Warfarin after childbirth?

[tinkerbell23]

Any idea why a young girl would be commenced on warfarin after childbirth

Im aware of what warfarin is for etc but im not familiar with this scenario x

[anneasquith]

calf pain. dvt, previous cardiac surgery ?

[anneasquith]

unusual post natal blood results ? google HELP syndrome.

[tinkerbell23]

She has a blood infection?
Major bloodloss during child birth x

The family are pretty in the dark to be honest x

Thanks guys i will .. Just thought "hmmmmm" cos she bled alot and is now on warfarin!? :0/

Maby the infections causing her blood to co-ag? Xx

[tinkerbell23]

I did say to her bro about the risk of dvt as shes bed rest and thought she was mabye having clexane cos he just said blood thinner but he came bk and said warf :0/

[anneasquith]

she had large blood loss , now on warfarin, bit strange tink.

[tinkerbell23]

Makes sense anne however i think shes septic!!! X

[tinkerbell23]

I thought so too- but if shes septic, her blood may be clotting- makes sense - but i am no doctor!!!

Xx

[firewatch]

SQUAD!!!!

[tinkerbell23]

Id bet my mortgage (if i had one) that its sepsis x

[anneasquith]

are you positive its warfarin she is on ?

[tinkerbell23]

Yes X

[boxtops]

sqad'll tell you in the morning

[Sqad]

I have no idea...........unless there is or was an underlying medical condition throughout her pregnancy.

\\\sqad'll tell you in the morning\\\

Sorry Boxy ;-)

[daffy654]

My niece had to have blood thinners throughout each of her 3 pregnancies and for a time after each one. I have no idea what the actual name of her condition was though.

[Im a BusyBee]

my daughter gave birth in july and as she has a 'high BMI' she had to give herself warfarin injections daily for 2 weeks and she was also supposed to wear support stockings. we all thought this was rather harse (the injections) as she is no different now to when she had her previous baby and has always been very healthy with no medical problems and sailed through her pregnancy again with no problems. I would just add she had to be under some additional special consultant throughout pregnancy due to BMI which was a complete waste of time and money.

[LazyGun]

Ermm - seems all a little strange, tbh. Was she on warfarin prior to the pregnancy or during the pregnancy? There are conditions ,such as pregnancy induced hypercoagulability, the clinical significance of which could be a DVT or similar pulmonary embolism, but mostly they would tend to use Low Molecular Weight Heparin. Warfarin could theoretically have a teratogenic effect prior to 6 weeks gestation ( although it seems to be ok after that)

Therefore, only if she is at high risk for hypercoaguability would they be using prophylactic anticoagulation, ( hereditary coagulation factor disorder, previous history of DVT, AntiThrombin III deficiency), and this usually starts 3-6 months prior to birth , and will continue after birth for around 3 months or so.

I dont think her having sepsis would be a reason to treat with coagulant therapy.Sepsis can, in some circumstances, cause a derangement of the coagulation pathway ( interference due to byproducts of the inflammatory process which can also be involved with the coagulation pathway).There have been some studies of the use of anticoagulant therapies in sepsis, but a recent meta-review of the 11 best trials, totalling around 5000 patients, concluded that they do not improve sepsis significantly, especially when compared to the risk of bleeding,

@ Im a busybee - That I am aware of, Warfarin is only available as an oral therapy, in tablet form, so your daughter could not have been self-injecting with warfarin. Given that a high BMI could, in pregnancy, be a significant risk factor for DVT or PE, then the precautionary principle and ethics of medicine say that your daughter should be treated prophylatically in exactly the manner she was - Absolutely not a "waste of time and money" .

I think she would have been self- injecting Low Molecular Weight Heparin, rather than warfarin.

[Sqad]

LAZYGUN....good answer.

However......hypercoaguability and " major blood loss" seem unlikely partners.

[LazyGun]

@ Sqad - sure, but not if there were major complications/ traumatic events in the process of childbirth itself - Hypercoagulability would not stop haemorrhage due to rupture or tears, or something like uterine atony, which is responsible for what, around 70% of PPH? for example.

Insufficient info from the OP to offer a proper informed opinion :)

[Sqad]

Lazygun...maybe.

[cathfromsaron]

ditto calf pain, DVT or clots x