Tag: miscarriage

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

New biopsy procedure helping women avoid repeat miscarriages

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HOUSTON (KTRK) — Miscarriages can be devastating for couples who are hoping for children, and it’s especially hard when a woman has repeated miscarriages. But now there’s a high-tech procedure to help avoid repeat miscarriages and save parents-to-be from heartbreak.

Victoria is five months old. But at one point, her mother wasn’t sure she would ever be able to have a baby. Charlotte had six miscarriages before she deliver Victoria.

“It was frustrating because you’re pregnant the you’re not, you’re pregnant you’re not,” Charlotte said.

Chromosome abnormalities are one of the top reasons for miscarriages. But at Houston IVF at Memorial Hermann Memorial City, women who have had multiple miscarriages are being offered a new technology that allows infertility specialists to find the embryo most likely to survive.

“We can actually find the embryos that are chromosomally normal and only transfer the normal ones back,” Houston IVF Dr. Timothy Hickman said.

They biopsy the outer cells, not the embryo itself. That makes the test less invasive and more accurate. Read full article.

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

Miscarriages Put Women at Risk for Heart Conditions

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A new study scheduled for presentation Tuesday November 6, at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Los Angeles finds that women who have had one or moremiscarriages are at an increased risk for hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to problems such as heart attack and stroke, reported US News Health Today.

Researchers looked at health data from more than 1 million Danish women to examine the association between miscarriage and heart attack, stroke or renovascular hypertension, which is high blood pressure caused by narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the kidneys. Comparing to women who had no miscarriages, women who had one miscarriage were 11 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack. The risk more than doubled in women who had four or more miscarriages, according to a heart association news release. Read full article.

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

Super-fertility offers clue to recurrent miscarriage

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“Super-fertility” may explain why some women have multiple miscarriages, according to a team of doctors.

They say the wombs of some women are too good at letting embryos implant, even those of poor quality which should be rejected.

The UK-Dutch study published in the journal PLoS ONE said the resulting pregnancies would then fail.

One expert welcomed the findings and hoped a test could be developed for identifying the condition in women.

Recurrent miscarriages – losing three or more pregnancies in a row – affect one in 100 women in the UK. Read full article.

My Future Baby Blog

How common is miscarriage?

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A high percentage of fertile women who have unprotected sex will experience loss of a pregnancy at some point. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 25% of recognized pregnancies end in miscarriage.

The total number of miscarriages (including cases where the woman is unaware of the pregnancy) is estimated at about 50%. Pregnancy losses occurring within the first 8 weeks are most common. Few women experience miscarriage after the 12th week.

What You Should Know about Recurrent Miscarriage

A single miscarriage is not usually a cause for concern from a medical standpoint. However, consecutive miscarriages are rare, occurring in less than 5% of women.  If you experience two or more miscarriages of in a row, you may wish to seek assistance from a reproductive specialist.

In some situations, there is an identifiable, medically treatable factor contributing to the loss of pregnancies. Many pregnancies simply end because of random chromosomal abnormalities in the egg or the developing embryo.

Recurrent miscarriage or early pregnancy loss can be physically taxing and emotionally devastating. Not knowing why this problem is happening can be especially distressing. Patients may experience feelings of self blame, failure, or desperation. It is important for patients to seek emotional support during this time. Professional mental health support may also be beneficial for patients coping with recurrent loss.

Pregnancy after Miscarriage

Fortunately, most women trying to conceive do go on to carry a healthy pregnancy to term after a miscarriage. This includes 60-70% of women who have experienced recurring pregnancy loss with no identifiable cause. Following a healthy lifestyle including good nutrition, diet, weight control, prenatal supplementation, exercise, rest, and general self care is the best course of action for women who wish to increase their chances of a normal pregnancy in the future.

by: Dr. John Jain