Aspirin to prevent pre eclampsia

[Lara78]

Hello,
I'm 42 years old 16 weeks pregnant. Mu obstetrician asked me to have aspirin every day in order to prevent pre eclampsia. The reason is because I'm +40 years old.

At the time when she told me I didn't think about it but once I've got home I didn't feel comfortable taking medicine everyday for months while pregnant. So I'm not taking it.

Everybody tells me I should have them, but I really don't feel confortable. I don't like taking medicine.

Any opinions on this? I think I'm making the right thing, at the same time there's a little voice saying what if something happens to the baby and it's my fault?

I was high risk for pre eclampsia and took 150mg of aspirin each day up until 36 weeks. It's such a low dose and I can't see a reason why you'd be advised to take it if it wasn't medically justified

It's very common to have to take aspirin in pregnancy.

It's your baby, your body and your risk to take. Your dr will have recorded that they have asked you to take it, if you don't and something happens it's on you, not them.

I’m on aspirin daily. My high blood pressure makes me higher risk of preeclampsia. I’m currently 35 weeks and so far so good. Aspirin has been proven to drastically reduce the chance of developing preeclampsia. It’s such a low dose and there’s no evidence to suggest it would have a negative affect on mother or baby. I don’t know why anyone would refuse to take it.

Take it, PE is awful and dangerous for both mother and baby. Both ds and I nearly died from it years ago before there were preventative measures.

I was nervous about this too but did lots of research and looked at the NICE guidelines etc. I ended up convinced it was really low risk and worth doing. I'm in my third trimester now, still taking it and baby is very healthy with no signs of pre-eclampsia.

I’ve been prescribed 150 mg aspirin for my risk of preeclampsia (my mum had it with me) and at first I felt the same as you. I was nervous and had never actually taken an aspirin before in my life let alone every day for months! However I bit the bullet as I knew it was an unjustified fear and everything is going fine so far and now I don’t even worry about it (been taking it for nearly 5 weeks now). Plus my mum was very very ill and both her and myself nearly died due to the preeclampsia, so I really would recommend you take it. Good luck.

@Lara78

Hello, I'm 42 years old 16 weeks pregnant. Mu obstetrician asked me to have aspirin every day in order to prevent pre eclampsia. The reason is because I'm +40 years old.

At the time when she told me I didn't think about it but once I've got home I didn't feel comfortable taking medicine everyday for months while pregnant. So I'm not taking it.

Everybody tells me I should have them, but I really don't feel confortable. I don't like taking medicine.

Any opinions on this? I think I'm making the right thing, at the same time there's a little voice saying what if something happens to the baby and it's my fault?

As you get older your ability to produce a healthy placenta (and for it to remain healthy past 36 weeks) becomes more difficult.

It’s not just preclampsia that you need to worry about. I had something called ‘invisible preclampsia’ whereby despite being on aspirin (due to age) and blood thinners & having no symptoms of it until my DS’ heart almost failed my placenta turned out to be riddled by clots. The consultant said it’s fairly common in older wonen which is why inductions at 36-40 weeks are offered as standard to women who are over 40.

I was prescribed asprin 150mg daily from 12weeks - 36weeks in my pregnancy. My blood pressure was improved but even with the asprin, I developed pregnancy hypertension at 38weeks and DD arrived within 24hrs. I'm of the view that it helped me get as far along my pregancy as i did, and wouldn't hesitate to take it in a future pregnancy if advised.

Ultimately its your baby and your body. If you don’t want to take aspirin but accept the risks that after 36 weeks something might go wrong (or you could get preclampsia before this), it’s up to you. Just make sure you read the right research when making up your mind.

@Lara78 I don’t take any medication myself unless I feel it’s absolutely necessary.

I was prescribed Aspirin too and done plenty research and took it as recommended. It’s a very very low dose, and the risks of preeclampsia far outweigh any minuscule risk of taking low dose aspirin. It’s prescribed to a huge number of pregnant woman for all different reasons!

Just take it, why would you not and risk pre eclampsia!

I had to take it in my second pregnancy due to high blood pressure towards the end of my first pregnancy. I don't really see the big deal.

The aspirin won't just help prevent pre eclampsia, it also helps with placenta function.
The risks of taking aspirin are tiny however your age puts you at a significantly higher risk of complications which aspirin can help prevent.
I had severe pre eclampsia at 22 and it nearly killed both me and my baby. I only became symptomatic just before it was too late. My organs were shutting down and my body was shutting down my pregnancy to save me. My 32 week baby was tiny, had no fluid, was distressed and my placenta was failing fast. Thankfully we are both fine now but pre eclampsia is serious.
I took aspirin with my second to help prevent miscarriage (after 3) and to prevent PE. My second child was born at 36 weeks completely PE free.
Nothing is recommended for pregnant women without the risks being seriously weighed up and it has been decided that for women like you aspirin will increase the chances of a healthy pregnancy and a live mother and baby at the end.

Have you looked at what pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are? You're aware you and the baby could both die?

If you've done your own research and you're confident you're right then fill your boots.

I wouldn't.

150mg is actually not that low! In the USA baby aspirin is 75mg and in Europe the standard dosage is 100mg. My consultant said it was perfectly safe and every first time mother over a certain age (30 I think) should actually take it since those are two risk factors for PE.

I took it all the way up until 35-36 weeks but had to stop because I was getting nosebleeds every day that were really hard to stop. So even though I was taking 100mg, it definitely had a noticeable effect on blood clotting. It has no risks for the baby at all, and the side effects in the mother are not medically dangerous. In my case I decided to stop because of physical risks such as getting a nosebleed while driving.

Just take it, it's much safer than not!

