Consultant advised me to take asprin?

[Emlou1999]

I am a healthy 21 year old with 2 daughters,aged 4&2. I'm currently 29 weeks pregnant with our third child, a baby boy. None of us have serious health issues or concerns however after my check up scan at 23 weeks my consultant advised me to start taking 125mg of asprin daily. However he gave no reason why he was telling me to take this. I have never been told to taken asprin when pregnant so did a bit of research when I got home and there are many reasons why NOT to take asprin in pregnancy as it is actually quite dangerous, unless being used to help with conditions such as pre-eclampsia(which I haven't got or haven't previously had with my 2 other pregnancies)
I saw midwife a few days later so asked her if I should be taking asprin, midwife doesn't recommend taking asprin when pregnant when there are no health concerns for me or baby. So I haven't been taking it.

I saw consultant last week (28weeks pregnant) and again they told me to take asprin, I explained I haven't taken any at all since I last saw him and don't understand why I should as baby is actually a perfectly healthy baby growing at a perfect rate.
Consultant said to take asprin to make baby grow bigger? Although I had just came from having a growth scan where baby was confirmed to be growing absolutely fine without me taking asprin.

I asked consultant to either prescribe the asprin or at least write it in my birthing notes so I have it recorded that he is advising me to take such a large dosage of asprin daily and consultant said he wouldnt prescribe it as it would be expensive( even though I don't pay for my medication when pregnant?!) Consultant wanted me to go home and buy he aspirin over the counter at local pharmacy.
I'm conceded as to why he is telling me to take asprin with no medical reason as to why it would Benefit me and baby?, Especially such a high dosage of it.

Thank you x

125 isn't that high. I take 150 daily because of previous miscarriages and familial risk of pre eclampsia.

Only thing you can do is ask for a reasoned medical opinion as to why you should take it and the risks of not taking it. Then you can come to your conclusions.

Why are you seeing a consultant? That would usually indicate a higher risk pregnancy.

Some trusts are advising all pregnant women to take aspirin now as it guards against so many complications in later pregnancy that aren't predictable. Also your dose is not particularly high.

I take 150mg aspirin daily as preventative against pre-eclampsia. This is DC4 and I've never actually developed pre-eclampsia in the past, but my blood pressure has been borderline.

Your consultant really ought to explain why they are telling you to take aspirin but as PP say, the fact you are seeing a consultant would generally indicate you are high risk.

Also, just picking up on the growth comment. Has anyone ever talked to you about PAPP-A? Low levels of that can indicate potential growth problems and aspirin can often be prescribed to reduce the risk.

I take 150mg due to recurrent miscarriage. My consultant said the evidence for benefit in my case isn’t great but risks are minimal. I’ve done some reading and agree with her assessment - happy to try anything at this stage. Why are you seeing a consultant and having growth scans if you are low risk?

Also aspirin costs pennies to buy across the counter but the admin and pharmacy fees for you getting it on prescription will end up costing the NHS a lot more than the cost of the drug.

Why are you seeing a consultant if you and baby are healthy?
Telling you to buy it is sensible as it's very cheep to but but prescription s are very expensive to NHS. You may get them free but they still cost NHS.
The dose is not large and it is currently being advised for various reasons.
I am suspicious you are seeing a consultant and say all is healthy? Do you have small babies? That alone is a risk.
You need to ask your consultant to explain clearly why that advice asperin or ask you midwife to find out for you.

I have definitely heard of aspirin being advised in pregnancy for different things. I'm mainly confused about why your consultant hasn't clearly explained why you should take it. If you are consultant-led I'd imagine there are some risk factors at play here? I'd speak to your midwife again or get in touch with the consultant to ask for a clear explanation. You've been told twice now to take it which suggests there is a reason and you should. Personally I'd trust my own doctor over Google but do seek clarification if you're worried.

It's worrying that you trust random people on the Internet more than you do your consultant

I've started taking 150mg of Aspirin as my midwife recommended I do so. I am pregnant with twins. It's to help prevent pre-eclampsia, and my blood pressure was also a bit high. I would listen to the medical professionals, but I think they could have explained more clearly why you need to take it.

Aspirin costs pennies. Prescribed medicine that you can buy OTC costs the nhs unnecessary funds. If you are not on the breadline, it's not unreasonable to ask you to pay for aspirin, in spite of the fact that you are pregnant, and save prescriptions for medication otherwise unavailable over the counter.

www.harrogateandruraldistrictccg.nhs.uk/data/uploads/56824-otc-leaflet-6pp-final-screen.pdf

That said, I hope everything is ok with your pregnancy.

If you need cheap low dose aspirin both Wilko and B&M sell it for 80p a box. It's the yellow box.

My midwife has advised me to take aspirin as in my last pregnancy from 35 weeks and during labour I had high blood pressure, but didn't develop pre-eclampsia.

This time she wants me to go on it as preventative measure in case my blood pressure is high again. A lot of women are prescribed it for this reason rather than because their current pregnancy is high risk.
I had concerns about the risks of taking such medication during pregnancy, but to be honest I trust my midwife more than what Dr Google tells me. It seems strange that your consultant would refuse to give you a valid reason why you are supposed to be taking it, but I would have thought this information would be written in your medical notes for your midwife to access. I completely understand why you wouldn't want to take it without knowing why, but there must be a reason. A consultant isn't going to advise you to take it just for the sake of it. Maybe see if your midwife can find out why at your next appointment.

Is there a reason you are under a consultant and not midwife led care??

I also take aspirin during pregnancy and have done since 12wks. No previous problems in my last pregnancy but the whole point is it's to PREVENT problems in pregnancy. They haven't advised you to take it just for fun. Why on earth would you ignore medical advice designed to protect you and your baby from a qualified consultant without a really good reason?

I was prescribed aspirin as a preventative- I was over 40 which is a risk factor. Had a straightforward pregnancy but the aspirin was advised, so I took it. It’s very common.