Still need prayers for Lennox

Discussion in 'Pregnancy Help' started by monie rose, Aug 18, 2009.

  1. monie rose

    monie rose Well-Known Member

    I need some of the labor vibes that have been going around! I went for my weekly u/s and Lennox's numbers aren't that great. He is just under the borderline for severe anemia. So now I am even more worried about him. I thought he was doing fine and well within normal. I would like to have him because if he becomes anemic they can do something right away for him. But with him being inutero he could get anemic and no one will know for another week. It scares the heck out of me! I'd just want him to be healthy and stay that way. I knew something was going on because a different woman came in then the one who first did the u/s and did some checking and left and then came back for more. It just sucks that I have to worry about his health even before he's born! Please pray he remains healthy!
     
  2. Meximeli

    Meximeli Well-Known Member

    :hug:
    I know how easy it is to worry. But try to stay positive. I don't pray, but I truely believe in the power of positive thinking. I will be thinking about you.
     
  3. swilhite25

    swilhite25 Well-Known Member

    I am sorry you didn't receive good news, but I'm sending prayers and good thoughts your way. I'm sure it will be ok and it sounds like your doctors are on top of it and for now let that reassure you. Keep us posted.
     
  4. nadana77

    nadana77 Well-Known Member

    Thoughts and Prayers are with you & little Lennox.
    Please keep us posted and I know it's hard but, try not to worry and get some rest.
    Take Care :hug:
     
  5. TwinLove

    TwinLove Well-Known Member

    Simone, Lennox is in my thoughts and prayers. :hug: :hug: Please keep thinking positive. :grouphug:
     
  6. Heathermomof5

    Heathermomof5 Well-Known Member

    you and Lennox are in my thoughts and prayers.
     
  7. mom23sweetgirlies

    mom23sweetgirlies Well-Known Member

    I will keep you and baby Lennox in my thoughts and prayers as well.
     
  8. Susanna+3

    Susanna+3 Well-Known Member

    I pray that Lennox' iron count will come up and that he will be strong and healthy at birth!! I'm assuming that they have you on a high dose of iron, I'm just wondering if there are food sources that might somehow be better absorbed by your body. I remember one time a chem professor of mine showed us the iron filings that came out of the cereal Total, and he felt that the body couldn't properly absorb the iron from this cereal in spite of it's advertised claims to have so much iron in it. I'm wondering if there are natural sources of iron (not put into a pill or cereal) that the body might absorb more easily?? Maybe an internet search could help. Just a thought. I know I'd be searching out whatever I could do to at least feel like I'm helping out as much as possible.
     
  9. happybearsfan

    happybearsfan Well-Known Member

    Prayers for you both!
     
  10. MusicalAli

    MusicalAli Well-Known Member

    How can they tell he's anemic inutero? Or are you anemic?
     
  11. Millie&twins

    Millie&twins Well-Known Member



    The fetus does not get anaemic because of maternal anaemia but usually because there is a problem such as a bloodtype or rhesus incompatibility. If the mother and the child are for instance rhesus incompatible (mother negative, baby positive) and a reaction occurs due to a former child being also rh+ to the maternal rh- the second fetus suffers from the antibodies formerly created. This means that the antibodies destroy the babies erythrocytes (red blood cells) rendering the child anaemic.
    Other problems are maternal infection with parvovirus B19, a little virus that causes fifth disease in children and adults and often goes undetected, so nothing dramatic, but if the fetus is infected it can cause fetal red cells to die and render the baby anaemic and rarely the baby is bleeding into the maternal circulation and that would cause the baby to be anaemic since it has less blood in it.

    Now this last option would only lead to a shortterm anaemia and nothing too grave, while the other two option, rh incompatibility and parvovirus infection, can lead to very severe anaemia that needs in utero tranfusion. But since Monie is past 36 weeks already if she was my case, I would deliver her if the anaemia is bad enough rather than risking an intrauterine transfusion which is messy and difficult. The good news is most babies who were anemic as fetuses do not have long term effects from this.

    Monie, I hope Lennox manages to get his numbers back up, but you have been wonderful in carrying him so far and even if he had to come out, he would probably do really well.
    Millie
     
  12. Susanna+3

    Susanna+3 Well-Known Member

    So does a mother's iron count have nothing at all to do with the baby's? Does any of the iron absorbed by her system benefit the baby at all? You've made me curious now! I get what you are saying about the baby's separate issues causing the anemia in the first place, but I'm now curious as to whether a mother's iron intake can at all help off-set these problems the baby is having.
     
  13. MusicalAli

    MusicalAli Well-Known Member

    I still don't get it...do they just assume baby is anemic because mom is rh- or is it all based on a previous baby being rh+. I only ask because 3 of my sisters are rh- and 2 of them have 5 kinds each and I don't ever recall there being an issue.

    This is an interesting topic.
     
