An abortion is an actual conception with no possibility whatsoever to have a sustainable gestation. This of course is very deceiving for the parents-to-be, because they do not only have to face to be childless when they wanted the exact opposite, but they have to deal with the tragedy of suffering an abortion and losing the baby.
The different sections of this article have been assembled into the following table of contents.
Definition
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an abortion is defined as the spontaneous termination of pregnancy before the fotus would be viable (its weight is inferior to 500 g on 20th week of pregnancy). Moreover, if we add the adjective recurrent we have the loss of three or more consecutive gestations before the 20th week.
When a couple suffers three consecutive losses, they have already been facing upsetting experiences for a long time and want to know the reason why they are unable to have a successful pregnancy. Likewise, it is also important to know the alternatives they have to solve the situation and finally have a full-term pregnancy.
Epidemiology varies depending on the age of the mother. A mother under age 30, has only 25% chances to have another abortion. On the other hand, being older than 40 increases the rate up to 50-60%.
Main causes
Half the recurrent miscarriages do not have a clear diagnose.
When it is not possible to determine which the cause is —which occurs in 70% of the cases—, gestation ends with a healthy newborn in the next pregnancy.
Even though there's not a clear cause in most of the cases, several risk factors can be named, such as maternal age, and previous miscarriages.
The main causes of recurrent miscarriage are:
- Genetic factors: half the cases of abortion have a genetic origin.
- Immunological factors: specially the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).
- Thrombophilia: acquired, primary, or secondary being responsible of 10-15% of the cases.
All these causes have been studied and researched, although there are causes that remain yet to be proven, like uterine anatomical abnormalities that may have a key role in this kind of abortion. Unfortunately, the research available is still not consistent enough to support such hypothesis. Finally, there are less prevalent causes like those associated with the endocrine system, infections, and the autoimmune system.
FAQs from users
I have a history of recurrent miscarriage, when should the embryo transfer be done in my case?
The fact that a woman has had repeated miscarriages in the past has nothing to do with the day of the embryo transfer. In most of the cases, it is associated with the chromosomes of the embryos. Keeping this in mind, ideally the best treatment option in these cases would be IVF with PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis). With PGD, we examine 6-8 cells of each embryo. It allows us to find out which embryos are genetically norma and which don't.
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Authors and contributors
Teen moms should think about if they want to keep their baby or put it up to adoption, once they find out they are pregnant. Once I found out I was pregnant I fell in love with my baby. I got an ultrasound and that same day i fell in love with her. Listening to her heart was exciting. I knew that i wanted to keep my baby. But if for any reason teen moms know that they won’t be able to care for their child’s needs and/or they know that they will not love their baby, then they should put the baby up to adoption and let a beautiful family love your baby. Babies need a lot of love and they have to be cared for. So if you’re considering about putting your baby up to adoption think about the pros and cons before making your final decision.