A wrench in the plan

38 Weeks and what a crazy week it has been. My pregnancy was going pretty smoothly until...

I had my 37 week checkup last Thursday and my doctor informed me that my blood work showed my platelet levels were dropping significantly below normal. Very early in my pregnancy they were found to be low but she said now they had dropped further. I am going to a Hematologist tomorrow to discuss causes/treatment. She also told me that most anesthesiologists wont administer an epidural in patients with low platelets because of the risk of bleeding into the spine and causing permanent damage (yikes!). I am a little scared because although I would like to see how it goes during labor before electing for pain medication, I would really like to have the epidural available to me if I want it. Many other pain killers are also off the table because they thin your blood. My doctor suggested that she would like to induce me later this week before the levels get dangerously low. At a certain point, the routine things to do is completely put the patient under general anesthesia and perform a c-section to avoid risking internal bleeding with a vaginal delivery. I am crossing my fingers and praying that when I visit the Hematologist tomorrow, he finds that my platelets have improved and I can safely have an epidural (whether I am induced or not). If I am not this lucky, I will probably take the induction even if it means having to do it without medication. :cringe: