06 What Can They Tell?
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This article is from the Miscarriage FAQ, by Laura Brooks brook006@mc.duke.edu with numerous contributions by others.
06 What Can They Tell?
Good question. I do not know your age but most expecting mothers over 35
take this to find out if their child has Downs. This is detected by an
extra 21 chromosome in the cells fixed to the slide which reflects the
baby/patient depending on source. Other errors are able to be detected are
extra chromosomal numbers such as 69 or 92 but this is VERY unlikely and I
highly doubt this is your situation. I suspect you can not help but suspect
the worst but well..wait for the results.
In regard to why, they may test you and the father? Well, sometimes about 1
in 200 people have balanced translocated chromsomes which in simple english
means that no genetic info was lost but people have a chunk of their
chromosome 3, for example, attached to chromosome 5, for example. This
looks odd compared to others in a 'karyotype' but the cells do not care so
long as all the genes are present. If the baby has a balanced translocation
in the test, they will want to know if it was new for the baby or you have
it as well. I won't be that surprised if I have this myself so don't panic.
But most likely, their is no genetic reason for this miscarriage but a
result of other reproduction factors. I MUST STATE THAT I AM ONLY A
BIOCHEMISTRY SENIOR AND AM LEARNING THIS PRODEDURE but I hope that this
info makes you feel more informed with your situation.
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The hardest thing is finding that there is often no one or no thing to be
blamed--it just happens and nobody knows why. Give yourself lots of time,
as recovering emotionally is not unlike recovering physically--just because
wounds are felt rather than seen doesn't mean that there hasn't been damage
that will take a while to recover from. In a real sense, this is a death,
so you may need to mourn and grieve for a while. Take lots of time with
yourself emotionally as well as physically. And, by all means, if you are
uncomfortable with your OB-GYN--you're not getting answers to your
questions, etc.--find another one immediately.
> And finally, I would appreciate hearing from anyone with any information
> about women developing antibodies to their fetuses, and how common (or
> rare) this is.
This is all very new stuff, so there isn't a whole lot of data around. As I
understand it, in order to strengthen the blocking response of the
placenta, white blood cells (a half unit) from the (prospective) father are
administered to the mother, and then they try to conceive again. While some
reports of the succes rate are as high as 70%, I don't know that the sample
is large enough yet to be significant. There are, for example, other
studies that have shown that psychological counselling was also
effective--again, the data sample is small, so it's hard to tell how
significant a result this might be.
My wife and I had the white cell stuff done in Richmond VA and we now have
an 18 month old son. Clearly, *something* worked--even though we didn't
have the full course of treatment that the Richmond people wanted. But now,
we're having troubles even conceiving again--which wasn't the slightest
problem before.
> And basically, just anyone else who has anything to tell me at all that
> might be helpful.
It's not your fault. Even though it happens in your body and to you, it's
not your fault. It hurts like hell, but these things just happen, the way
asteroids sometimes slam into the Earth. Boom. Stuff flies. Things get
killed. It's nobody's fault. It just happens. We pick up and try to go
on...
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Last week my husband and I suffered through the pain and disappoinment of a
"missed" miscarriage. Simply put, this condition is caused when the body
fails to recognize that the cell cluster which has implanted has not become
a viable embryo and so continues to go through the motions of supporting a
pregnancy. For about a month after the pregnancy test was positive, my
husband and I thought about and planned for our baby. The fact that our
dream was shattered so soon didn't make it any less heartbreaking.
The reason I thought I'd write you, though, is to publicize the method used
to help us move on. You see, it was awful enough to try and accept the news
that the growing pregnancy sac we kept seeing on the ultrasound monitor was
empty and that it always would be. Still worse was the fact that we had to
select the method for ridding my body of the pregnancy support system still
growing in my uterus.
Option one was to let nature take its course. It might have been weeks,
though, before my body recognized there was a problem. The choice would
almost certainly have ended in a trip to the hospital for an emergency D&C.
