Low blood circulation affecting pregnancy

[madgiebean]

Hi all!

I'm not currently pregnant at the minute but hoping to be soon. I was just wondering if anyone had any knowledge or advice on possible complications that could occur having low blood circulation.

My blood circulation as always been poor since I was a child and i was diagnosed with Reynauds when I was about 14. When my hands and feet are cold my extremities go completely White with no blood flowing through them at all (very painful I must say!) Anyway, My blood tests showed i had the presence of antinuclear antibodies, which couple with raynauds could suggest an underlying disease but thankfully nothing has been found! The only issue I've ever really had is my poor blood circulation which means i scar really easily and I take forever to heal even the tiniest of cuts (besides reynauds which I find unbarably painful when I'm cold), oh and not being able to go on certain contraceptives or take certain medications due to a risk of blood clotting, strokes etc.
I haven't spoken to my GP about this affecting pregnancies as it has never came up and im worried it would cause problems so I wondered if anyone else had a similar issue and whether it was nothing really to worry about which im hoping is the case.

Thank you!!

I think you know the answer really-you need to discuss this with your GP. And I'd suggest doing it before you fall pregnant so if you need to do anything you can start as soon as you get a positive. For example, may well be that you start a low dose of aspirin to reduce the risk of miscarriage but this has to be under the guidance of a healthcare provider as there may be other complications linked to your raynauds that I don't know about. There may also be specialist haematologists who see pregnant ladies (I'm thinking of those with other blood conditions like sickle cell) so your GP may suggest a referral to them for advice.

It may well be there is nothing to worry about and you'll have a smooth pregnancy (it might even improve your raynauds as you produce a lot more blood volume...or you could be at risk of fainting a lot) but you have to discuss it with your GP.