When a Miscarriage Isn't Nature's Way

A Closer Look at Autoimmune Disordes

By Virginia Gilbert

Under Danzer's supervision, Roberta learned to give herself heparin shots in the stomach twice a day while she was trying to conceive to facilitate implantation. When she got pregnant -- fortunately, after just a couple of months -- she maintained the heparin therapy until the end of her second trimester. Her placenta and amniotic fluid were in good condition and the fetus was growing normally -- all signs that the heparin was indeed keeping clots from forming. With Danzer's permission, Roberta stopped the heparin shots at the beginning of her third trimester and continued taking a daily baby aspirin for the duration of her pregnancy. Although he arrived 2 weeks early, Roberta's second son Bobby, now 5 months, weighed in at a strapping 8 pounds, 11 ounces.

Not every woman with APS needs to take heparin during pregnancy. After miscarrying at 16 weeks, Kathy Hennessy of Greenville, South Carolina learned she had low levels of antiphospholipid antibodies. Because her condition was borderline, she required only baby aspirin during her second pregnancy.

Daughter Emma Gwynne, now 17 months, was born safely one week late weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces.