Pregnancy is a condition that puts all women at slightly increased
risk for blood clots, particularly during the last trimester. It is a
normal part of the physiology of pregnancy and may help women to stop
bleeding during/after delivery. Unfortunately, for a few women it
becomes a hazard when clots form in other parts of the body, such as
the brain or lungs or deep in the legs. In addition, some women have a
pre-existing coagulation disorder which was unknown until pregnancy
put them at further risk. These conditions are more common than once
thought, in fact I have two friends with these issues - one lost a
younger brother many years ago to what now is likely to have been
clotting due to the disorder. Depending on the disorder, the woman can
be put on a regimen of anti-clotting medication, such as coumadin or
lovenox, that may continue for the rest of her life. Diagnosis of the
condition is done through blood testing. However, much of this testing
cannot take place when the women(or man) is already on medication. If
there has already been an incident, the physician may wait until the
clot has dissolved and at some point take the patient off medication
long enough to perform the testing and then resume medication. Since
this condition does tend to run in families, once one person has been
diagnosed, it would be a good idea for others in the family to be
screened. Although many people have these disorders with no observable
symptoms, others can be struck down without warning and it is a risk
factor for both mother and baby during pregnancy.

Sharon Knorr, BSMT(ASCP), IBCLC
Newark, NY USA

On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 10:12 PM, laurie wheeler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Nicki
> I think it sounds logical, too, that she has bleeding when brushing teeth,
> nosebleeds, AND bleeding from nipples, BUT she also has pain. So the latch
> and baby's tongue needs to be evaluated, AND I would assume she needs to
> have blood work done for clotting studies?
> Laurie Wheeler RN MN IBCLC
> Mississippi USA
>
>             *

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