Woman suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss, finally, conceives

Bengaluru: Here is a glimmer of hope for those women who are suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss. A 37-year old woman married for 11 years and suffered from recurrent pregnancy loss is now on the verge of delivering a baby.

Miscarriage or spontaneous pregnancy loss is seen in 15 percent of the conceptions. Recurrent pregnancy loss is defined as the loss of three or more pregnancies before the fifth month of pregnancy. Around two to three per cent of women experience recurrent pregnancy loss. It is distressing for the couple to experience this. The important causes of recurrent pregnancy loss include an abnormality in the uterus, genetics of parents, clotting abnormality or unexplained reasons.

The Consultant Fertility and Reproductive medicine specialist at NU Hospitals, Bengaluru, Dr. Sneha J said, "Recently, a 37-year old woman presented with recurrent pregnancy loss. She was married for 11 years and was childless. She had three pregnancy losses at about two months of pregnancy. Evaluation of the woman showed an abnormality in the uterus which is called adenomyosis. In this condition, the uterus becomes large with the abnormal presence of uterus lining cells in the muscle of the uterus. She had severe pain and increased flow during her menstrual periods. The male partner's sperm showed an increased fragmentation of the DNA in sperms."

Dr Sneha said that a few oral medications were prescribed to overcome this problem. The patient was advised to undergo IVF as she had not been pregnant for the previous three years and age was advancing. "We opted for freezing the embryos of IVF , inactivating the disease in the uterus by medications for three months and then planned an embryo transfer. This treatment worked and she got pregnant. Now she is in the 15th week of pregnancy. Having repeated abortions can lower the morale and a lot of these couples get depressed. However, there is a solution and it is necessary to consult the appropriate specialists for timely intervention."

Dr Sneha added, Appropriate investigations must be carried out and abnormalities treated accordingly. Adenomyosis is seen in 20 to 65 percent women. It is often undiagnosed as it may not cause any symptoms. Occasionally, it may present with a large uterus with infertility or pregnancy loss. Hormonal treatment to suppress the disease process and appropriate fertility treatment can help the woman conceive and continue pregnancy resulting in the birth of a healthy baby.