# Advice re Baby Aspirin in late pregnancy please



## marymac930 (Aug 13, 2006)

Hi, 

I am currently 32 wks pregnant and have been taking 1 baby aspirin daily since my ET.  I started taking it after researching on the internet rather than being told to by a consultant/doctor/etc as after experiencing 1 miscarriage and 2 failed ICSIs I figured it wouldn't do me any harm to give it a go as didn't find any evidence that it would be detrimental to my or babys health.

When I went for my 20wk scan they recommended I stop taking it at 34wks and said that it should have done what it was supposed to do by then for sure... obviously they are far more knowledgeable regarding this than me however I am nervous to stop taking it incase my blood does then become too thick and my baby suffers as a result.  I guess they want me to stop it at 34wks incase I go in to labour early as I could suffer severe blood loss, etc so I can understand why they said this.

Although I was never told that the reason for m/c and failed cycles was due to my blood being too thick, I was never tested for it and told that this wasn't the reason either.  I was going to ask the hospital to run some tests to check but there wasn't time before my last tx and I just wanted to get on with it asap.

I'll never know why it worked this time but taking aspirin is something that I had never done before so it makes me think this could be why it worked.  Therefore, I am nervous and worried that if I suddenly stop, it could lead to me damaging my baby.  I'd be grateful for any advice/info regarding this.

Thanks

Mary


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## mazv (Jul 31, 2006)

Hi mary,

Congrats on your pregnancy  On the home stretch now  To be honest best person to ask on this would be your obstetrician and if they have said stop at 34 weeks then I would follow their advice. Generally you should avoid using NSAID type drugs (including aspirin) after 30 weeks when you are into the third trimester (they can cause premature closure of a blood vessel in the baby's heart that usually happens naturally following birth) Some clinics will advise continuing low dose aspirin (75mg a day) up to birth as it is a low dose and unlikely to cause this problem but others will stop it at third tirmester or earlier. The actual evidence to support the use of low dose aspirin isn't all that great (in as much as there is no clear benefit from studies that it makes a difference but it doesn't appear to cause problems so can be taken). Most of the studies using aspirin have only used it up to end of first trimester anyway and you are well beyond that now.

I can understand why you feel this is what has made the difference to your condition and it's up to you how you think you would manage if you were to stop but to be honest I would advise following advise of your clinic/consultant.

Hope this helps and all the best for D day and beyond  
Maz x


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## marymac930 (Aug 13, 2006)

Hi Maz

Thanks ever so much for your advice...  I'm just about to run out of aspirin so I'm going to be brave and stop myself from buying another packet!  I know it makes sense to stop esp seeing as they said I should when I had my scan.  I guess having been through all this tx it makes one a bit paranoid about stuff going wrong as we never quite believe we could be so lucky to finally get what we want... but I think I should follow the advice of the professionals.

Congrats on your little girl - she looks beautiful

Mx


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