Blighted ovum after PGS – what caused it?

[HollyHx]

After 3 failed FET we had our remaining embryos PGS tested. One was found to be chromosomally normal and was transferred on a medicated cycle. The pregnancy test was positive and the signs were good. I experienced symptoms such as nausea and sore breasts, similar to my successful (IVF) pregnancy. At the 8 week scan there was no embryo. The sac had developed to 8 weeks (hence the symptoms) but the embryo failed to develop.

Everything that I have read about blighted ovums suggest they are caused by chromosomal abnormalities but we know the embryo was normal. How could it have implanted but not developed when it was a normal embryo?

We will be talking to the clinic to try and get some more answers and next steps but I was hoping to find some wisdom from you ladies. Has anyone else experienced a blighted ovum after PGS? What other issues might our embryos be facing given that four cycles in a row have failed?

My daughter was conceived via IVF (fresh cycle) and the cycle and pregnancy were straightforward. I have also experienced a missed miscarriage (natural conception) where the baby stopped developing at 7 weeks but the sac continued to 11 weeks.

Have you had immunes testing? Blighted ovum of a euploid embryo could be due to microdeletions not picked up by PGS, or by immunes issues affecting implantation and embryo development

My sympathies, I've miscarried two chromosomally normal embryos (although not blighted ova, which I appreciate is particularly confusing and upsetting)

I would suggest going to see Prof Brosens or Quenby at the Coventry clinic for uNK testing - someone like Dr Gorgy, Dr Ndukwe at Zita West, or Mr Shehata will suggest a battery of tests to look at peripheral blood levels of NK cells, however these don't necessarily reflect what's going on in the uterine environment. Coventry is also significantly cheaper than the level 2 immunes (Chicago tests) that the immunes Drs will want to run

This was me a couple of years ago. We didn't even get to 6 weeks - so no symptoms - found out from the beta HCG that embryo was in trouble.
It was when we changed clinic that someone mentioned immunes...and thrombophilia. There are various conditions that can affect implantation, but the 2 that usually get mentioned (commonest?) are NK and various genetic 'sticky' blood conditions.

Beware that if you choose to go down this investigatory route, it's not necessarily cheap or easy. My blood tests were (from memory) over a grand, and some immune treatment can be expensive and time-consuming. Beware also that many clinics don't believe in immunes or thrombophilia (all failures are down to egg quality or 'bad luck', apparently ; also that specialists in one area may be sceptics of the other.
The thing that swung it for me was my age: at 41, I didn't have time for the 'wait for more miscarriages before investigating' approach.

In terms of a "Is my body friendly to embryos?" approach, I also reviewed a high dose of a common prescription medicine I'd needed to be on months before and continued mostly out of habit - but for which the evidence in early pregnancy was a bit absent - and tapered off. Obviously am not suggesting you should just come off anything - consult your dr etc - but worth thinking about.

(Oh, and don't worry too much about "blighted ovum" terminology: cons from my 2nd clinic wrote this on letter to my GP recapping my history, even though also noted I'd done PGS...I concluded it was just a slightly old-sokol way of saying the preg had fizzled, esp as he also said I'd had a "D&C" when it was a vacuum management. )

Thank you for your replies. I haven't had my immunes tested and I don't think my clinic does those tests.

I have carried a baby to term (I know how lucky we are) so that makes me think it's the embryos more than the uterine environment but we want to explore everything before we go through this again. We're not far from Coventry so that is an definite option.

I'm sorry to hear of your horrible experiences too. It's shit isn't it?

Immunes issues can actually be triggered by a previous pregnancy

Dr Beer said women with secondary RM after previously carrying a child to term had the most severe immunes reactions

It's also particularly prominent in women who had baby boys first - not necessarily, but all the women in know with secondary RM all carried boys to term before then miscarrying when TTC a sibling. Then successful once they got immunes tx

Good luck

Hi there.
I know your post was a long time ago but I’ve not read many stories like yours and mine. Did you come to any conclusion-get tissue/placenta tested??
I do hope your in a better position now x