At some places, for example University of Texas Health Science Centre, aspirin is now routinely prescribed to all pregnant women just to make sure they don't miss out anyone who should be taking it but isn't obviously in a high risk category.

Definitely take it if you have been advised to. I wish it had been suggested to me in my first pregnancy. I was 34 and developed gestational hypertension, then preeclampsia (the latter wasn't picked up by the midwives until too late, despite massive swelling of my face and limbs, and me reporting episodes where my vision had gone entirely black, but that's another story!). DS was born unexpectedly early at 37 weeks and is lucky not to have been stillborn; as it is, he required life-saving surgery shortly after birth (and a month long stay in NICU) to repair damage to his gut caused by my placenta shutting off his oxygen supply. Meanwhile, I was considered to be in 'serious danger' of stroke as my blood pressure remained sky high even after birth. It was strongly impressed upon me that in the event of any further pregnancies I should be taking daily aspirin to try and reduce the risk of it all happening again! I hope all goes well with you and your baby; preeclampsia is horrible.

@Mammyofasuperbaby

The aspirin won't just help prevent pre eclampsia, it also helps with placenta function. The risks of taking aspirin are tiny however your age puts you at a significantly higher risk of complications which aspirin can help prevent. I had severe pre eclampsia at 22 and it nearly killed both me and my baby. I only became symptomatic just before it was too late. My organs were shutting down and my body was shutting down my pregnancy to save me. My 32 week baby was tiny, had no fluid, was distressed and my placenta was failing fast. Thankfully we are both fine now but pre eclampsia is serious. I took aspirin with my second to help prevent miscarriage (after 3) and to prevent PE. My second child was born at 36 weeks completely PE free. Nothing is recommended for pregnant women without the risks being seriously weighed up and it has been decided that for women like you aspirin will increase the chances of a healthy pregnancy and a live mother and baby at the end.

Yes. Placenta function is why the rate of stillbirth is so high for the over 40s.

I had early onset PE in my first pregnancy which massively increased the risks of getting it again the next time round, so was also put on low dose aspirin early in pregnancy.

Took it the whole way through and no PE, and a beautiful healthy baby at the end so I would definitely recommend taking as directed!

I've been prescribed the same dosage to take from 12 weeks pregnant due to hypertension at the end of my last pregnancy (which resulted in a 3 day induction and instrumental delivery.) I will definitely be taking it, and I think it is quite a common this to be prescribed.

@thetesdybears hope you don't mind me asking, but I was wondering if the aspirin made a difference for your blood pressure the second time around? I think your situation was very similar to my own and would love to know if you are happy to share. Sorry to hijack OP.

Thank you for all the responses. I was 99% I wouldn't take it but after reading all this I am now thinking I should take it 😓 however, it still doesn't feel right to me.
I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about the baby, having a drug for so many months can't be good although there's no prove of anything bad has happened. Aspirin is not recommended for pregnant women but now suddenly it is for this.
Plus I also read that it prevents PE on a 15%, that's not a lot.

I wish I knew somebody who didn't take it but I seem to be the only one with these concerns.

If you're worried about the baby, take the aspirin. It helps with placenta function and blood flow to the baby! If your placenta isn't performing as it should that's definitely harmful to the baby.

@rosie561 Well I'm not sure tbh. My first pregnancy it was only when I got closer to 40wks my blood pressure was too high. I was induced at 41wks as I'd been sent to the hospital a few times for it and was already overdue so they induced me next day.

With my second pregnancy my waters broke at 37wks so I never got to the end to know if it made a difference. I imagine it wld have though.

Perfectly safe OP.
I had low papp-a in my pregnancy, was advised and took aspirin up to 36 weeks.

Nobody 'likes' taking medicine. People take it when there's a medical need.
If your doctor has said you have an increased risk of preeclampsia, why wouldn't you want to take a medication that would help to protect you and your baby? Preeclampsia is potentially life threatening.
At the very least, you should ensure your doctor knows you're refusing to take it so they're aware that your increased risk isn't being treated by their recommendations. No one can force you to take it but your doctor really needs to have the correct information in your medical record.
You shouldn't be looking for someone who hasn't taken it just to make yourself feel better. It's not going to change your medical risk just to know someone else didn't take it and was okay.

I've been prescribed aspirin due to an increased risk of preeclampsia & I wouldn't dream of ignoring the risk and not taking preventative measures. Even if I developed preeclampsia I'll feel better knowing I'd tried to reduce my risk and prevent this outcome.
I've also taken antibiotics whilst pregnant due to a water infection - if untreated it could become a kidney infection and require me to go into hospital and be on a drip. The risk to the baby from the antibiotics is far far lower than if I have kidney damage.
I've also taken omeprazole due to severe heartburn & again, the risk to the baby is extremely low, but I was barely able to eat. The health of the mother is important too and sometimes that requires treatment. Medicine is not automatically harmful to a baby.

I’m taking it this time around, I’m 25 and otherwise healthy but my DD born in 2019 had IUGR, I had to have a c section because my placenta was failing and she could have died, it meant have steroids, scans every week, taking my bags in every appointment not knowing when they were going to send me down for the section, it was mentally very stressful and DD was born very small and underweight, and early, she struggled to latch and breastfeed because of this and was very jaundiced. Recovery was hard and we worked tirelessly to flush out her jaundice and get her weight up to avoid her being hospitalised once we were home.

This time, to avoid the same I’ve been recommended to take a baby dose of aspirin every day throughout the pregnancy.

It’s for the benefit of your baby, not necessarily for you. If you get pre-eclampsia it affects baby and that’s what they’re trying to avoid.

Take the aspirin, it’s a tiny dose that could make the difference between a healthy baby and a unhealthy one.