Miscarriage - Austin,TX

Has she been tested for a clotting disorder?
With the third in a row her doctor should be ordering more tests and looking into a few different things. The clotting disorder is a common cause and can be addressed allowing her to carry to term.

Sarah K is on the money! Just to add my 2 cents, I agree that they should see a specialist and have the appropriate testing. I do however know of a few women who had miscarriages and then went on to have successful pregnancies. So there is hope!

I had 3 miscarriages and was planning on having some testing done but needed to wait a month after a normal cycle in the meantime I went to see an endocrinologist and I had anti thyroid antibodies and although I did not need thyroid medicine at that point she started me taking the thyroid medicine. I ended up pregnant again (I too did not have problems with that part) before I was going to do the internal testing to see why I could not hold the pregnancies and this time I did not lose her, she is 5 years old. I completely understand her pain and hope this might be a solution to her problem as well. My thyroid tests were coming back ok...it was not until the specialist did other tests on my thyroid that something came back wrong. Although the 2 issues are not directly tied together according to the Dr. it seemed to work for us.

OK, just want to first help clear up the terminology. Medically speaking an abortion is simply the end of a pregnancy before the point of viability (before the baby could survive outside the womb). The term has become so synonymous with the act of an induced abortion that it can lead to feelings of discomfort, sadness, or even anger when associated with a spontaneous abortion. In the unfortunate event of a spontaneous abortion it is appropriate to use a more sensitive word like miscarriage or pregnancy loss. The procedure of a D&C is not itself an abortion, it is a surgical procedure to clean out the uterus. It is often done during an induced abortion or after a miscarriage, and for many other reasons as well.

On to the real issue, three consecutive miscarriages is considered excessive and deserves some investigation. She and her husband should have full workups including genetic testing. The tissue from the D&C should get tested for chromosomal abnormalities. Do you know if they had any tests done with the previous miscarriages?
I had three healthy babies followed by 2 miscarriages at 14 and 12 weeks. Both of mine were tested and I was also after the second. Everything came back normal. My 6th pregnancy fortunately was problem free, he is a healthy 1 year old now. I will never know why my other babies died, and that is hard to live with. It did help that I already had 3 kids to love when I was going through that. I can't imagine how hopeless and defeated she must feel right now.
I only think IVF would be helpful if they discovered some genetic or chromosomal problem that the embryos could be tested for. Then they would know they were transferring healthy embryos and have a better chance of success.
I hope she finds happiness soon.

No, no...she is not aborting. I would not use that word to describe this situation ever. Especially, not around your friend. The death of her baby was not a choice. My sister had a total of five miscarriages. It was found she had adrenal gland problems, and celiacs disease. When those things were discovered, she improved her health, and carried 2 babies to term!

It's a wrong assumption (not that you are assuming!), that miscarriages are caused by hormonal problems. Often, there is another body function that is not correct. Your friend needs a complete health workup. It is also possible, her babies had a chromosomal abnormality. The majority of babies with abnormalities are miscarried, and never carried to term.

When you have a miscarriage, the fetus has already passed away and the pregnancy has ended. It is not aborted or terminated. Please use some care in the words you choose as there are many, many women here who have suffered pregnancy loss in all stages of life. Some women here much more recently than others.

Your friend should consider seeing a fertility specialist and an OB that specializes in high risk pregnancies.

EDIT: I'm very aware of the technical term "spontaneous abortion" and that miscarriage is a synonym for it. However, in the common vernacular, when you're talking to a woman who has just has a miscarriage you simply don't use the term abortion. You use "pregnancy loss" or "miscarriage." Those are the emotionally sensitive terms to use. "Spontaneous abortion" is cold and clinical with nothing to show that you're taking their feelings into account.

She didn't 'abort' her baby... she miscarried. Big difference.
Then had to have a D&C... to clean out her body... or if any tissue is left, infection can occur.

I had a miscarriage once, too.
To have that happen again and again, is heartbreaking.

Perhaps, see some kind of specialist.... to ascertain why.... It has happened so much.
Maybe it has nothing to do with hormones.

I would think that IVF will not make it better. Since she has no trouble conceiving, anyway.

they need to have DNA testing done to see what chromosomes are missing or not matching...and during the critical phase of development - the DNA mixes up and causes the fetus to stop growing.

