Statin Drugs May Prevent Miscarriage

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(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Drugs normally prescribed to prevent cardiovascular disease may also prevent miscarriages, according to Weill Cornell scientists. Researchers found that spontaneous miscarriages were prevented in mice after giving them a common statin drug, called pravastatin (Pravachol).

The research team, led by Dr. Guillermina Girardi, assistant professor of pharmacology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, studied a mouse model that mirrors recurrent spontaneous miscarriages and found that these mice had high levels of tissue factor (TF), a protein that promotes inflammation and clotting. Statin drugs are used to prevent clotting and inflammation within the cardiovascular system, so the scientists hypothesized that they may also help to prevent miscarriages.

Dr. Girardi found that pravastatin diminishes TF levels, and therefore prevents thrombosis and restores placental blood flow. Further clinical studies are under way to determine if the same strategy is effective in women. This study was recently published in the journal BLOOD, a publication of the American Society of Hematology.

For more information, visit www.nyp.org and www.med.cornell.edu .

Source: http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Research_270/Statin_Drugs_May_Prevent_Miscarriage.shtml

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“This Side Up…While Sleeping”

ORLANDO, June 12, 2009 – The Hayes Foundation’s This Side Up campaign is an educational effort that reminds anyone who looks after a baby (parents, grandparents, siblings and daycare providers) that babies are at less of a risk of SIDS if placed on their backs at nap or bed time. Funded by a grant from the 100 Women Strong, HCECF will distribute the campaign’s educational onesies to all babies born in Orange County hospitals. The onesies read “This Side Up…While Sleeping” on the front and offer additional safe-sleeping tips on the back. The grant funding will cover the costs of the campaign for several months, but the campaign will also include a “pay it forward approach” to the community to continue the distribution of the onesies.

“The onesies are a reminder of a topic that many parents and caregivers are uncomfortable discussing,” said Karen van Caulil, executive director of HCECF. “They are a tangible way to start the conversation about SIDS and safe-sleeping habits for babies. We have seen SIDS deaths occur all too often in our community. It’s our hope to educate and raise awareness of ways we can reduce our risk.”

Added Kyra Oliver, who founded The Hayes Foundation days after her son Hayes died of SIDS at 4½ months: “We are thrilled that the Health Council of East Central Florida is willing to help us spread our message and raise awareness of SIDS. Our vision is to create a world without SIDS, and this partnership will take us one step closer to that goal.”

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Matt Bryant and his wife Melissa have also joined the effort to spread the This Side Up campaign. The Bryants, known in the Tampa Bay community for their support of children and those in need through the March of Dimes, Special Olympics and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, among others, lost 3-month-old son Matthew Tryson Bryant to SIDS last September.

“SIDS doesn’t discriminate: It can affect any family at any time,” said Matt Bryant, the Bucs’ 2007 nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his playing ability and community service. “We are living proof of that and want to remind every parent not to take anything for granted. We hope we can help spread the This Side Up message here in Central Florida, in Tampa Bay and across Florida.”

About 2,500 families in the United States lose a baby to SIDS each year. That’s about half as many deaths related to SIDS as in 1994 when the national Back to Sleep campaign was introduced.

“Although we have seen a decline of SIDS deaths locally in recent years, the rate of sudden unexpected infant deaths in Orange County continues to increase and probably includes babies who were not put to sleep as safely as possible,” Dr. van Caulil said. “We believe this campaign will help educate anyone who looks after a baby of the proper sleeping position and environment.”

The Hayes Foundation introduced the This Side Up campaign in 2006 as an extension of Back to Sleep with the goal of putting a tangible reminder in the hands of those who look after babies. The Hayes Foundation has distributed more than 50,000 onesies in more than 20 hospitals in Virginia and Tennessee and through Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s Smart Beginnings Initiative. In April, it partnered with The Raise Foundation to launch the campaign in Orange County, Calif.

“SIDS continues to puzzle the medical community,” Oliver said. “While it’s not possible to prevent SIDS, research has proven there are factors that can reduce the risk of SIDS. That’s what our campaign is about.”

Oliver’s son Hayes was sleeping on his stomach while at daycare when she got a phone call that he wasn’t breathing. Just as she was getting to know her son, he was gone. In the days following his death, she started The Hayes Foundation in his honor. Since its founding in 2002, the foundation has raised more than $500,000 for SIDS awareness and education.

Organizations interested in learning more about the This Side Up onesies project or who are interested in donating to this important cause can contact the Health Council of East Central Florida at 407.977.1610 for more information.

