Recurrent early miscarriage: causes and treatment

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The loss of a child is a tragedy in a woman's life. We can talk about habitual miscarriage if the miscarriage occurred at least 2-3 times in a row. Moreover, a woman can lose a baby both in the early stages and in the 2-3 trimester. Habitual miscarriage according to ICD-10, the international classification of diseases, has an individual code - 96. Can doctors help in this difficult situation?

Definition

A habitual miscarriage is a situation in which a woman has several spontaneous abortions in a row. These losses are caused by physiological reasons. They occur without surgery or medication. After a miscarriage, women should immediately consult a doctor. When planning subsequent pregnancies, you do not need to hide information about miscarriages from the gynecologist.

Most often, the loss of a child occurs in the first two months of pregnancy, but it can happen later. Often the cause is thinning and opening of the cervix.

What does habitual miscarriage mean? This is a spontaneous abortion that occurs repeatedly. According to statistics, approximately 5% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Of these 5%, approximately 20% are habitual spontaneous abortions. Based on these statistics, it follows that at least 1% of all pregnancies that occur end in recurrent miscarriages.

Who is at risk?

The ICD code for habitual miscarriage is 96, and if this diagnosis was made to a woman, then she can only plan a pregnancy under the supervision of a doctor. Some patients are more likely to have a spontaneous abortion. Women at risk:

• workers of enterprises with harmful working conditions;
• lovers of excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages;
• patients with hormonal disorders;
• mums with many children who had complications during previous pregnancies and childbirth;
• girls who are constantly stressed.

Spontaneous abortions are often found in women who take drugs. At risk are patients with underdeveloped female genital organs, for example, with a baby uterus. Before planning a pregnancy, girls working with radiation or chemicals are advised to change their place of service.

Most often, spontaneous abortions occur in women older than 35 or younger than 20. Moreover, in the second case, miscarriages, as a rule, are single, and then the girlcalmly bears the subsequent pregnancy.

Reasons

Not always doctors can say exactly what led to the loss of pregnancy in a particular case. The cause of a habitual miscarriage in the early stages may be the age of the mother. It has been established that the risk of pregnancy loss in women over 25 is 20%, and in women over 45 it is already 50%. In 75% of cases, miscarriage occurs early. Often the reason for this is the genetic mutations of the unborn baby.

Most common causes of miscarriage:

• big overweight mother;
• drinking a lot of coffee;
• smoking;
• alcohol abuse;
• addiction;
• hard physical labor;
• endocrine disorders;
• infectious diseases;
• pathology of the development of the genital organs.

Miscarriage can occur due to a chromosomal abnormality in the fetus. If a failure occurred during conception, then the fetus could form incorrectly. In this case, the mother's body will seek to get rid of the embryo by any means. About 60% of all miscarriages occur due to the wrong set of chromosomes in the baby.

Losing a baby early on

Recurrent miscarriage - what is it? This is a condition in which a woman has several spontaneous abortions in a row. A miscarriage is considered early if it occurs before the 12th week of pregnancy. They talk about habitual spontaneous abortions if the patient has more than 3 incidents in a row during the periodup to 22 weeks.

Miscarriages often occur in young women who have not yet formed a hormonal background. Severe toxicosis in the mother can also lead to interruption of gestation.

In some cases, a woman loses a child due to abnormal development of her genitals. In this case, fertilization occurs normally, but the embryo fails to attach to the uterus. The abnormal structure of the organs can interfere with the implantation of a he althy fetus. It is not uncommon for women to lose their babies early due to sexually transmitted diseases.

Symptoms

Can a woman understand that something threatens her unborn child? In most cases, yes, if she knows the main symptoms of spontaneous abortion. What does habitual miscarriage mean? These are repeated spontaneous abortions in a woman, the inability to maintain a pregnancy. Main symptoms of miscarriage:

• bloody vaginal discharge;
• drawing pains in the lower abdomen and in the sacrum;
• abrupt disappearance of all indirect signs of pregnancy, such as nausea or breast engorgement.

Spontaneous abortions most often occur at a period of 4-8 weeks, less often - up to 3 months. The symptoms of a miscarriage may not bother a woman at first. But over time, they begin to grow, that is, minor vaginal discharge turns into bleeding.

If you start treating a miscarriage at the initial stage, then perhaps the baby will be saved. If the woman did not pay attention to the frightening symptoms, the fetus usually dies. It is important that at the momentmiscarriage process was controlled by a gynecologist.

Diagnosis

Recurrent early miscarriage requires consultation with doctors. First, a woman should make an appointment with a gynecologist. The doctor will definitely prescribe additional examinations for the patient:

• pelvic ultrasound;
• blood for hormones (TSH, LH, FSH, progesterone, prolactin);
• vaginal swabs;
• analysis for antisperm bodies.