And please don't tell her she's having an abortion - a D&C with a miscarriage is NOT an abortion...

While I'm sorry for their loss but at 6 to 8 weeks - I'm not sure why they would have to do a D&C - the fetus is about 6 cm long....too many D&Cs can lead to scar tissue in the uterus.

I don't know if my story is helpful or not but here goes....

Back in the dark ages when I was married and trying DESPERATELY to have babies nothing happened for two years, then I had 3 miscarriages in less than a year-- all at 8 weeks. They were never able to figure out why, but before we go too deep into the testing my marriage fell apart.

I lived like a nun for 9 years and then had a naughty little fling with someone else's boyfriend and used the "Ha! It would take a MIRACLE" form of birth control. Even though I was almost 10 years older and almost a 100 pounds heavier I had a near perfect pregnancy.... Maybe it was the different father, maybe it WAS a miracle-- I don't think it was an accident that Isaac was concieved on the first Mother's Day after my mom died, but this S. has her Isaac!

I guess my only real advice besides specialists and NOT using the word abort is to space out their pregnancy attempts. There are no words to describe how grief and hormones feed on and magnify each other. Three miscarriages in a year, with the grief and hormones involved almost LITERALLY killed me.

My mom had two miscarriages before I was born. A friend of mine had 3 miscarriages between her 2 nd and 3rd child. Although we will never know in this life time why the docs just thought it was a fluke and there was no specific reason. Hopefully your friend will go on to have a healthy pregnancy. FYI... A "spontaneous abortion" is the medical term used when a baby is miscarried or expelled from the body naturally. If your friend needs a D&C she did not spontaneously abort although she did have a misscarriage since the fetus/baby is no longer living. I suggest you look into getting your friend a book on miscarriage. It helped me greatly after my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.

I am sorry to hear about your friend and I am glad you are trying to help. Although the clinical term for an early miscarriage may be spontaneous abortion, please don't use that term with her. She had a miscarriage and her baby died and her hopes and dreams did too. Please advise her to have the tissue from the baby tested for chromosome abnormalities just to make sure there is not a problem in future pregnancies. Three miscarriages is reason enough to do extra testing with a high risk OB specialist. Also have these pregnancies been properly spaced out? Has she become pregnant too quickly after the last loss? Or does she have other unique medical problems that only occur in pregnancy?

I don't think IVF will help her, but she should definitely see a fertility specialist. Too many Ob/Gyn's wait too long to offer the necessary testing to determine why a woman is having multiple miscarriages (and I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I agree with the others that you should refer to this as a miscarriage and please never again say 'she had to abort the child.' Having suffered two miscarriages myself I know how hurtful words can be, even if the intentions are well-meaning). If she finds a good fertility specialist (most likely an Endocrinologist), she will be able to get to the root of the problem and most likely treat it so that her future pregnancies will be successful. She really shouldn't try to get pregnant again until she has a diagnosis, or gets the 'all-clear' that everything is fine and they have just been terribly unlucky. Best of luck to her and kudos to you for being such a good friend!

Tell her to get a referral to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. They are the ones who can do the testing to see what, if anything, is wrong. We were sent to one after my 3rd miscarriage. He was unable to find any medical reason for my issues, but it was nice to be able to rule things out.

We are getting ready to close down our baby factory since we have 4 healthy kids and I've had 6 miscarriages. I also have a chronic illness and it is advised that I don't get pregnant anymore. It's a sad day, but I'm glad I don't need to go through that again. For each child we had it took us the same # of pregnancies to get them here as # they were in the family (i.e. it took 4 pregnancies to get our 4th child here). I can't do 5 more. :-(

This is basic in the extreme, and I keep thinking SURELY the doc would have tested this by now...but sometime it's the obvious things that are overlooked. Have they both had their blood tested for Rh factor? If she's Rh negative and he's Rh positive, she will need a Rhogam injection to prevent miscarriage.

