Pregnancy Update

Today, I finally got in to see my new doctor.

We started with an ultrasound with the technician, and my cute little baby had a good strong heartbeat.  It looked good, and the baby was a good size.  It was so cute seeing it kick around in there.

The doctor came in.  First question, "How are you doing?"  Second question, "What is wrong with you?"

We went through my pregnancy history (4 pregnancies ending in live babies, and 3 ending in miscarriage- 2 of those losses occuring at 20 weeks), and discussed all of my fears.  He was blunt and honest.  He let me know which of my fears were valid, and which I needed to let go.

He told me that my worries about pre-term labor, and bed rest could be let go.  He basically told me that if this pregnancy is going to make it, it will not be because I spend 9 months in bed.  He sees a lot of high risk patients, and he says that with a history like mine, this pregnancy has a 40% to 50% chance of ending in fetal demise between the 15th and 20th week.  He did tell me that if I can make it to 20 weeks, I should be safe.  He told me that there are many women who loose multiple pregnancies in the second trimester, and we usually don't find any reason for it.  Usually this is because the testing for the genetic abnormalities that cause the miscarriages are very expensive, and not covered by insurance.

We did some blood tests to rule out many causes.  He is pretty sure the tests will all come back negative.

He is going to see me again in two weeks, and then he will see me weekly during the time when my other babies died.  He told me that once we get to 20 weeks, we can plan on having a boring pregnancy.  That will be nice.

I am pleased with this doctor.  He only takes very high risk paitents, and he only takes a handful of those.  I feel really lucky that he has accepted me as a patient, and that he will be helping me do everything I can to get this baby here safely.  I do wish I had some more concrete answers though.  I hate the waiting game, but it was nice to get the news that the baby is healthy right now.  I'll keep you updated.