Heparin

I saw a thread from a long while back on this but nothing recently. Anyone else on heparin? I have been on it since 18 weeks for a blood clot in my leg. Just curious how people were able to deliver while on that med (anyone have a c-section)? Also, I have been worried that I won't be able to get an epidural etc while I am on heparin

 

I'm not on Heparin, but I do have a clotting disorder which makes it difficulty for me to clot. With my 2 previous deliveries they gave medication to assist me in clotting since I can not do it on my own and have had no problems. This pregnancy the plan is to do the same. I'm sure they will keep checking your blood levels. Talk with your doc and I am sure he/she will be able to tell you your plan and put yout mind at ease.
Best of luck!!!

 

Hi MommaK,

I too developed a blood clot in my leg during pregnancy (I was 35 weeks when we found it and was admitted to the hospital for IV heparin). Hopefully they have you at home and you're doing sc shots of heparin or lovenox! The week I was in the hospital before delivery was long enough!

But to answer your questions, the injectable heparin has a really short half life and even the IV heparin (continuous infusion) isn't that long of a half life either. What they did for me was to stop my IV about 6 hours before they did my section and checked my clotting levels prior to surgery. I also ended up with a spinal instead of an epidural (I think that was because of the heparin, but I'm not 100% sure).

My blood clot actually worsened while I was on IV Heparin (which as a nurse, I'd never even heard of!) and they did need to put in a filter in my inferior vena cava to make sure that nothing migrated during surgery.

After delivery, I ended up on injectable heparin for a few days while my coumadin levels were therapeutic and then I took coumadin for 6 months post delivery. I was also told that if I ever get pregnant again, they'll put me on heparin right away as a preventative measure.

HTH and if you have any other question, let me know!

 

You should be ok to deliver while on Heparin. I had that 2 times a day when I was on hospital bedrest (almost 4 weeks total). I had it up until the day I delivered. As pp said, it has a short life span which should allow you to deliver either vaginally or by c-section.

My delivery was was c-section with a spinal

 

Thanks to all for the advice/support. I feel better about it after hearing your stories. I am on the subcutaneous heparin at home now...I take it three times a day. I have to get my blood checked pretty frequently to make sure it isn't too thin (seems to go up and down a lOT!). I just wanted to make sure that if I needed a c-section it wouldn't cause a problem...one of my babies is breech although I know there is still some time for her to turn around between now and when I deliver...