Third mc, ulcerative colitis and anti-D

[donttrythisathome]

Hi
I went for a scan this week (8 weeks pregnant) and was told there was no heartbeat.
This is my third mc in 10 months.

I suffer from ulcerative colitis (UC), and had flare ups (not too bad, but not good either) I think during all 3 pregnancies. I also have a 3 year old daughter, and had no trouble with that pregnancy.

I need to start taking medication to get the UC into remission. I didn't realise this until one of the doctors in the hospital mentioned it last week, despite the fact I've always mentioned I have UC before when asked about medical history! I prefer not to take medication when pregnant but for this it looks like I must.

I wondered about anti-D too.

I am rhesus negative, and wondered if I should get anti-d after a flare of of UC (as there is blood involved)?

I have an appointment with the consultant tomorrow before I go for the ERPC on Monday, but tbh he is fairly unhelpful.

It's a long shot, but is there anyone out there who has experience of this?

I don't know about the UC, but shouldn't you be having anti-D anyway after a MC if you are Rh-ve? As far as I know the risk is your blood and a potentially Rh+ve baby's blood mixing. Since bleeding in UC would be confined to your gut I wouldn't think it's relevant to the rhesus issues, but definitely worth asking the question when you see the consultant.
Are the meds for the UC long term or is taking them for a short time to get it into remission before TTC again an option?
I'm sorry about your MC. I'm in the middle of MC4 and my third in 9 months and it completely sucks. Will you get some testing done now?

Thanks bakingtins, yes this is something I should have added. I did wonder about this, but have not been offered it.

I need to keep taking the meds to keep the UC in remission unfortunately.

I'm sorry to hear about your mcs - 3 is bad enough, 4 must be tough. Have you been tested or have any known issues?

I got the testing done after the first 2 because of my age - nothing found.
This is why I think it may have a UC or rhesus negative link. Pity I had to make the link myself rather than a consultant in the recurrent miscarriages unit making it for me!

The consultant told me yesterday that UC does not contribute to mc. This is not what the NACC (National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease) says on their pregnancy leaflet or what another obstretrician (sic) at the EPU told me.

I also had to mention the anti D to him - he bluffed and said yes yes you will get anti D after the EPRC. Turned out when I went through pre-op procedures with midwife that there was nothing in notes about my blood group, so she had to take bloods. Again I had to mention this to her myself - she wasn't aware.

Apparently you don't get anti D after a mc before 12 weeks.

I don't feel able to trust my consultant, so my message to anyone is always question.

Makes sense that if it's an auto-immune disease it might be linked to autoimmune causes of MC. Would it be steroids that you have to take? You might find they are actually helpful in sustaining a pregnancy if there is any truth in your suspicions that the two are linked.
I'm sorry you are not getting more confidence inspiring care.

I don't take steroids, although yes I think they might be good for pregnancy!
I think if I have another mc after this I will seriously consider going private if anyone recommends this wholeheartedly to me, although I don't have any spare cash. I'm old though so no time to waste!

Thanks for comments.