Hello from 37 weeks pregnant! I’m actually further along in this pregnancy now than I was when either Lion or Panda were born. Bonus: no major complications!

As I’ve noted before, I was considered a high-risk pregnancy even with my first due to antibodies that I carry that increase the risk for fetal heart block. With Lion, I had to have extra appointments for fetal echocardiograms, meetings with the pediatric cardiologist and my maternal fetal medicine specialist (high risk doctor). Lion ended up being totally fine with no heart block and when I thought that everything was going perfectly in my first pregnancy, I had a placental abruption (where the placenta partially separates from the uterus) at 32 weeks. We were lucky that things stabilized because my OB initially said that we would probably deliver in the next 24 hours by c-section. I was given two betamethasone shots to speed development of the baby’s lungs under the expectation that we would need to deliver. Instead, after several days, I was sent home on house arrest/bed rest for the next several weeks with 2-3 doctors appointments each week for monitoring. Ultimately, I had a second placental abruption right after 37 weeks and my OB determined that it would be best to induce labor at that point and deliver.

During my second pregnancy, I was considered high risk due to the prior history of placental abruption. I no longer tested positive for the antibody that increases the risk of fetal heart block, though, so I had fewer appointments with Panda. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until I went into preterm labor at 33 weeks. Again, I was given betamethasone shots and a medication to stop contractions and things stabilized. I then went into preterm labor again at 35 weeks, inconveniently timed with a massive snowstorm that shutdown DC and the federal government for several days. The day the federal government reopened is the day I went into active labor and Panda was born at 36 weeks.

Because Panda was preterm, during this pregnancy I knew that I would have to have an early consultation with my MFM. She strongly recommended weekly progesterone shots from 16 weeks to 36 weeks to prevent preterm labor. Although she admitted that some of the literature showed that the effect may not be as great for someone who delivered late preterm, she also said that there were other studies that indicated that progesterone might also prevent the occurrence of placental abruptions (which I am at higher risk for due to prior history). Additionally, while I initially tested negative for the antibody that increases the risk for fetal heart block, when my MFM redrew the labs at 16 weeks, I was positive again so I had to do the weekly appointments and fetal echos between 16 and 24 weeks.

I did elect to do the weekly progesterone shots, but I don’t know if I would make that same decision again having gone through 19 weekly shots. I’ll try to do a separate post on my experience with those shots, but there were insurance issues, the shots themselves weren’t very fun andย I was allergic to the oil the progesterone was suspended in.ย  I can say that I don’t know if the progesterone shots have helped or if this third pregnancy would have gone smoothly no matter what, but I’m happy to report I haven’t had any of the problems during this pregnancy that I did with Lion or Panda! I had some spotting in the first two trimesters, but nothing serious (unlike the placental abruption during my first pregnancy in which it looked like I’d gotten my period) and likely the result of what was then a low-lying placenta (which has since moved). While I also had preterm contractions (every five minutes for multiple hours) on a few occasions beginning around 32 weeks, the fetal fibronectin test came back negative, indicating that these contractions did not indicate that I was actually in labor.

Aside from the weekly shots and extra appointments, though, I’m so happy that we’ve had a smooth pregnancy. We’re now looking forward to having Baby 3 sometime in the next couple of weeks, safe in the knowledge that Baby 3 will be born full term!