[robby2011]

What are my chances of having a healthy baby pregnancy after losing my baby 7 months ago when I was 5months pregnant to trisomy 18

[SProbasco]

Subsequent pregnancies after having a child with Trisomy 18 are usually a lot different from standard pregnancies. Not that they are necessarily different medically, but emotionally. The innocent joy associated with pregnancy is gone, replaced by an awareness of the many things that can go wrong.



Sometimes conceiving again is a challenge; other times conception occurs so quickly that the parents have hardly begun to grieve their previous child. Sometimes the next pregnancy results in a miscarriage, adding more grief to what the parents are already feeling. Parents have widely differing views on what prenatal testing to have with their next child, but most agree that regardless of test results, the pregnancy is very stressful until they are holding a healthy baby in their arms.



Many parents find it helpful to have their OB's consider their next pregnancy "high-risk" because of the additional ultrasounds and care that they receive during the pregnancy. And many are surprised by the reawakening of grief that they sometimes feel as their new baby is born and grows up.



One of the most beneficial things in this journey for many parents has been connecting with others who are sharing the same concerns and issues with their subsequent pregnancies. We have an online community where you can interact with other families and ask them questions directly about their experiences. See the Online Support Community home page for more information about this community and how you can join it. Of particular interest will be the Subsequent Pregnancy after T18 board.