Pregnancy Questions

I'm not planning on having kids yet. I'm only 22. But this is all new to me and I've never question the some day I'll have babies.

I've read that with ITP you can have kids but I would like to maybe know some of your expierences as a mothers with ITP

So my overall question is, is it too dangerous having kids with ITP? or is it just complicated because of some extra cares that one must have? I suppose it depends on your platet count but maybe while women are pregnant they tend to drop?

Thank you all

I didn't have ITP when I had my kids, but I can answer your questions.

First of all, it's possible that you might be in remission when you do decide to have kids. Some women stay in remission and some do not. It's not worth worrying about at this point at all. Whether counts are up or down, you can still successfully have children.

Some women have to treat during pregnancy, and they mostly use IVIG and steroids during that time. They do not have to keep normal counts the entire time, just a safe count. The biggest fear is delivery, and in order to have an epidural, you need a count of about 100. However, epidurals are not necessary. I had two deliveries without it...no drugs at all, and I preferred it that way. Delivering with low counts obviously raises the risk of bleeding, so getting counts up for delivery is preferred. I have seen women though who could not get counts past single digits and still do very well. It helps if you have a high-risk OB-GYN and a skilled hemo. Sadly, I have seen some hemo's discourage women from having children because of ITP, and I think that is just ridiculous, especially if the woman has been in remission or is doing well otherwise. There was a woman here years ago who couldn't get counts above 10 and was having twins. We went through the entire pregnancy with her and her poor, scared husband. She did just fine and checks in once in a while to tell us about the twins.

You can read the pregnancy section to get some idea of what the women have gone through.

I have had ITP since I was 12. My platelets stayed normal until AFTER I delivered. I aways droped to 1. or 2k about 6 months after delivery. I had 4 out of my 6 kids without any medication during selivery and I agree with Sandi I prefer no drugs. My last two were twin boys and I had a c-section so I had no choice. The only thing I would say think about is breastfeeding. I breastfeed every one of my kids, but once my platelets crashed and I had to go on steroids or chemo, I had to quit breastfeeding. I had the option to pump and dump for 6 months, but I felt it wasn't worth it.

Thank you!