  14. Meximeli

    Meximeli Well-Known Member

    I'm Rh-, I don't know as much as Millie, but here is what I've lived through.

    An Rh- women who gives birth to or miscarries a baby with an Rh+ father, should get a special vaccine which will prevent her body from making antibodies should any of the babies blood get into her blood. This is a just in case shot, as 1) you don't know at that point if the baby is Rh- or Rh+ and 2) most babies are delivered without any blood mixing happening. (In the US the shot is sold under the name Rhogam)

    Then in a subsequent pregnancy, two things are checked, if the older sibling Rh+ or Rh-, if it was Rh- then there is no risk to the second pregnancy. If you miscarried frist (like I did) you wouldn't be able to answer that question so you move to a blood test called Coombs Indirect. This tests to see if the mother already has antibodies against Rh+ blood, if she does that means the vaccine failed and the baby is at risk of becoming anemic as it reaches term. If the test is negative the current baby is not at risk, she will get another does of the vaccine after giving birth to protect any future pregnancies.
     
  15. Millie&twins

    Millie&twins Well-Known Member

    Thank you Melissa, that is correct the Rhogam shot is given to women whose husbands are rh+ and they are rh- (or the father is unknown, or the mother doesn't know). My brother's wife is rh-, but so is my brother, their 2 children were not at risk, both are rh- (+ is dominant over -, you can be + and have a - child, but you cannot be - have a child with someone who is - and have a + child).

    Fetuses have their own blood supply regulated by the placenta, that is why they can have a different bloodtype, a different rhesus group and different antibodies than the mother, they even have a different type of haemoglobin than us adults (which is called faetal hemoglobin), I do not have time so I will just quote:
    "Functionally, fetal hemoglobin differs most from adult hemoglobin in that it is able to bind oxygen with greater affinity than the adult form, giving the developing fetus better access to oxygen from the mother's bloodstream."

    The antigen to the rhesus group though can cross the placenta and cause the hemolytic disease in the fetus, causing red blood cells to be destroyed. The baby is not anaemic because it is lacking in iron, it is a anaemic because it is lacking in red blood cells (does that answer your question Susanna? I know iron is important and I'd say a good iron level in the mother is surely good for the baby but you do not see fetal anaemia due to maternal anaemia).

    Alison, they do not assume the fetus is anaemic, they make sure it is before worrying the mom and possibly transfusing, the problem is that severe anaemia can lead to hydrops fetalis (when the fetus starts to accumulate water isnide of it's body, between the organs and in its skin) which can lead to heart failure and death. So knowing if a fetus is in danger of becoming anaemic is very important, which is why family history is the first step, you need to know did the rh- mom have a child before, was it rh+ or rh-, is her partner rh- or rh+, did she have the rhogam, etc... the symptoms of intrauterine fetal anaemia are enlarged liver, spleen, or heart and fluid buildup in the fetus' abdomen seen via ultrasound. Also doppler ultrasound can help diagnose fetal anaemia as can cordocentesis (taking blood from the cord, though again this is messy and invasive).
    I don't know how they diagnosed Lennox' anaemia though and my field is genetics not OB, so I am definitely not an expert in this.
    I am happy to answer any more questions though, it is always important to teach people about this, too few know and that causes a lot of problems for us in the clinics.
    Millie
     
  16. Susanna+3

    Susanna+3 Well-Known Member

    Okay, so all of this makes me really hope that my daughter who is A- finds a guy who is also RH- !!! Yikes!
     
  17. Meximeli

    Meximeli Well-Known Member

    Susana,

    This is my 4th pregnancy (all with my Rh+ husband) and in this day and age, it's really not a problem. So it won't be for your DD. I do believe though that this is the origin of requireing blood tests for marriage licenses. I was a little worried that my Rhogam shot might have gone bad, since there are not many Rh- people around here (In the US A-, is 1 in 16 people) and it had to be special ordered, shipped from Mexico City, then kept in my fridge from 20 weeks onwards and we tend to lose electricity often during that time of year. But I had a blood test last week that assured me that either the shot worked, or I was not exposed to the girls blood during my c/s.
     
  18. monie rose

    monie rose Well-Known Member

    Thank you for your T&P's! But I wanted to let you know that I wish it was a matter of me taking an extra iron supplement. What is going on is I had caught Fifth's Disease at the end of June and what it does to a baby inutero is attack there bone marrow causing it to not create new red blood cells. So the only way to help the baby out is by doing a blood transfusion. Either inutero if its too early to deliver or deliver earlier after the 35 week mark and give the transfusion that way.
     
  19. Susanna+3

    Susanna+3 Well-Known Member

    So will he automatically get a transfusion once he is born? Does his bone marrow 'get better'? I remembered your post about fifth's disease because I was exposed to it during my previous pregnancy. Thankfully I must've had it as a child because they checked my immunity and I was fine.
     
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