Beyond Miscarriage
Here's an interesting Washington Post article on miscarriage and the treatments one gets for it: Beyond Miscarriage by Jon Cohen, the author of the book Coming to Term. I'm also going to share this with my husband, since the guy is a science writer as well as a husband who has experienced miscarriages with his wife.
This jumped out at me:
I feel fortunate to be treated by Dr T, an RE at a very reputable clinic who lists recurrent pregnancy loss (1st trimester) as a clinical interest, but I sometimes wonder if even he has ordered all the testing he could or should have. There are tests mentioned in this article that I haven't had done, so I guess I'll go through it with a highlighter and see what I want to discuss at my next appointment.
Mostly, signs point to egg quality as being the main culprit in our losses. It's not conclusive, by any stretch of the imagination, but it does seem to be the most likely cause. And I know that Bravelle can have a positive effect on egg quality, so I do hope that Bravelle + IUI will work for us.
We'll be starting in a couple of weeks.
This jumped out at me:
Miscarriage is a sub-sub-specialty that doesn't attract the attention, funding or research talent that it deserves.
Few OB/GYNs specialize in miscarriage, and though a small number of clinics in the United States are devoted to miscarriage, they remain a rarity. No miscarriage journal exists, and there are no medical conferences devoted solely to the subject. Financially, treating miscarriage pales in comparison with the lucrative business of IVF, which predictably enough has lured many of the best and brightest OB/GYNs.
I feel fortunate to be treated by Dr T, an RE at a very reputable clinic who lists recurrent pregnancy loss (1st trimester) as a clinical interest, but I sometimes wonder if even he has ordered all the testing he could or should have. There are tests mentioned in this article that I haven't had done, so I guess I'll go through it with a highlighter and see what I want to discuss at my next appointment.
Mostly, signs point to egg quality as being the main culprit in our losses. It's not conclusive, by any stretch of the imagination, but it does seem to be the most likely cause. And I know that Bravelle can have a positive effect on egg quality, so I do hope that Bravelle + IUI will work for us.
We'll be starting in a couple of weeks.
4 Comments:
If you like the article, you might want to get the book. I checked it out from my local library and read it one evening--it's very well-written and does a good job of touching on the scientific and emotional aspects of miscarriage. Best of luck in getting some answers and help.
By
Jen, at 4:52 PM
Thanks for the recommendation, Jen. After I read some of the reviews, I ordered the book from Amazon. I think my husband might like it as well, as he reads a lot of science books and I think this will appeal to him more than many of the books I've read on the subject.
By
Susie, at 6:13 PM
Great article Susie. But I disagree with the author in that IVF doesn't solve miscarriage problems- IVF with PGD weeds out the chromosomally-challenged embryos and therefore, prevents miscarriage.
Nice success stories about his wife though. It's always good to know when it seems all has been lost, mother nature seems to toss you another chance.
By
Anonymous, at 8:42 PM
I agree with you, Day. My husband has also wondered in the past how IVF can help with miscarriage (for the same reason this writer brought up). Whereas for me, the most appealing part of IVF (if we ever get there) is the testing that will keep us from implanting an embryo with a chromosome problem. We only know for certain that ONE of our miscarriages was caused by an extra chromosome, but it seems likely that more were.
By
Susie, at 6:12 AM
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