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I lost two babies in shattering miscarriages, because I was allergic to gluten

When Janet and Andrew Hewitt started trying for a family, they thought it would happen easily - they were both fit and apparently healthy. So when, after 18 months, Janet still hadn't managed to conceive, they began to wonder if something was wrong and underwent fertility tests.

'But everything came back normal, so we were sent away and told to keep trying,' recalls Janet.

* For more information, visit Coeliac UK at http://www.coeliac.org.uk/ or call 0870 444 8804.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1174001/I-lost-babies-shattering-miscarriages--I-allergic-gluten.html

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Trying Again After Recurrent Miscarriages

Photo by Andy Martin

Valerie and John Quinones, a Brooklyn couple in their mid-30s, were more than ready for a baby. Ms. Quinones had no trouble conceiving, but miscarried her first pregnancy at 6 weeks. Soon she was pregnant again, but this time no heartbeat was detected at 9 weeks.

After those consecutive pregnancy losses, her doctor suggested a blood test that showed a rare clotting disorder that, the doctor said, might, or might not, be responsible for the problem. He suggested that as soon as she conceived again she should begin daily injections with a blood-thinning drug and continue that throughout the pregnancy.

Nine months later, Carolina Quinones entered the world at 7 pounds 9 ounces, hale and hearty.

If you know or read about all the things that can go wrong in achieving and maintaining a successful pregnancy, you will no doubt wonder how so many healthy babies manage to be born. More than half of pregnancies are spontaneously lost even before the woman has missed a menstrual period and knows that she is pregnant, and about 15 to 20 percent of recognized pregnancies are miscarried in the next few months. For couples who want a baby, these are daunting numbers.

Quick on their heels, however, are very reassuring numbers. For 80 to 90 percent of women who lose one pregnancy, the next one, even with no treatment, results in a successful birth. But the devastation is compounded and the statistics slightly less hopeful when a woman has lost two or more pregnancies. After two consecutive miscarriages, there is a 75 percent chance that the next pregnancy will be maintained. After three miscarriages, there is a 65 percent chance.

Unproven or Useless Remedies

Myths abound as to why women experience recurrent miscarriages. The uninformed tend to blame factors like undue stress, too much exercise, being too thin or too fat, exposure to occupational or environmental toxins, excessive use of computers or cellphones and bad habits like smoking or drinking too much coffee. Affected couples, often desperate for a solution, sometimes grasp at unproven or useless remedies. What they need instead is factual information, emotional support and, if possible, treatment based on a medically established cause.

Helped by Dr. Sandra A. Carson of Brown University and Dr. D. Ware Branch of the University of Utah, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently issued an updated report on what is known and not known about the causes of repeated miscarriage and its proper treatment.

Perhaps most telling is the bottom line. Approximately one woman of reproductive age in 100 will experience recurrent pregnancy loss, and in no more than half of couples will a definite cause be established. Furthermore, several reported causes are controversial, as are their treatments.

“Although a common concern of patients,” the report says, “environmental factors rarely have been linked to sporadic pregnancy loss, and no associations between environmental factors and recurrent pregnancy loss have been established.” It adds, “No association between occupational exposure or working itself and recurrent pregnancy loss have been established.” Neither have any infectious agents been proved to cause recurrent miscarriage, the report adds.

Dr. Carson said in an interview, “The overwhelming majority of recurrent miscarriages occur because something is wrong with the baby, most often a chromosomal abnormality.” This risk increases with the mother’s age and, some studies suggest, with the father’s age, because of genetic errors in the egg or sperm that result in embryos with too many or too few chromosomes.

In 2 to 4 percent of couples with recurrent loss, one partner is found with a problem, a genetically balanced rearrangement of chromosomes. He or she is normal, but when the egg or sperm is formed, it can end up with an extra chromosome piece or a missing segment, resulting in an embryo that cannot survive. In such cases, a couple may choose in vitro fertilization, with genetic analysis of the resulting embryos performed to select a chromosomally normal one for implantation.

Structural abnormalities of the uterus are found in 10 to 15 percent of women who have recurrent miscarriages, though experts disagree over whether these problems impede a successful pregnancy. Likewise, the role of fibroids and endometriosis is controversial, and surgery to remove such extra tissue may not prevent another miscarriage.

