Isoimmunization and Pre-e: Anne and/or a Doctor

[full nest]

I have isoimmunization antibodies against my babies when pregnant (like rh disease, but with a different blood factor). I've also had preeclampsia in both my pregnancies. My doctor said that the chance of my getting it again is high, so in my next pregnancy he will have me take vitamins C and E as well as a baby aspirin every day, and he will watch me closely.

Please, Anne and/or a doctor, can you tell me if taking baby aspirin every day will cause more of my antibodies cross the placenta, since my blood will be thinner? I know the POINT of baby aspirin is to make it cross the placenta better (no?), I don't want the antibodies crossing! And could the baby aspirin cause more mixing of maternal and fetal blood, resulting in more of an antibody response and a higher titer?

I definitely want to avoid having preeclampsia again, but I want to make sure the solution to one problem won't become the cause of another. Isoimmunization can be quite deadly for a fetus at a much earlier gestation than the typical time of onset for preeclampsia, so I'd rather err on the side of preventing problems from the isoimmunization. Naturally I would never ignore my doctor's advice - I'm up front with him about EVERYTHING - but I always like to arm myself with information before I talk with him. Thanks!



Cheers,
Mother Bird

[annegarrett]

I appreciate your confidence in me and I do so enjoy impersonating a doctor on tv sometimes but this question is far out of my realm of information. As an fyi for our readers of Ask the Expert--these posts are manually emailed to a rotating list of experts who volunteer their time--so they don't read these unless they pop up in their inbox. We will circulate this one for you and if we get an answer back we will post it. Thanks for asking--it is a good and interesting question and we will hopefully get someone who knows what to tell you.


Anne Garrett
Executive Director
Preeclampsia Foundation

[expert on call]

The medications prescribed by the doctor are reasonable for attempting to minimize this patient's risk for recurrent preeclampsia. To the best of my knowledge, there is no evidence or reason to suspect that the treatment to reduce preeclampsia risk will worsen the patient's isoimmunization problems.

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