Am I considered High Risk?

[tillfordburrows]

Dr. Cusick,

My son was stillborn at 35 weeks in October 2008. The only explanation we could find was a postive Kleihauer-Betke test of .08. I did suffer from a very large subchorionic hematoma in the 1st trimester that tore away 50% of the placenta. What I am asking is will I be considered high risk with my new pregnancy? I understand that a fetal-maternal hemmorhage is rare, but should there be any precautions we should take? I have a history of developing SCH in early pregnancy, and I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks followed by 2 live births. Any insight on this?

Thanks for your time.

Jill

[Bill Cusick MD]

Jill

So sorry for your loss- FMH is an infrequent but known cause for fetal demise;however, no association with 1st trimester SCH

NO known recurrence risk with past history of FMH, however daily kick counts and non-stress testing in the 3rd trimester would be appropriate

best of luck
wc

[tillfordburrows]

Thank you for your reply, Doctor Cusick.

I know we will be very vigilant this pregnancy, but it does little to help ease my fears because nothing could have predicted what happened last time- it happened so quickly and without warning. I am trying to be proactive and search for predisposing conditions that could have contributed. So far, all testing has come back clean. I will always wonder if the fight I got in with my husband could have caused for this to happen, or from having sex/orgasm. Could there be any link? Thank you for your help, I will always be searching for answers..

[Bill Cusick MD]

Jill

Although is is often hard to establish a cause for such losses with certainty, one can reliably exclude many factors as a cause- FMH is a silent break in the thin cell layer that separates mom from baby in the placental- not related to stress, marital discord, sex/orgasm, things within your control- it is quite natural to reexamine everything as you search for the broader answer

I worry for mothers who too often blame themselves for tragic OB outcomes over which they had no control

positive thoughts

wc