Repeated miscarriages before 7 weeks

[CoteDAzur]

Thankfully my baby-making days are over, but a dear family member is going through repeated miscarriages before 7 weeks. Blood tests don't show any obvious problems, but she is desperate for answers.

Does anyone have experience of this? What can be the likely causes? She is 33, so not too old.

Does anyone know of a good doctor/fertility expert she can see in London?

Thank you in advance.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

She should request a referral to Professor Leslie Regan's recurrent miscarriage clinic at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington. Its the largest facility of its kind and the care is excellent.

There are many causes of recurrent miscarriage; one of which is Hughes Syndrome (also known as antiphosphoipid syndrome). Its not always detected easily through blood tests.

Fifteen per cent of women with three or more consecutive miscarriages have positive antiphospholipid syndrome tests. There are patients with antiphospholipid syndrome who have successful pregnancies without treatment, though there is a higher risk of complications towards the end of pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth retardation (slowing down of the baby's growth in the uterus) and premature delivery.

[hellsbelles]

Yes I did - I had a healthy DS then 5 miscarriages until I had tests and a treatment called Immunisation therapy with Mr Paul Armstrong at the Portland Hospital in London. I was lucky enough to have private health insurance and they paid for the investigations into the causes...but didn't cover this treatment as it's considered controversial. However it did work for me - DD is sitting smiling at me right now which is proof enough for me!

I understand that I was having some sort of reaction that caused the babies to die. The treatment involved a serum of my DH's blood being injected into me?! Sounds weird but it didn't take long.

As CoteDAzur said - there are so many different causes. I too wanted to go to St Mary's but the waiting list was so long....also I've heard recently they may be closing? Not sure how true this is but a quick google search uncovered:

"However, health and safety officials have declared the buildings not up to standard and have ordered the closure of the clinic. They say that they cannot provide the funds for a new clinic for another eight to ten years and the only way it can remain open is if the hospital raises £1 million"

Anyway - I do hope your relative gets the help she needs and please assure her there is sometimes light at the end of all this. I really thought after 5 miscarriages I had no chance.

[DawnAS]

My DSis had several MCs and it turned out that her blood wasn't clotting hence the miscarriages. When they established the problem, she had to have daily injections (which are pretty much pain-free once you get the hang of them), throughout her next PG and her gorgeous DS is now 21 weeks old.

There is another girl on a thread that I'm on that has had exactly the same and is now coming up for 12 weeks PG and is having the daily injections.

HTH and Good Luck!!
xx

[onemoretimetoday]

I had DS then 4 m/c and then DD. It turns out that I had low progesterone and a hefty dose of cyclogest for the first 12 weeks did the trick. I had a m/c earlier this year also due to low progesterone and am now 13 weeks with DC3 again due to cyclogest.

Blood tests early on showed that my progesterone was low and for that reason I actively avoided lesley reagans clinic as she doesn't believe that it is a cause of m/c. Yehudi Gordon treated me and I am forever indebted to him.

[CoteDAzur]

onemoretimetoday - Is low progesterone tested for during pregnancy? Just wondering if she will have to wait to be pregnant again (and lose baby again? ) to determine if that is the cause of her miscarriages.

[CoteDAzur]

Atilla - It's a bit raw now so I can't ask which tests were done after last miscarriage, but I'm wondering if she was tested for Hughes Syndrome. Would it be tested for during pregnancy or at any time?

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

I do not know exactly when Hughes syndrome is tested for through blood tests but it certainly should be looked into.

Progesterone levels can be tested as part of overall fertility investigative tests. Pessaries can also be given in early pg to boost progesterone levels.

I sincerely hope your friend finds some answers soon from the specialist.

[onemoretimetoday]

Cote DAzur. Progesterone levels are tested at 7 days after ovulation when they should show levels of over 30. If they are below this then there's a likelihood that any pregnancy will m/c. The issues surrounding progesterone levels are numerous and contentious. Some, like Lesley Reagan will argue that low progesterone is a symptom of a failing pregnancy and is indicitive of a pregnancy which isn't viable. Others, such as Yehudi Gordon argue that a viable pregnancy can fail due to inherrent low progesterone. Like your friend I had carried a baby to term hence we knew that my body could do it and all my other blood tests came back normal we simply couldn't get my progesterone levels to come in over 27.

It's a very simple blood test and worth having done over a few months to get a trend because if that's what's causing her problems then it's very easy to fix, but hard to get a doctor to prescribe it because of the conflict over whether it's a real condition or not.

[rainbowdays]

I am currently in the same sort of situation, I have had 5 miscarriages all before 7 weeks, but I have also had 3 healthy pregnancies before the last 4 miscarriages. I have had the blood tests including the DNA ones for both dh and I and everything came back normal except a borderline result for clotting, so I am now on low-dose asprin from the day I get a positive pregnancy test again. Not sure if it will do anything, but and ready to try it. I have not had my progesterone tested so I might well ask for this too?

Onemoretime - does it have to be 7 days after ov? or can it be after this do you know?

[onemoretimetoday]

rainbowdays

Initially it needs to be 7 days after ovulation as this gives the best indication as to whether you ever get to 30, it's also worth then having it tested at 10dpo and 12 dpo to see what happens to it through the cycle. If you have this test over a couple of non pregnant months then it gives an indication as to whether this is an ongoing problem. If find out you are pregnant you can have the progesterone tested when you get a BFP and if it's low then you can start supplements immediately. Progesterone can also be tested via ultrasound looking at the blood flow around the corpus luteum but I am only aware of a couple of places that use this method.

Given you have had children I would certainly investigate this as a cause of your problems, if it is the problem then it's very easily fixed. I am reasonably sure that my problem was triggered by the mirena coil after my first birth but that's just an instinct. Other people I know with the problem found it started when they came off Depo.

[CoteDAzur]

Right, so we have Hughes Syndrome and low progesterone levels as likely culprits.

Anything else?

She is very slender. Not anorexic or anything but very very thin. It's not a recent weight loss - she has always been that way. Can her weight be a problem?