Alexei had Hemophilia - Why Didn't Alix and Nicholas try Again?

[Robert_Hall]

Were not a lot of these archives destroyed in the bombing /burning of WWII?  I suppose it would depend on where they were kept.

[Sarai]

I had never read that story about Marie's excessive bleeding following surgery. Did the book make the connection between her bleeding and the possibility of her being a hemophilia carrier?

Bookworm,
Yes, the book does suggest a connection between Marie's bleeding and the possibility of her being a carrier. I quote the exact passage (pg. 115, The Last Grand Duchess):

"The Grand Duchess was positive that all her four nieces would have carried the dreaded disease to their male offspring if they had ever married, and insisted that they too bled freely. She recalled the panic that broke out at Tsarskoe Selo on the day that Grand Duchess Marie had her tonsils removed. It was expected to be a routine operation by Dr. Selerioff. The operation had barely begun when the young Grand Duchess began to hemorrhage. Taken by complete surprise, the doctor ran from the operating table in utter fright. And it was then, in a moment of extreme crisis, that the strength of Empress Alexandra was revealed. 'Alicky calmly grabbed the trembling doctor by the arm and said quietly but sternly: 'Will you please finish the operation, doctor?' He managed to do so successfully despite the persistent bleeding.' "

[bookworm8571]

Very interesting. Poor Marie! I may be mistaken, but I think in Alix's letters to Nicholas she mentioned a couple of times when one of the girls was laid up because of  her monthly period. It makes one wonder if Marie or the other girls suffered more than is normal because they were carriers.

[ashanti01]

Alexandra wasn't always in the best health and after each birth of her children she seemed to become weaker and weaker, however if N & A knew their son had "the bleeding" disease why didn't they have, or attempt to have more children?
Alexandra wasn't past her child bearing years, she was still in her prime when she had Alexei, so even though it would have weaken her health a little more should she have attempted to have another son?

[Alexa]

Alexandra wasn't always in the best health and after each birth of her children she seemed to become weaker and weaker, however if N & A knew their son had "the bleeding" disease why didn't they have, or attempt to have more children?
Alexandra wasn't past her child bearing years, she was still in her prime when she had Alexei, so even though it would have weaken her health a little more should she have attempted to have another son?

This is purely speculation, but I imagaine for 2 reasons:
1) They were worried that if they had another son, he too may be a hemophiliac and did not want to risk inflicting such a fate on another child.

2) Taking care of Alexis took Alix's health.  She ages very quickly after Alexis, no doubt due to the constant worry over his well-being.

Alexa

[grandduchessella]

You'd think she might, but I think it was getting progressively more dangerous due to her ill-health--it left her more than just weakened. I also think she had trouble conceiving for a bit--wasn't there a possible miscarriage in there? And there was no guarantee that after risking it all she wouldn't have either another daughter or another hemophiliac son like her sister Irene did. I can only imagine what it would've done to her mental health (if she'd survived it all) if after all that her NEXT son was also hemophiliac. Not just the piled-on guilt but the strain of 2 ill sons. I think Nicholas didn't want to risk it (and her). Maybe there was still hope that Misha would mature and marry well.

[Merrique]

I think the reason Alix and Nicky didn't have anymore children is for one,because of her health.And for another after having Alexei and finding out he had this disease they didn't want to take the chance of having another son with the same thing.Or having another daughter.

Or it could just be that after five children and finally having the long awaited son they felt their family was complete and didn't wish to have anymore children.
I could be wrong but these are just my thoughts on the subject.It makes sense to me.

[Janet_W.]

Yes, due to her ill health, I think they decided to focus all of their energies on their little son. A sound decision in many respects, but of course we know how the situation ultimately helped to skew things. So, "if only" the son(s) had been born ahead of the daughters is yet another one to ponder!

[ashanti01]

So many what if's...but it does appear in the end Alexandra health was all but ruined by her frequent pregnacies, although I think, just from photos, she looked her best shortly after Alexei's birth

[bookworm857158367]

As a carrier of the hemophilia gene, Alexandra's own blood clotting factor would have been lower than normal. I wonder how much that contributed to her various health complaints. Since they used birth control, it seems that they deliberately chose not to have more children for whatever reason.

[Annie]

Speaking of 'what if's' I still have to wonder if the child she lost in 1896 (over the stress from the Coronation tragedy that was recently revealed in letters to Victoria MH) had been a boy without hemophilia, how different their lives, and history might have been:(

[ashanti01]

Wow, that is a good one...Hemophilia is such a tricky and fickle disease that we really have no way of knowing whether or not the child would have been a carrier.

I imagine if it had been a healthy boy, one has to wonder if Nicholas and Alexandra would have continued to have children. Since Alexandra was in ill health, I doubt she would have continued to have children, since it was no longer required of her to produce a heir

[rskkiya]

well...

Having had four daughters and one son subject to hemophilia, maybe they simply thought well that's enough lets stop...(women aren't just baby machines -- y'know ) and decided to focus on being there for their family and each other.
Besides, from what I have read N & A were very much in love and enjoyed a healthy sex life well beyond this  point!

R.

[nerdycool]

I imagine if it had been a healthy boy, one has to wonder if Nicholas and Alexandra would have continued to have children. Since Alexandra was in ill health, I doubt she would have continued to have children, since it was no longer required of her to produce a heir

Alexandra, I think, would have continued to have children even if in ill health simply because she seemed to be a mother first. I liken it to Gone With the Wind, when Melanie, after her first child, was told that to have more children would seriously endanger her life. She threw that by the wayside because she loved kids so much and got pregnant, to where she didn't survive. Anyway, Alexandra still seemed to be healthy after Olga. It was the frequency of pregnancy and the difficulty of labor which wore her down.

[RomanovFan]

Has anyone read Alexandra's biography by Carolly Erikson? I've read it several times now.  It says that in 1896, she...well it doesn't exactly say what she had...it just says Alix's labor pains ended and then "a tiny ovul came out"...instead of a baby.... I'm confused now..