When a Blood Thinner Can Help

An autoimmune disorder that involves the production of antibodies to phospholipids, which are important components of blood vessel walls, can sometimes cause clots in the small blood vessels of the placenta. The resulting damage can cause recurrent miscarriage. In women with high levels of such antibodies, treatment with the blood thinner heparin and low-dose aspirin can reduce, though not necessarily eliminate, the risk of repeated miscarriage, Dr. Carson said.

While there is no good evidence that a woman’s immunity to her partner’s tissues is responsible for repeated miscarriage, suggestive evidence indicates that an immune abnormality may occur that interferes with producing the intrauterine growth factors needed for a successful pregnancy. But there is no proven treatment for such a problem.

One popular notion to explain recurrent miscarriage is inadequate production of progesterone, the hormone released after ovulation that prepares the uterus for pregnancy. This idea has resulted in many efforts to support an incipient pregnancy by administering progesterone, a treatment that Dr. Carson described as harmless but not likely to be effective. Some researchers suggest that if a hormonal problem exists it may begin before the egg is released and that drugs to stimulate ovulation may be more helpful.

Even after the most thorough work-up, half to three-fourths of couples with recurrent pregnancy loss “will have no certain diagnosis,” the report states. For such couples, the best medicine is good information and sympathetic counseling, combined with optimistic statistics. “Live birth rates between 35 percent and 85 percent are commonly reported in couples with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss who undertake an untreated or placebo-treated subsequent pregnancy.”

A combined analysis of the best studies available in 1995 showed that 60 to 70 percent of women with unexplained recurrent losses would have successful next pregnancies.

Of course, every woman contemplating pregnancy would be wise to follow the recommendations of the March of Dimes to start prenatal vitamin supplements before becoming pregnant. Throughout pregnancy, eat healthfully, exercise moderately, avoid alcohol, eat fish (but avoid seafood high in mercury), limit caffeinated drinks to two a day and check with the doctor before taking medications or dietary supplements.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/health/25brod.html?ref=science

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Immune system 'causes miscarriage'

Scientists have moved closer to identifying the malfunction in a mother's immune system that causes some to miscarry..

They now believe that the lack of a single protein may lead to the immune system mistakenly identifying a developing foetus as a foreign invader and targeting it for destruction.

Working with mice, the researchers have identified an immune system protein called Crry which appears to play a crucial role in ensuring that babies are not killed before birth.

This protein is thought to de-activate a part of the mother's immune system to stop it attacking the developing embryo.

Similar proteins are suspected of playing the same role in humans.

A team from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, US, has shown that mice bred to lack Crry are unable to give birth to live young.

Instead, their immune system unleashes a destructive attack on the tissues of the developing foetus, which are dismantled and reabsorbed by the mother - the equivalent of a miscarriage in humans.

The researchers discovered that Crry blocks a branch of the mother mouse's body defences called the complement system, which helps destroy foreign material such as infectious organisms.

Crry prevents two other "complement" proteins from marking out cells for immune system destruction.

The researchers studied the cell make-up of foetuses growing in the mice that lacked Crry.

Activated for destruction
They found that by the seventh day of gestation both the outer cells of the embryo and the cells of the developing placenta carried activated complement proteins.

They also found that immune system cells called neutrophils had invaded the complement-targeted tissue.

After 10 days it was clear that the immune system was destroying the embryos.

Dr Molina said: "Without this single molecule, complement components of the mouse immune system are activated, resulting in embryonic death."

The researchers, who reported their findings in the journal Science today, now plan to investigate the role of similar proteins in women's miscarriages.

Two placental proteins perform the same duties as Crry in humans - decay accelerating factor and membrane cofactor protein.

Their role in miscarriages has not been previously addressed.

Dr Molina said: "Using the mouse studies as a framework, we can jump to human studies and see whether miscarriages in women also involve complement regulation."

The work will focus on women who have auto-immune diseases such as lupus erythematosus and multiple miscarriages.

The team will try to determine whether such women have reduced levels of the Crry-like regulatory proteins, and might benefit from receiving them artificially.

Dr Gill Vince, an expert in miscarriage from Liverpool University, said most spontaneous abortions were a one off, but a small group of women suffered repeated miscarriages, around 60% of which were unexplained.

She said: "Any breakthrough in explaining repeated miscarriages is good, but it can be difficult to extrapolate from mice to humans as they have different placental systems."

