[Anonymous August 16, 1997 at 1:52 am Post count: 93172]

#1054174

About the only thing I have found regarding women with Grave’s having
babies is that they should let the pediatrician know so they can keep
an eye on the newborn for signs of neonatal hyperthyroidism, which is
caused by the mother’s anitbodies in the babies blood. These antibodies
tend to disappear in 3-12 weeks (Your Thyroid – a home reference. pg 152).

Personally, I want my treatment to finally end so I can get pregnant. Now
I do this knowing full well my baby may develop diabetes later in life.
Diabetes runs in both mine and my husbands family. I have had 3 grandparents
die of cancer and 1 grandparent die of emphasema (sp?). My father has had
a melanoma removed from his nose and I have several moles that have popped
up in the last few years I have to keep a close eye on. So genetically,
I could be dooming my future child to some “negative effects”. But that
is not going to stop me from geting myself as healthy as possible and
having a baby. As I’ll be 38 by the time the baby is born, I’ll be dealing
with a possibly high risk pregnancy anyways (not too mention I may be
having twins, which also run in mine and my husbands family).

Having a baby is a crap shoot in the best of conditions. Being afraid
to get pregnant and having the child based on some possible “negative
effects” can keep you from experiencing the most wonderful thing in life.
I can understand if you knew ahead of time that you may never have a
healthy child who will grow into adulthood, you may want to not risk it.
There are some nasty genetic diseases out there. If you know you and your
husband will pass these on, deciding not to have a baby might be the right
choice. In my opinion just because there is a slightly higher risk of “negative
effects” is not a good reason not to get pregnant. Medical care and
science has vastly improved from a hundred years ago. Diseases such as
many cancers are now treatable, so is diabetes and Grave’s. There are now
vaccines for childhood diseases that killed children a hundred years ago.

Like I said, having a child is a crap shoot, and I am planning on rolling
that dice.

Jeam C

[Anonymous August 19, 1997 at 9:14 am Post count: 93172]

#1158062

Success story: my mother has eight children: four before her Graves’
was diagnosed, and four after RAI treatment. I’m the second of the
eight. I’m the only one so far who has thyroid trouble (Graves’
also). None of the other kids have health troubles.
I’d like to add that even if I did have diabetes or worse
complications from my mother’s illness while she was carrying me,
I’d still be glad to exist, and grateful to my mother for having me.
Abigail

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