Midwife put me on aspirin due to previous "low birth weight"

[Ilikepistachio]

Hi guys, this is my very first post here so please bare with me!

I am currently 10 weeks pregnant and saw the midwife for my booking appointment recently. When she was getting all the details of me, she asked me what the birth weight was of my 1st child...I said 6 pounds 11 ounces, born at 42 weeks. She said that's a low birth weight and has recommend I take 2 x 75mg aspirin to increase the weight of baby no.2. There may have been some restriction in the flow between the placenta and my blood. I told her that all my scans were normal and my bump was growing as it should so I'm quite shocked that there could have been some restriction in growth in utero. I wasn't really thinking during the appointment to ask her a bunch of questions but I'm now thinking is 6 pounds 11 ounces really that low of a birth weight for her to jump to giving me aspirin? I've had otherwise a healthy pregnancy, my blood pressure has always been good, no concerns there.

I'm just not quite sure how she could prescribe me that without any evidence. Surely a scan would tell a better story. I'm not a fan of just taking medicine for the sake of it and I'm nervous the aspirin will reduce my blood pressure so much I'll have dizzy spells which is inconvenient as I am the primary driver at home, I don't want to get dizzy randomly due to my blood pressure being lowered by the aspirin.

Has anyone been put on this specifically because a previous baby was smaller than expected? Especially without any evidence there were problems with the placenta. Did you have any side effects?

Thanks so much x

I've never been put on aspirin.
Dc1 38.5 wks and 6lb4
Dc2 37.2 wks 6lb2
Dc3 41.4 wks 8lb2 (was told he was a "big baby")

As with any medical professional Midwives can recommend that you do something. It's up to you whether you follow those recommendations. Also, as with other medical professionals they aren't always up to date/right for you etc.

Your body, your baby, your decision, your responsibility

I got given 150mg from 14 weeks

Its my 4th pregnancy but first which has reached over 12 weeks
Im 26 and was told it was preventing preeclampsia which I am high risk for

It's pretty standard to prescribe low dose aspirin for almost every pregnancy some doctors will actually recommend it for all pregnancies, the risks are negligible and the benefits are potential big. It helps to prevent all sorts of complications with pregnancy.

Your first baby will have probably flagged up on your personalised percentile chart as being in a low percentile for gestation. The aspirin is just precautionary, to help offset the possibility of issues with placenta blood flow.

I've been on aspirin to reduce my risk of pre-eclampsia and it's been absolutely fine. I usually have low blood pressure anyway and it didn't affect that for me. The only problem I've had is now I'm in my third trimester I feel it makes my heart burn worse. Its just precautionary and upto you if you take it, but I think it's quite common practice now and it's a cheap and evidence-based way of preventing some potential problems. :)

At 6lb 11 (~3.050kg), from the chart you can see your baby was below the 10th centile for their gestational age. So quite small. Could be a case that you just make small babies. But could also be a case of placental insufficiency.

Placental insufficiency could be caused by narrowed/improperly formed blood vessels in the placenta, making blood difficult to flow throughout. So baby is getting <100% of what it should, so doesn't grow as big. Aspirin thins the blood, making it easier to flow, so more blood gets to baby. 75mg is a very small dose, and shouldn't have any effect upon your blood pressure.

I've taken aspirin in both my pregnancies. First (75mg once a day) because I was at risk of pre-eclampsia. Second time (150mg once a day) because I developed pre-eclampsia in the first pregnancy anyway. Got it a second time again despite it. Both times the pre-eclampsia was mild, and both babies were born at very decent weights for their gestation. 7lb5 at 37+1 with DC1, and 8lb1 at 37+6 with DC2. No episodes of dizziness, and no bearing (since it went up anyway) on my blood pressure.

Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

Aspirin doesn’t lower blood pressure on it’s own, so nothing to worry about there. Don’t take it at night if you’re concerned.

There is very good evidence to support this.

6lbs 11oz is 3kg. 3kg is small at 42 weeks. It would certainly be a low centile birthweight.

We know that a very high proportion of unexplained stillbirths are small for gestational age.

We also know that aspirin improves placental perfusion. Which in turn improves growth/weight.

I’m sorry if this wasn’t fully explained to you, but there is certainly good evidence to support this and is in the best interests of your baby.

I've been prescribed it for my third as my first and second baby were just below the 3rd centile line when born.
1st baby was 5lb 12 @ 39.6
2nd baby was 5lb 15 @ 41.4

But I'm little myself and the midwives have even said I won't have big babies. Plus all the women on my mum's side have small babies too, so I suppose genetics maybe play a part in it. Try not to worry as some people just have small babies. But if your worried talk it through with your M/W x