To Ttc Or Not?

[foodiegurl]

I am so stuck in this decision..to try again, or stop. I know no one can give me an answer, but I would love to hear from people with similar issues.

My daughter is now 4, and I would really love to have another. However, I am terrified. My pregnancy was picture-perfect until week 36 when I developed horrible, intense back pain...long story short...after 2 weeks of torturous pain, and my doctors telling me it is muscular and living on Tylenol every 4 hours for 2 weeks. Finally, my OB (who is at a top Chicago teaching hospital) decided to run blood work at week 38, and told me I was not leaving without a baby. The back pain turned out to be from my liver. I developed severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP. My daughter was born at 4 1/2 pounds due to IUGR (inter-uterine growth restriction)..so obviously, I must have had pre-e/HELLP for a while, for her to be so small. I didn't have any of the typical symptoms..swelling, headaches, etc...so it never crossed my mind I could have it.

Thankfully, after delivery, my BP went down and I recovered right away back to normal. But after doing reading and learning how serious mu condition was and if I waited even one more day, we might not be here today, I am terrified to go through it again.

i met with a high risk OB (MFM) and they ran a bunch of tests last summer for underlying disorders, blood clotting disorders and some autoimmune issues...it all came back negative, which kind of had me even more scared since I didn't not have an answer as to why I had it. They gave me a 30% of it happening again, and a 20% of hospital bedrest.

Well, now i know i have Celiac as of this February. So, now that I know i have an underlying autoimmune disorder, I feel as if I have an even great chance of developing HELLP again. It just scares me to death....the danger of HELLP, the pain I felt, the danger to the baby.

I am so thankful to have one very healthy 4 year old, and feel as if I should not press my luck. Or, what if I do have another, and another autoimmune issue pops up this time.

How do people get the courage? I so badly want another, and i am going to be 37 this summer, so I don't have much more time to think about it either.

I have read it is wise to wait 12 months being gluten-free before being TTC. I really need to meet with my high risk OB now that I know i have Celiac.

Anyone else been in this position before? now? any words of wisdom??

thanks.

[Mother of Jibril]

Hi Anne,

I lost my second child (Jibril) at 17 weeks. At the time I didn't know that I had any autoimmune disorders... and I had a midwife/OB who refused to run any tests My third child was conceived about 6 months later and was born perfectly healthy with no complications during the pregnancy. At the time, my urge to have another child was SO STRONG. Emotionally, however, that pregnancy was sheer hell. I ended up seeing a counselor on a weekly basis for five months. It's horrible when you know from personal experience that not all pregnancies end with sunshine and roses.

Part of me would like to have another child. At least now I'm on a strict gluten-free diet and I know about the hypothyroidism! Another (bigger) part of me, however, says... why take another risk?? I adore the children I already have, my marriage is finally stabilizing after a very difficult time, I'm not sure my body can really handle another pregnancy... maybe it's time to say enough is enough. That's just me. Maybe I would feel differently if I didn't have two living children.

I think it's a great idea to meet with your high-risk OB... although I wouldn't be surprised if he/she doesn't know anything about celiac disease. If your desire to have another child outweighs your fears then I think you should go for it! It's a personal decision that only you and your partner can really make.

[daphniela]

I had toxemia in my first pregnancy and had to be induced. My second child was born almost 10 pounds. My doctor told me that toxemia is less likely in subsequent pregnancies. I didn't know I was Celiac with either.

[lovegrov]

My wife had to go to strict bedrest for the last month of her first pregnancy because of pre-eclampsia and severely high BP. None of that happened during her second pregnancy.

richard

[MLB]

I know exactly how you feel! I had a normal 1st pg but my 2nd pg I developed PE/HELLP. We want another child so bad but I'm so scared of both PE and possibly triggering an autoimmune problem. To complicate things we can only conceive with IVF. I won't tell you how many times I've made the appt with my IVF doctor and cancelled it. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you. I will say that because you had your PE in your first pg and also developed it late in pg, you stand a very good chance of not having it happen again. Good luck with everything.

[cyberprof]

I am so stuck in this decision..to try again, or stop. I know no one can give me an answer, but I would love to hear from people with similar issues.

My daughter is now 4, and I would really love to have another. However, I am terrified. My pregnancy was picture-perfect until week 36 when I developed horrible, intense back pain...long story short...after 2 weeks of torturous pain, and my doctors telling me it is muscular and living on Tylenol every 4 hours for 2 weeks. Finally, my OB (who is at a top Chicago teaching hospital) decided to run blood work at week 38, and told me I was not leaving without a baby. The back pain turned out to be from my liver. I developed severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP. My daughter was born at 4 1/2 pounds due to IUGR (inter-uterine growth restriction)..so obviously, I must have had pre-e/HELLP for a while, for her to be so small. I didn't have any of the typical symptoms..swelling, headaches, etc...so it never crossed my mind I could have it.

Thankfully, after delivery, my BP went down and I recovered right away back to normal. But after doing reading and learning how serious mu condition was and if I waited even one more day, we might not be here today, I am terrified to go through it again.

i met with a high risk OB (MFM) and they ran a bunch of tests last summer for underlying disorders, blood clotting disorders and some autoimmune issues...it all came back negative, which kind of had me even more scared since I didn't not have an answer as to why I had it. They gave me a 30% of it happening again, and a 20% of hospital bedrest.

Well, now i know i have Celiac as of this February. So, now that I know i have an underlying autoimmune disorder, I feel as if I have an even great chance of developing HELLP again. It just scares me to death....the danger of HELLP, the pain I felt, the danger to the baby.

I am so thankful to have one very healthy 4 year old, and feel as if I should not press my luck. Or, what if I do have another, and another autoimmune issue pops up this time.

How do people get the courage? I so badly want another, and i am going to be 37 this summer, so I don't have much more time to think about it either.

I have read it is wise to wait 12 months being gluten-free before being TTC. I really need to meet with my high risk OB now that I know i have Celiac.

Anyone else been in this position before? now? any words of wisdom??

thanks.

My $0.02 worth of opinion:

Preeclampsia causes are not certain but may have to do with maternal nutritional deficiencies, lack of calcium, lack of magnesium, poor diet, high body fat (mother), and pre-existing maternal conditions.

Speaking for myself, pre-gluten-free I was deficient in minerals/vitamins. The pre-existing maternal conditions listed here Open Original Shared Link include other auto-immune diseases. That coupled with the horror birth stories I've read here make me think that going gluten-free (if you are/were celiac) COULD/MIGHT help and/or that gluten may have caused the pre-enclampsia.

P.S. While you're waiting take a good gluten-free prenatal vitamin. There was one study I read that doing that could help prevent pre-eclampsia.

Best of luck to you.