Staying pregnant

[LobstersLass]

Ladies, I need your advice.

Earlier today I got a BFP.
This is my third pregnancy. I miscarried at between 6-7 weeks with my other two.

It has taken me two years of trying to get pregnant again. I'm almost 38 years old.

I'm going to see my doctor on Tuesday.

Is there anything I can/should ask for to help me stay pregnant this time? I'm already taking baby aspirin once a day.

Many thanks in advance for any answers.

congrtas on this one!! i dont think that there is anything particular to help stay pregnant, obviously follow general advice on what you eat etc, and also not to carry or lift anything heavy, i am of the mindset that what will be will be, i have had 2 m/c 1 early and one late, i understand how you feel but really i dont think that you can do anything but pray and hope xxx

Good luck - have had 3 MMCs myself, so know how worrying early pregnancy is. The usual advice makes sense; have you considered acupuncture? But I agree with sam, really what will be will be.

There are a couple of specialists in London who specialise in treating women with repeated miscarriage - Dr. Hassan Shehata of The Miscarriage Clinic and Dr. Amin Gorgy or the Fertility and Gynaecology Academy. They are both worth a look and if appropriate, will prescribe blood thinners and steroids, and immunoglobulin. Their results are excellent. Hope that helps.

I had IUI and they gave me cyclogest which apparently helps make the womb lining all squidgy and good - no major evidence that it helps but they recommended I take it for 12 weeks anyway which I did.

Thinking positive thoughts for you for this pregnancy xxxx

Nothing you can do at this point if you don't already have a possible explanation for the MCs (all other prescriptions would need tests done first).

Have you not had tests done though? 2 years of trying to get pregnant would usually mean you get refered for testing.

Good luck!

Congratulations on your BFP and sorry about the MCs. Unfortunately the vast majority of early MCs are due to chromosomal abnormalities (unless you have been diagnosed with something specific) so there is most likely nothing you can do early on - the fetus is either viable or not from conception. Had an early MMC before going on to have DS (at 36 yrs old) so understand how you feel. Best of luck and hope all goes well.

Thanks for your comments ladies. Very much appreciated.

In contrast to Lunatic Fringe, there are several different approaches to repeated miscarriage than Lesley Regan - (no offence LF, just presenting a different view!)
In fact s couple of the consultants she works alongside - Raj Rai for starters - treat with aspirin and heparin and some steroids. Lesley Regan is a fantastic scientist and researcher and will only use and prescribe proven treatments which have been fully trialled. However, trialling in patient groups such as pregnant women or those trying to be pregnant, is fraught with difficulty, and PRof Regan is notoriously ultra conservative, which if you're desperate for a baby, isn't always the best approach.

So a different approach is to treat 'off label' as such, with drugs which haven't been empiracally proven to be efficacious in these groups - and that's where aspirin and heparin and steroids and monoclonal antibodies fall - widely used but unregulated. Those which use them - Shehata, Gorgy, Taranissi, Rai, et al, have shown extraordinary results in women with rpt mc, even those who have tested negative for thombophilic screening.

Pink Peony, from what I've read, you're right, most miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities, EXCEPT in women with repeated losses - in this patient group, the likelihood is a different issue - that of an immune related issue. So either the body is recognising the embryo as a foreign body, and rejecting it, usually by putting a clot in the placenta, or preventing implantation. Or, the body doesn't recognise the foetus as being quite 'different' enough, especially if there are genetic similarities with both parents, and it's rejected, with a similar mechanism. The theory behind the treatment is that aspirin (and heparin) thin the blood, and prevent clots, and the steroids/mc antibody/immunoglobulin in some way affect the immune system enough to allow the embryo to implant and thrive.
I've rambled a bit, sorry. I just wanted you to be aware of some of the developments in this area. Hopefully this was bad luck rather than a serious issue, but please don't think you've got to keep plugging away without success when there are other options available. x

In many other countries, women are put on hormone therapies (depending on the type of hormone one is lacking to support pregancy early days). The most common one is progesterone (there are other ones, of course). The problem is that a lot of advanced hormon drugs are not licensed in the UK, and my personal and some of my friends' experiences is that UK doctors tend to avoid hormonal treatments for as long as possible, disregarding one's age and objectives with respect to starting a family... I would suggest insisting that your curresnt specialist does thorough tests, and if it turns out you have a slightest hormon defficiency, finding a specialist who is more open to using hormon therapies (American, German, French, etc) who has an established practice in the UK...I wish you the best of luck! Keep your chin up!

I was seen at St Mary's RMC & i didn't like it there. I went back to my consultant at my hospital who was just starting a RMC at my hospital.
He didn't believe in aspirin but i know of lots of women who've taken it with success.
I had loads of tests but nothing was found.
I have 4 children, 1 stillbirth & then after my last child in 2006 i starting with my losses. 4 early losses & then an ectopic.
They now 'think' that all my losses were ectopic but can't say for certain.

I have dithered since yesterday about mentioning this because 1. I don't want to give anyone hope when it may not work & 2. lots of people don't believe/agree with herbal type medicines.

So don't take this as a miracle cure or that i'm some kind of hippy trying to push herbal stuff.

I came across a product called 'Welcome womb' from an american site that i use. I couldn't find it over in the uk so had to get it shipped over here which was a little expensive.

With ALL my pregnancies, live birth children & losses i had bleeding. I'm not talking a bit of red blood, i mean heavy bleeding.
With this pregnancy i used welcome womb & i'm 25wks pregnant & not a single bit of blood which is totally amazing if you knew just how much i bled in all my pregnancies.

I'm not saying it saved this pregnancy but it certainly did prevent any bleeding.

I know of quite a few women who have used it after recurrent miscarriages & for the first time had a successful pregnancy.

I would however suggest any woman going through recurrent losses to have all the tests available first. But when those tests come back ok, i just thought..... i have nothing to lose from trying something different.

I wish you luck with your pregnancy & hope all goes well for you x

Fwiw, you're not counted as having recurrent MC until you have 3 in a row. So 2 can be down to bad luck and chromosomal abnormalities.

If you do MC again (hopefully not!), it would be best to stop TTC so that you can have tests done before TTC again. Only that way can you have treatments available.

Japhrimel, that's true as far as the NHS is concerned but private practitioners may take a different view.

LF, quite right, just because something is widely available and familiar doesn't mean it's harmless. x

I took vitamin B6 as I read that can help with preventing miscarriages - I had one at 12 weeks last year. Don't think there's strong evidence, but I'm now 15-16 weeks...