Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
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Maureen O'Brien Moomjy, MD, FACOG
Fertility Gynecologist & Reproductive Specialist located in Midtown/Upper Eastside, New York, NY
As many as 10-25% of clinically recognized pregnancies result in miscarriage for women under the age of 35. For women over the age of 40, the miscarriage rate can be 50% or higher. Additionally, 2% of all women may experience recurrent pregnancy loss. Maureen Moomjy, MD, FACOG, offers fertility testing at her private practice in the Upper East Side of New York, near Midtown, to diagnose the cause of your pregnancy loss and provide treatment to help you achieve a successful pregnancy. Call Dr. Moomjy to schedule a consultation today.
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Q & A
What is a miscarriage?
A miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks. Most miscarriages occur in the first trimester, and many of those soon after implantation, sometimes before you even know you’re pregnant. Some of the common signs of a miscarriage include:
- Mild to severe pelvic pain or back pain
- Pinkish-white mucus
- Brown or bright-red bleeding
- Clot-like tissue passing out of your vagina
- A drop in your pregnancy hormone levels
- No growth of the fetus as measured by serial ultrasounds.
- Loss of a fetal heartbeat as detected by ultrasound anytime after 8 weeks.
The most common cause of miscarriage is a chromosomal abnormality that disrupts your pregnancy. Other causes of miscarriage include:
- Hormonal problems
- Infection
- Incorrect implantation
- Uterine abnormalities like fibroids, or septum
- Environmental Factors
- Vascular Factors, or risk of clotting
- Cervical insufficiency
While the maternal lifestyle and health contribute to a healthy pregnancy, in most cases, miscarriage is spontaneous, and there is nothing you could have done to prevent it.
What is recurrent pregnancy loss?
Recurrent pregnancy loss is when you lose two or more first-trimester pregnancies. Recurrent pregnancy loss often occurs for the same reasons as single miscarriages. If you have two miscarriages, or if you have had a single pregnancy loss in the second or third trimester, you should make an appointment with Dr. Moomjy for compassionate and expert testing to determine the cause of your pregnancy loss and to devise a strategy to reduce the future risk of miscarriage.
How is the cause of recurrent pregnancy loss diagnosed?
Dr. Moomjy provides a comprehensive evaluation of your reproductive health. She performs specific exams including evaluation of the uterus with saline sonography, endometrial biopsy, and if necessary, hysteroscopy to examine the uterine cavity and correct any abnormalities. She also assesses:
- Vascular factors
- Metabolic factors
- Genetic factors
- Hormonal factors
- Environmental factors
Is treatment available to prevent pregnancy loss?
Dr. Moomjy offers a variety of fertility treatments and testing to help you achieve a healthy, full-term pregnancy. If the evaluation yields a specific finding for any of the above-mentioned factors, then the treatment can be focused on correcting that specific finding.
For some couples, the finding is chromosomal imbalances of the fetus and placenta. For these couples, consideration for IVF and PGT to identify the normal embryos may be the best approach even though the patients do not need IVF for fertility. PGT (PGD) is a chromosomal analysis of a sample of just a few cells from each embryo created with in vitro fertilization.
One of the primary purposes of PGD/PGT is to identify embryos that are “euploid” or chromosomally normal with 23 pairs of chromosomes and most likely to implant and have the lowest potential for miscarriage. This helps Dr. Moomjy to only use the embryos with the highest potential for implantation and full-term pregnancy. The long term prognosis is favorable with a proper workup and treatment provided that advanced age is not the underlying problem.
If you’ve suffered recurrent pregnancy loss, call Dr. Moomjy to make an appointment for compassionate care and expert fertility testing and treatment.