decrease the risk of blood clots. I will have to stop taking the baby aspirin and any additional blood thinners at 32 weeks and then I will be induced at 38 weeks to decrease the risk of DVTs or pulmonary embolism. Yikes! I'm glad that this was found, but it kind of sucks because not only did we lose our baby, but my hopes for a natural childbirth are gone. Each birth that I have will not be what I had envisioned. It feels like just one more thing has been taken. But, at this point, I would do anything to have a healthy baby.

I also found out that not only did I have a velamentous cord insertion, but the cord had not implanted in the middle of the placenta, instead it implanted off to the side, so Kaitlyn wasn't getting all the nutrients she needed. The cord problems most likely will not happen again, the risk of cord problems in the future pregnancies does not increase.

I was mostly okay through the visit. At one point, I got a little choked up because as we were discussing everything that went wrong, it just felt like Kaitlyn didn't even really have a chance. The doctor was very understanding and stated that when we do get pregnant again, he will give us extra ultrasounds and keep a close eye on the baby. I just wish that it had worked out for Kaitlyn and that she had beaten the odds. I wish I was holding her right now instead of talking about future pregnancies. But, I'm ready for the future and I'm just hoping another baby is not that far away.