We did not need the expense nor the trauma of this option. The second
option was having a scheduled D&C. We believed that this choice sounded
good because of the fact that it would be done under safe, controlled
conditions and under the peaceful sleep general anesthetic provides. By
contrast, the third option of a reletively new office procedure would cause
all the cramping and bleeding normally associated with a miscarriage,
induced by a drug not FDA approved for the purpose.
We were prepared to choose the scheduled D&C when we arrived at the
doctor's office for a final ultrasound. We said that we wanted to make the
choice which would be best for my physically AND mentally. He was certain
that the office procedure fit the bill. He went on to list the risks of a
D&C: perforation, infection, extensive bleeding, and a 2% chance that it
would have to be repeated. The office procedure also had a 2% chance that a
followup D&C would be required, but there was no chance of perforation or
infection since the procedure was non- invasive... and he was ready to do
it then and there. (It was a real blessing that we didn't have to go home
and dwell on it for a day or two.)
At about 6:00 PM the painless, five minute procedure was performed. A small
pill was broken into four pieces. (This drug IS FDA approved for other
uses, but it was explained that no matter how much pain, suffering, mental
anquish and money this procedure would save women, it was still technically
an abortion and no drug would be approved for abortion use. The doctor went
on to say that the FDA has never approved any drug for use during pregnancy
either - not Tylenol, not TUMS, nothing. He added that if doctors had to
wait for the FDA to approve everything obstetricians would have nothing to
use at all! Procedures and drugs, then, are chosen based on results found
in medical journals. This one has been used with increasing frequency and
with excellent results.) The pieces of the pill were placed around my
cervix - painlessly - and held in with a tampon. I was sent home with a
prescription which we filled immediately. I ate a small dinner, took one of
the prescription-strength Motrin, and waited. About 8:00 the cramps
started. By 10:00 I had become very uncomfortable, but my husband gave me
lower backrubs which helped immensely. I was further diverted by a good
movie on TV. The cramps were no worse than the intense ones I'd suffered
through during my teenage menstrual cycles. (I only took that one Motrin.)
I went to bed at 11:00 and slept soundly.
In the morning it was over. I was amazed to discover that the bleeding had
already tapered off to little more than spotting. At my recheck that
evening, the doctor found signs (through ultrasound) of only a small bit of
tissue remaining, which he was almost certain would pass on its own.
(Sometimes a second treatment is needed, but it results in much less
cramping since the uterus is almost emptied and nearly back to normal
size).
I will have to have weekly QHCG (blood) tests until my level returns to
zero (indicating that a D&C will not be necessary). In the meantime, my
husband and I are on StressTabs with Zinc and prescription-strength Folic
Acid to prepare for our next try. I'll be filling my new Clomid
prescription soon, and I already have an appointment for mid-June so my
period can be started by injection if it hasn't already done so on its own.
In short, we might be pregnant again by the end of next month! (There is no
good medical evidence, according to the doctor, that suggests that waiting
more than one cycle will improve our chances for a healthy pregnancy. In
fact, he believes that the knowledge that we can try again so soon greatly
enhances our emotional well-being, a factor that is also very important.)
There isn't anything that anyone could have said to make this experience
any less heartbreaking for us. We knew we didn't do anything to cause the
miscarriage, nor could we have done anything to prevent it. Still, we can't
deny the fear that it might happen again. We know that the people who told
us "it was for the best" and "at least you know you both work" were only
trying to help, but we wanted to scream each time we heard that. In fact,
the only good thing about all this was how fast and easy the doctor made it
to move on. No hospital visit, no paperwork, no recovery room. It was fast,
it didn't hurt (other than the cramping, which is short-lived and not too
terrible), we saved a fortune, and my husband and I went through it
together in the privacy and comfort of our own home. I don't know under
what circumstances the procedure can replace a D&C, but having had both
now, I can say that this is DEFINATELY the way to go. We will always be
grateful to this doctor for coming as close as any man can to understanding
what it's like to be a woman in this position.
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