Related to this story:
- Miscarriage risk of slow eggs (10 Jun 99 Health)
- Genetic miscarriage risk (13 Jan 00 Health)
- Caffeine blamed for miscarriages (25 Nov 99 Health)
- Couples 'need more support after miscarriage' (02 Sep 99 Health)
- Miscarriage prevention therapy 'does not work' (30 Jul 99 Health)
Internet Links:
Science Washington University School of Medicine Miscarriage links

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/health/612021.stm

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The Mysteries of Miscarriage

From too much caffeine to faulty chromosomes, the list of things that can contribute to a lost pregnancy is long. What you need to know about the many risk factors.

Each year, 4 million parents welcome new babies. More than 1 million others lose theirs before they're born. Why? It's the question of the month, after a headline-grabbing study said women who reported consuming more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day doubled their risk of miscarriage -- from the 12 percent among non-using participants to 25 percent. (A 12-ounce "tall" Starbucks coffee contains 260mg.) Latte lovers flooded doctors' offices with anguished queries. The hysteria is "like an epidemic," says Yale University Ob-Gyn Mary Jane Minkin, author of "The Yale Guide to Women's Reproductive Health."

Caffeine, of course, isn't the only culprit. The list of factors that plays a role in miscarriage is long, and not all of them can be controlled. Or understood. More than half of all miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities. "It's nature's way of saying, 'this isn't working, so we're going to let it go'," says Duke University Ob-Gyn Susann Clifford. Random chromosomal error causes 70 percent of pregnancies that end before six weeks of gestation, 50 percent of pregnancies that stop between six and 10 weeks and only 5 percent of pregnancies that end after 10 weeks.

Women cannot do much about some risk factors, such as previous miscarriages and advanced maternal age. "You can't change your age, and you can't change your history. It's a frustrating business," says Mount Sinai School of Medicine epidemiologist David Savitz. Older women are simply more likely to conceive embryos with chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. In the general population, the risk of miscarriage after six weeks gestation is 15 percent. At age 35, it's 25 percent and at age 40 it's 42 percent.

There are steps that women of all ages can take to lessen other potential risks--even before they conceive. "Good preconception care is probably your best bet," says Dr. Uma Reddy, a medical officer for the National Institute of Child Health and Development. "By the time you come and see your Ob at 11 weeks, it's already too late." Before and after conception, take prenatal vitamins (which include folic acid), don't smoke, avoid second-hand smoke and toxic chemicals, and maintain an ideal body weight. Obesity increases the risk of miscarriage (and birth defects) and is emerging as a significant risk factor for stillbirth, says Reddy. Eating undercooked meat can increase exposure to the bacteria listeria, to E. coli and to the toxoplasma parasite. Cleaning the litter box of an outdoor cat, who may eat an infected bird or rodent, also increases the risk of toxoplasmosis.

Staying calm is important, as well: a British study last year added to the mounting evidence that stress may increase miscarriage risk. (This is the kind of advice that drives already-anxious women crazy, unfortunately.) Avoid alcohol and illicit drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin. And use acetaminophen (Tylenol) instead of ibuprofen (Advil), which can decrease the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby, says the NICHD's Reddy. To be safe, avoid sushi and limit consumption of fish high in mercury levels, such as canned tuna, says Dr. Diane Ashton, deputy medical director of the March of Dimes. And avoid soft cheeses like brie and gorgonzola, which may contain the bacteria listeria. Limit exposure to chemicals such as home pesticides, mercury and gasoline--but be realistic. "We're not going to recommend that pregnant women never fill their car," says Ashton. Make sure you're vaccinated against chicken pox and rubella (before trying to conceive) since anything that can cause birth defects may also cause miscarriage. And, to repeat the latest news, don't overdo caffeine, which crosses the placental barrier and increases blood pressure and heart rate.

Other potential risk factors require further study. Hot tubs and microwaves ovens, for example, have not received much research attention. Dr. De-Kun Li, the lead author on the caffeine study, has examined them, however, and he tells women to stand at least five feet from a microwave oven, and to stay out of hot tubs since they may raise core body temperature. (In a hot tub, a woman can't sweat to cool off.)

After a woman has miscarried two or more times, doctors may conduct tests of the woman and her partner (or of the miscarriage tissue) to detect chromosomal problems. They may also look for infection of the uterus. And blood tests can detect diabetes, autoimmune disease and hormone imbalance. About one in five women with recurrent miscarriage suffers from a clotting problem that can interfere with implantation; doctors can use blood thinners as treatment.

Many women who've suffered miscarriages think women should ask for a medical workup after a single loss. Darci Klein, founder of PreventPregnancyLoss.org and author of "To Full Term: A Mother's Triumph Over Miscarriage," lost three pregnancies (including a set of twins) before finding out through a blood test that she had a condition that resulted in abnormal clotting. She took a blood thinner--and delivered a healthy son.

