Week 27 Pregnancy Update

I just got my 27 week ultrasound yesterday. I have to say that there is one benefit to having a "high risk" pregnancy, and that is that I get to check up on my baby every couple of weeks. Yesterday was also a follow-up appointment with my Perinatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor) & Geneticist about my lab work results. As it turns out, there was some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first? Here's the good news: my MTHFR mutation is not likely to cause any major harm to myself or the baby, given that my homocysteine levels were low and my folic acid levels were high enough. With low homocysteine levels, I'm not at an increased risk of clotting due to the MTHFR. Therefore, on its own, the MTHFR does not warrant any treatment with blood thinners, during or after pregnancy. My only instructions were to continue to take folic acid every day for the rest of my life. Not bad.
Now, the bad news: as it turns out, I also tested positive for what is known as Antithrombin III Deficiency. Antithrombin III (AT-III) is a protein made in the liver. It inhibits coagulation and limits the forming of blood clots. A shortage of AT-III affects the normal process of coagulation and can lead to excessive blood clotting. Patients with AT-III deficiency may have thromboembolic problems that begin in early adulthood. Clots forming in the legs and pulmonary embolism are the most common. Pregnancy, the use of oral contraceptives, and surgery may contribute to the thromboembolic event. My physician informed me that, of all the clotting disorders that are known today, Antithrombin III is, by far, the most serious and life-threatening. There is a 50% chance of me forming a serious venous or arterial blood clot in my lifetime. Because the treatment for this disorder would be require heparin (blood thinner) injections for the remaining duration of my pregnancy and possibly a long-term treatment with blood thinners (Coumadin) following pregnancy, my physician requested a retest to be certain that I do, in fact, have the disorder. Unfortunately, she was given no reason to believe that I don't have it, based on my results.
And, I'll end on a good note. Isabella is growing great. She weighs two pounds, and she is right on track for her gestation. She's also beautiful, although the pictures don't do her justice because she was moving when they were taken.