After a woman needs to visit a geneticist. In some cases, a woman additionally undergoes an MRI of the pelvic organs. The patient must be examined for herpes and cytomegalovirus.

Also, a woman must pass an extended analysis for sexually transmitted diseases. The patient is examined for hemostasis mutations predisposing to thrombophilia. A woman must be checked for phospholipid syndrome. It is found in about 10-15% of women with early recurrent miscarriages.

Ultrasound can be performed both with an abdominal sensor, that is, through the wall of the abdomen, and with a vaginal one. Both studies are highly informative and cannot harm a woman.

What to do after a miscarriage?

Often after the loss of a child, a woman wants to get pregnant again as soon as possible. This should not be done without consulting a doctor. This can lead to another habitual miscarriage in the short term. Approximately 2 months after the sad event, a woman can make an appointment with a gynecologistand start the examination.

The patient should definitely take antibodies to phospholipids and lupus anticoagulant. After all examinations and treatment, a woman can begin to prepare for a new pregnancy. As soon as the actions of the couple lead to success and the patient learns about the treasured three-digit hCG, she urgently needs to contact a gynecologist. The doctor should begin to control the pregnancy as early as possible in order to prevent problems in time.

A woman after a miscarriage is recommended to go for a consultation with a psychologist. All patients experience their grief in different ways: someone is angry, someone feels guilty. An experienced doctor will be able to help a woman and set her up for a new happy pregnancy.

Drug Therapy

If an abortion is suspected, a woman is urgently admitted to a hospital. If it is possible to provide the patient with timely assistance, then perhaps the embryo can be saved. At the beginning of a miscarriage, a pregnant woman is shown complete rest. It will be good if she has the opportunity to talk with a psychotherapist. It will help to cope with anxiety and excessive emotionality, as well as set the patient up for a positive pregnancy.

Medicines must be used to maintain pregnancy. Usually, doctors prescribe the drug "Duphaston" for habitual miscarriages. It is prescribed in cases where the expectant mother has a lowered level of her own progesterone. The drug is prescribed in a scheme with other medicines for 7 days.

For the treatment of early recurrent miscarriagesMisoprostol and vitamin E are also used during periods. If necessary, the doctor prescribes antispasmodics and mild sedatives.

Surgical treatment

With a habitual miscarriage, severe bleeding may open, in which case the doctor will recommend surgery. Surgically, the remains of the embryo and fetal tissues are removed from the uterus. The people called this procedure curettage. The tissues obtained after the operation are sent for laboratory analysis. The surgery is performed under general anesthesia. With a large blood loss, a woman is transfused with donor blood.

If, during the diagnosis of the causes of infertility, the patient was diagnosed with underdevelopment of the genital organs, then she may be prescribed surgical treatment. If the muscular ring of the cervix is weak, then the woman is either stitched or a pessary is installed. This often helps to maintain pregnancy and avoid premature birth. Together with the surgical doctors in the complex also apply conservative treatment.

How to keep pregnant?

With the threat of a habitual miscarriage, a woman should give up any bad habits. Smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs during pregnancy is unacceptable. Doctors recommend giving up bad habits at the stage of planning a child.

When there is a threat of miscarriage, doctors do not recommend expectant mothers to play sports, especially those associated with weight lifting and sudden movements. You will also have to exclude sex, which in some cases leads to miscarriages.

Women are encouraged to observebed rest and refuse to perform household chores. In severe cases, the expectant mother is hospitalized. The more a woman lies down, the more likely a miscarriage will be avoided. In addition, the patient is prescribed hormonal therapy and medications that prevent uterine contractions.

Which doctor should I see for a miscarriage?

If a woman thinks that her pregnancy may spontaneously terminate, then she needs to urgently consult a doctor. Problems associated with miscarriage are de alt with by a gynecologist. A woman can apply both to the district antenatal clinic and to a private clinic. In case of severe bleeding, it is recommended to call an ambulance.

Prevention of miscarriage

If a woman is planning a child, she can try to reduce the chance of miscarriage on her own. The daily regimen is of great importance: the expectant mother should get enough sleep, as well as go to bed and get up at about the same time every day. A woman is advised to improve nutrition. You need to include vegetables and fruits in your diet every day, and also eat only he althy foods.

Expectant mother must control her weight. For a child, both a woman's obesity and exhaustion are dangerous. Even before pregnancy, you need to bring your weight back to normal. If the body mass index is 30 or more, then this greatly increases the likelihood of a miscarriage. You can talk to your gynecologist or nutritionist about losing weight.

In advance, a woman should give upbad habits. They harm her reproductive he alth, and can also lead to spontaneous abortion.