Thal and Pregnancy

Hi,

I am a thal intermediate and 8 weeks pregnant. I am anxious and do not know what to expect with this pregnancy, as it is my first time.

I will be seeing doctors at a high risk pregnancy clinic soon. I do not get transfused, but understand that transfusions are crucial during my pregnancy term.

Could you share advice as to what I should be doing in this first trimester?

Are there any thal intermediates who were not transfused but needed transfusions in pregnancy? What were your experiences?

Thanks so much!
 

Hi kitkat,

It is very important to take a high dose of folic acid during pregnancy. As high as 5 mg is standard. I would also recommend that you take a good B complex supplement. It helps to build red blood cells and also helps maintain the energy level. Try to eat a nutritious diet and resist cravings for junk foods. Transfusions may be necessary depending on how low your Hb drops. It's no big deal and will only be temporary. Because clotting issues can be a problem for thals during pregnancy, I also recommend natural vitamin E complex (400 IU daily). You might also want to ask the doctors if you should take one aspirin daily, as this will help prevent clotting problems that can lead to miscarriage. You may also want to search this site for "thal minor pregnancy" as many of the issues are the same. Towards the end of your pregnancy, monitoring of the baby will tell the doctors if you should deliver before labor begins. If this is the case, a C-section is usually done. This sometimes happens because the baby will stop growing late in the pregnancy because of a reduced blood flow from the placenta. As long as you are closely monitored, this should also be no problem. 

I have Thalassemia intermediate and delivered a healthy son on his due date.  Prior to pregnancy I never received transfusions.  I was transfused 4 times during pregnancy.  The fear was not for me, but for the baby.  If my level ever dropped below 7 I had a transfusion.  The doctors warned me of blood clots in the uterus which would cause early delivery, as early as 20 weeks.  I also took 4 mg of folic acid (folgard) which included b vitamins.  It is important to eat healthy as well.  My body retained a terrible amount of water so i was watched carefully for toxemia too.  It was a fairly easy pregnancy despite all the precautions.   My son was born on his due date by c-section, not planned.  Getting a transfusion can seem scary, but it is the best thing for your body and the baby. 

Hi Morellilisa,

Welcome on the forum, and congrats on your little baby boy  .

Zaini.

Congrats on your baby boy:)

Sharmin

Kitkat- my first 2 pregnancies, while extremely exhausting, were fairly straight forward. Both were delieved naturally, right about at their due date, weighing in at 8 and 1/2 lbs.

Currently, I am 33 weeks pregnant and have gotten 5 transfusions. I get weekly blood draws and blood count checks from hemotology at my local hospital. It was kind of a shock to need these but they are really helping.

My symptoms were shortness of breath (I couldn't even brush my teeth standing up), dizziness, racing pulse, craving of any kind of potato, and all food or drink had the aftertaste of chewing on a metal pipe. My OB did not recognize the symptoms and had me go to my regular physician after ignoring my complaints for 2 months. She basically told me I was overreating but if I felt the need, I could go see my regular physician. I ended up being admitted to the hospital until they could get my counts under control.


Needless to say, she is not my ob anymore. My suggestion would be to make sure you are an active part of your care; that your ob shares info with you and carefully listens. My new ob is great; very caring, very catious and very informative about all of my test results and what he is thinking.

THANK YOU everyone. You have put my mind to ease. I went for an ultrasound last week (8 weeks pregnancy) and I hope everything goes ok from hereon. I am taking 5mg of folic acid and vitamin supplement without iron.

I still have one more decision to work through. I have posted my dilemma and perhaps you can comment on it!

Thanks Again. This forum is such a great means of communication.

Did anyone get transfused post- pregnancy ? (ie. for those not transfused before as an intermediate who needed transfusion in pregnancy and also continued with transfusion)

Did anyone go on bed rest? In which trimester?

thanks again  

hi every one m also a thal patient.. m, ferritin level is 600 n calciuum is 8.59.. m married.. my ubby is very loving caring....  i got married in 2006 now i wish to have a child what shoul i do first for that.... i have read ur all posts n happy for thoso who have child  healthy child godd bless u all... today my doc tell me that i m thal intermedia... now temme what should i do first ooops listen 1 thing i alsi have hepa c from 4 yrs.... but my sgpt wat 30 now a days.....i have taken interferon for 1 yr simple interferon but it didnot work for me,,, u gyss plzzz do me favor ... can a concieve baby with hepa c??? im taking 2 units of redd pack cell every month now .. m v tense how can its possible?? reply soon if possible then plz reply on my inbox coz i dun know how to fine replyis here on forum...m new here..

Hi Atiya,

There is only a small chance that a baby would get hepatitis C from the mother. If the hepatitis is under control, there is almost no chance that the baby could catch it. So it is important to try to control the hepatitis. Some members here have taken a spice called Nigella (black onion seed, black cumin seed, kalonji) and it had made a difference in their liver enzyme levels (sgpt, sgot) and their hepatitis is under control. You can take 1/2 teaspoon of the ground seeds mixed with honey, once or twice a day. This is easy to use and may help. You also have to wait at least 6 months after stopping interferon before you try to get pregnant because interferon can cause birth defects.

hello andy how r u m fine today i got tranfused 1 unit of red lood pac cell...m happy to that if hepa c is undercontrol then i can....yeah about nigella umair also told me about that... 11 seeds of cumin seeds mixed wid half teaspoon of honey,,, inshallah i will start it soon....what is thal intermedia?? i ave heard b4 here in form is a indian gal who hav thal intermedia...n hav a child a healthy child mashallah... so i thought i should disceuss here all that method u guys knows ver well about the disease...is there n e ultrasound is requierd for pragnancy..? ultra of utarus is utarus is in normal positin..?? does thal effect on our these organ? like utarus.. periods etc../// m v shamed to tell u that but how can i post u personal msg?? zaini sis guide me about this?? utarus or should i consult wid any gynoclogist? i have a lots of qustion in my mind...... but i dun know how to ask.. dear andy.....i have heard alot about u from umair.. nice frnd.. he is really a nice frnd.. reply soon Andy iwll  wa8... do u hav n e e mail id? like hotmmail?

KitKat- my hemotologist thinks that I will need a few transfusions post-pregnancy because I plan on breastfeeding and that takes quite a bit out of you. I am 34 weeks today and thus far have not been put on bed rest. I do notice as my counts drop the braxton hick contractions get pretty wild (20 or so a day) but haven't yet sent me into full labor.

My dr has been following me more closely; the appts every 2 weeks started sooner and the weekly appts started at 32 weeks rather than the normal 36. This week he had me go for another ultrasound and then next week I start going to labor and delivery every week for NST's (non-stress tests) which monitor the babies movement and how it's heartbeat is effected by the movement.

Hope that helps a little

I can be contacted by email at andy@thalpal.com


Umair and Zaini, can you help teach Atiya how to get around on the site? How to do PMs etc. Thanks.

Andy,

I did PM her about all the details yesterday,and she has my cell number too.

Atiya,

Please PM me if you have any probs.

Zaini.

hello every one zaini sis last night i did msg to u did u get it? or wht is PM?? personal msgs?? thanks andy.......