"The biggest cause of loss is that women aren't tested after suspicious miscarriage. That leaves women like me to lose pregnancy after pregnancy. Some of them stop trying." She considers factors like caffeine and cat litter "such a small part" of the miscarriage issue. "There may be a few people who cleaned a cat box every year who ended up having problems with their pregnancies," she says. "There are hundreds of thousands of women losing pregnancies to undiagnosed but treatable disorders."

Carrying twins or triplets increases the risk of miscarriage during that pregnancy. So do assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization. With follicle-stimulating drugs called gonadotropins, we may be pushing eggs that are sitting dormant in the ovary to mature," says Dr. Mary Stephenson, director of the recurrent pregnancy loss program at the University of Chicago's Medical Center. "In IVF, we make more than one egg a cycle. Maybe those eggs, we just should have left them alone." Prenatal testing for chromosomal disorders like Down syndrome can also causes miscarriage -- one in 300 procedures for amniocentesis and one in 100 for chorionic villus sampling (CVS).

Fortunately, there's more to avoiding miscarriage than living a life of, well, avoidance. Enjoy exercise and sex, which research shows do not increase the risk of miscarriage. The usual advice for women who've miscarried is to try again. "If you keep trying, the odds are in your favor," says Minkin. Try not to give in to guilt and blame. Sadly, pregnancy loss is incredibly common -- and often mysterious. Says Kaiser Permanente pernatologist David Walton: "Women should consider one miscarriage just a normal event that happens during their reproductive life."

Source: http://www.newsweek.com/id/104816

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Why Do Miscarriages and Stillbirths Happen?

The most common cause of pregnancy loss is a random chromosome abnormality that occurs during fertilization. For fertilization to occur, the chromosomes in the nucleus of both the egg and the sperm need to join into 23 pairs (46 total chromosomes). Sometimes this pairing does not happen correctly and that can impede the development of the fetus.

Other factors that could contribute to a miscarriage include:

• fertilization late after ovulation
• low or high levels of the thyroid hormone
• uncontrolled diabetes
• exposure to environmental and workplace hazards, such as radiation or toxic agents
• uterine abnormalities
• incompetent cervix, or when the cervix begins to open (dilate) and thin (efface) before the pregnancy has reached term
• certain medications (mostly prescription), such as the acne drug Accutane

Certain behaviors also increase the risk of a miscarriage. Smoking, for example, puts nicotine and other chemicals into the bloodstream that cause the blood vessels in the placenta to spasm, which decreases the blood flow to the uterus. Smokers also have a lower level of oxygen in their blood, which means the fetus gets less oxygen. Alcohol and illegal drugs have been proved to lead to miscarriages. There is no evidence that stress or sexual activity contributes to miscarriage.

Some of the common causes of a stillbirth include:

• pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, disorders of late pregnancy that involve high blood pressure, fluid retention, and protein in the urine
• uncontrolled diabetes
• abnormalities in the fetus caused by infectious diseases - such as syphilis, toxoplasmosis, German measles, rubella, and • influenza - or by bacterial infections like listeriosis
• severe birth defects (responsible for about 20% of stillbirths), including spina bifida
• postmaturity - a condition in which the pregnancy has lasted 41 weeks or longer
• chronic high blood pressure, lupus, heart or thyroid disease

Full article: http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/sexual/miscarriage.html

A heartbreaking loss

Recurrent miscarriage is devastating, but there may be an underlying cause.

Even though most of us realise that miscarriage is not only common, but in many cases “for the best” (being one of nature’s ways of stopping a pregnancy that might otherwise have resulted in a baby with major life-threatening health problems), miscarriage of a much-wanted baby can be heartbreaking nonetheless.

Imagine then the heartache and devastation felt by those many would-be parents who experience recurrent miscarriages.

In Australia, miscarriage is defined as a pregnancy that ends before 20 weeks gestation (loss of a baby after 20 weeks gestation is termed stillbirth); a miscarriage before 13 weeks is considered an “early miscarriage”, whereas miscarriage after 13 weeks is termed “late miscarriage”.

The majority of miscarriages (an estimated 80 per cent) will occur before 12 weeks, and indeed the time of highest risk is in fact immediately after conception and implantation, with an estimated 50 per cent of all fertilised eggs coming away with what is simply perceived as a normal or slightly late menstrual period.

In the case of such “unnoticed miscarriages”, the woman remains unaware that she was ever pregnant.

