RECURRENT ABORTION
Miscarriage or recurrent abortion is the loss of a pregnancy before viability. Occurring in 15-20% of all pregnancies, it’s one of the most common complication of pregnancy. The individual risk may vary from person to person depending on age and some other factors. The unfortunate fact of miscarriages is that the vast majority of them are not preventable because they are due to developmental or genetic problems in the embryo or fetus that cannot be treated.¹ But a few of them are treatable if diagnosed on time.
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) or Recurrent Miscarriage (RM) also known as recurrent abortion affects from 1-5 % of the reproductive age couples.
CAUSES OF RECURRENT ABORTION
UTERINE CAVITY ABNORMALITIES
Uterine abnormalities can actually be congenital or acquired as a lady ages. For example presence of septum, fibroids or any non cancerous growth can hinder the implantation or normal growth of foetus in uterus causing early or late miscarriage.
Transvaginal ultrasound can diagnose only a few uterine abnormalities and often further testing is required which can be done with a hysteroscope. Other testing methods such as hystero-salpingogram (HSG), saline infused sonogram or MRI can also be used.²
HORMONAL FACTORS
There are several hormonal imbalances that can contribute to miscarriage rates. A female having history of Thyroid, diabetes or raised Prolactin have high risk of abortion. We can check hormone levels by blood test. If reports suggest any imbalance it can be treated.
INFECTIONS
Some viral infections specially Toxoplasma, Rubella, Cytomegalo virus and Herpes collectively called TORCH are one of the major cause of recurrent abortions as they affect normal fetal development.
HEMATOLOGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC FACTORS
Several blood disorders specially bleeding disorders (impaired /prolonged prothrombine time/ BT-CT or some abnormal clotting factors) may cause abortions. Besides immunological factors e.g. APL,ACL, LAC may also be the reason for recurrent abortion in some cases.
CERVIX PROBLEMS
Getting accurate records about gestational age at the time of loss is vital in evaluating causes of pregnancy loss. If your losses occurred after 14 weeks, it may be because of weak cervical muscles which cannot bear the weight of pregnancy. A cerclage or a stitch is placed around the cervix to prevent premature cervical dilation.
GENETIC FACTORS
Studies have concluded that about half of all first trimester miscarriages are the result of chromosomal abnormalities.³ They are associated with the age of the lady and are more likely to occur with advancing maternal age.Increased DNA damage in the sperm can also be a contributing factor. Further research is needed in this area.
TREATMENT OPTIONS
There are many successful treatments available and therefore the optimal treatment recommended will depend upon the results of a thorough evaluation. At our establishment, we run a very successful Recurrent Abortion treatment Program with a good success rate . For more details contact us now.
- https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/service/fertility-and-reproductive-health/recurrent-pregnancy-loss
- https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/service/fertility-and-reproductive-health/testing-uterine-cavity
- Warburton D: Cytogenetics of reproductive wastage: from conception to birth, in Mark HFL (ed): Medical Cytogenetics, pp 213-246 (Marcel Dekker, New York 2000).