2002 Volume 66 Issue 2 Pages 204-206
A primiparous woman with a St Jude Medical (SJM) mitral valve prosthesis and receiving anticoagulant drug delivered a healthy male infant by spontaneous normal vaginal delivery. Oral warfarin was replaced by subcutaneous heparin at the 6th week of gestation and the dosage of heparin was adjusted to maintain a partial thromboplastin time between 2.0 and 2.5 times the control value. Treatment with heparin was administered during the first trimester and the last 5 weeks of gestation. Warfarin was used between the 13th and 32nd week. Successful pregnancy and delivery in patients with a SJM mitral valve prostheses is possible with careful maintenance of anticoagulation. (Circ J 2002; 66: 204 - 206)