A family member went through multiple miscarriages. She was having no trouble conceiving but she could not carry very long into the pregnancy. Insane amounts of tests on both her and her husband were run. She has a blood clotting disease that was unknown before they found it while looking for the cause of the miscarriages. There were clots forming in the placenta so the baby could not get what it needed to grow or live. They put her on blood thinners the minute they learned this, which wasn't immediately because they didn't find out until after she was pregnant. She now has a wonderful daughter. She was born premature and did have some growth issues even with the blood thinners. They're trying again and this time they will put her on blood thinners the minute she gets the positive home test in the hopes of an even better outcome.
IVF wouldn't help in this case because it's not the conceiving that's the issue, it's what the body does after it's pregnant.
I hope your friend finds her reason for miscarrying.

The daughter of a friend of mine has been trying to have a baby for a couple years. They are going thru IVF now and it has failed 4 times just a few weeks into each pregnancy. My friend just mentioned something the other day about tests that showed her daughters blood is too thick, or clots to soon, and it has some effect on concieving. Seems like she said it causes the blood in the uterus to clot too soon and the egg cant implant right. Theyve put her on blood thinners for now to see what happens. Ive never heard of this and dont know all the details but it was interesting to hear that its a possible problem that might be easily solved for this couple. Hope your friend finds a way.

I know after I went through several they did exploratory lap. to see if I had a misshaped uterus. I can't remember what they called it. Something about a heart shape and they could go repair it. I would suggest she get in contact with the Pope Paul the VI Institute. They may have a trained OB near her. I am fortunate enough to live near Dr. Hilgers and was able to see him but I know that he can work with your OB to try to figure it out. He is world renown and has a wonderful success rate. I believe he is very reasonable and most insurance covers his costs very well.

I realize this is from yesterday but wanted to say a few words because I work for a testing laboratory. I hope she pushes for genetic testing on this tissue from the D&C as well as prenatal genetic testing for both of them. I work with OBGYNs everyday and it really surprises me how parents or potential parents decline this.

Your friend's situation is such a difficult one. I agree with the advice others have suggested about seeing a specialist. That's essential, especially after three losses. I didn't see any mention of fibroid tumors being a possible cause to investigate. My friend was able to conceive and carry a first baby to term. However, over the next several years she miscarried several times and the doctor could not determine the reason. Finally, she became pregnant and waited through the first several weeks anticipating another miscarriage. It didn't happen. That time, according to a doctor, she was diagnosed with fibroid tumors, but luckily that baby had latched on to one of the only safe places in her uterus. He has recently graduated from college.

There is always hope. Modern medicine or, ultimately, the possibility of adoption, can allow your friend to be a Mom.

I also had 3 miscarriages and it turned out to be my thyroid . Hope this helps

Ask her if she has been checked for poly-cystic ovary syndrom. If she has it her whole system is thrown off. She may have trouble carrying to term.

Your friend should see a reproductive endocrinologist who can run tests to see if it can be determined why your friend is miscarrying. There are several reasons why a miscarriage occurs, and most can be treated. Some times it is just bad luck, but it is good to rule out any problems.

I can relate with your friend. I have lost seven babies thru miscarriage ranging between 7weeks and 15 weeks. IVF is only used if there is a problem with conception. Your friend needs a ob-endocrinologist. Her obgyn would have to refer her. I wish them luck.

My m/c (similar to your friend-stopped developing around 8/9 wks) ended up being the result of a uterine anamoly/defect that required surgery to repair. I would suggest that she see a RE for a thorough evaluation including an HSG, which is where they insert dye into the uterus/tubes to make sure there are no issues. That is how my defect was discovered and had it not been, I would have likely continued having miscarriages. Best wishes to your friend-it is a terrible thing to go through.

Have her dr check for a blood clotting disorder. I had two miscarriages at 12 & 14 weeks. Tested + for a blood clotting disorder. Got pregnant again, was put on blood thinners at 4 weeks......just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this month ;)

I had two miscarriages. One I am quite certain was correlated to caffeine intake (I was younger and unaware of the connection) and the other was due to a short luteal phase because I was still breastfeeding. I am glad you are asking questions because I find that it is only after doing hours and hours of research myself that I can assess things properly - many many many doctors are unhelpful and will throw out your ideas because they are not mainstream.

My advice - have your friend research fertility/miscarriage until something strikes a chord in her - then, find a physician that is willing to support her findings. There are many herbs/supplements that can also support pregnancy, but once again, it's hard to find a doctor who will be willing to talk to you about it. Good luck!