Recurrent miscarriage is defined as three or more consecutive miscarriages of recognised pregnancies.

What causes recurrent miscarriage?

It is estimated that around 70 per cent of miscarriages at under 12 weeks gestation are the result of a chromosomal abnormality in the foetus.

With increasing maternal age, the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in the foetus rises.

A genetic abnormality in one or both parents is another possible underlying cause of recurrent miscarriage.

Toxic environmental factors, including certain noxious chemicals and drugs, are also associated with an increased risk of miscarriage and recurrent miscarriage.

Medical problems in the mother, such as poorly controlled diabetes or thyroid disease, autoimmune conditions (such as lupus), hormonal imbalance, an infection and, particularly in the third world, chronic infectious diseases such as malaria or TB, may increase the risk of recurrent miscarriage.

Around one in six to 10 women with a history of recurrent miscarriage are found to have a structural abnormality in the uterus. Some studies have also implicated paternal age as a risk factor for miscarriage.

In many cases, however, no reason for the recurrent miscarriages can be identified.

What can be done?

In the first instance, counselling and support to help deal with the emotions and disappointment are very important aspects of caring for any couple who has experienced recurrent miscarriage.

Couples may be reassured to learn that statistically, of those who have had a successful pregnancy prior to the miscarriages, around 70 per cent will have a further successful pregnancy; and of those who have had no previous successful pregnancy, around 60 per cent will go on to have a healthy baby.

The doctor caring for the couple will recommend various tests in an effort to identify any possible underlying cause for the miscarriages, such as medical conditions or abnormalities.

In around 50 per cent of cases of recurrent miscarriage, no abnormality will be found, in which case a chromosomal defect in the foetus is the most likely underlying cause.

Your doctor may give you advice regarding lifestyle issues such as stopping smoking or consuming alcohol and drugs.

In certain specific situations your doctor may prescribe aspirin, heparin or steroid medication during subsequent pregnancies. It is vitally important to follow your doctor’s advice here and never take it upon yourself to self-administer something, since even a drug as seemingly ubiquitous as aspirin can have potent effects.

Always tell your doctor about any drugs, supplements or herbal preparations you are taking as even products that are termed “natural” may have harmful effects.

Most importantly, look after yourself, take time to relax and don’t blame yourself. Guilt and feelings of self-blame are a very normal part of the experience of grief and loss.

Talk to your doctor about any ongoing feelings of distress and, if necessary, seek further counselling and support.

Talking can help. The Bonnie Babes Foundation is a charity that provides 24-hour counselling seven days a week for families that have experienced the loss of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or prematurity or related issues such as infertility.

For more information visit the website at www.bbf.org.au

Source: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22879899-5006012,00.html

Miscarriage risk going unchecked

HOSPITALS in NSW have no guidelines for dealing with women in danger of miscarriage, despite the fact more than 11,000 such women seek help in emergency departments each year.

There is no specific attention paid to the emotional needs of women in early pregnancy who present with bleeding or pain, and no privacy provided for them and their partners.

These are among the findings of an inquiry into the case of Sydney woman Jana Horska, who miscarried in a toilet adjacent to the emergency unit at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital on September 25, after waiting two hours for attention that never came.

The report, by senior NSW physicians William Walters and Cliff Hughes, was commissioned by NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher after Ms Horska and her partner, Mark Dreyer, went public with their case. The publicity prompted an avalanche of complaints about patient care at RNSH. It does not recommend further action against any nurse or doctor at the hospital.

But the report was dismissed as "flimsy" and composed of "motherhood statements" by NSW Opposition health spokeswoman Gillian Skinner, who said it did nothing to rebut the argument that Ms Horska's tragedy arose because the hospital lacked enough beds.

Ms Horska and Mr Dreyer, on legal advice, did not communicate with the inquiry, leading to speculation they will mount a compensation claim against the NSW Government.

The report by Professor Walters and Professor Hughes says Ms Horska's wait was "significantly longer" than the one-hour benchmark for emergency units, but points out the facility was under pressure on the evening in question.

Ms Horska's arrival was followed by the arrival of one patient coughing up large amounts of blood and another suffering severe head trauma.

The report recommends the replacement of intimidating terms such as "triage" and "reception area" with more user-friendly phrases.

It also recommends "communications training" for all ED clinical staff.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22655936-5006784,00.html

Preventing Miscarriage Before Pregnancy

(Liz Bonis) -- Women's health specialists say there are eight things a woman can do before she gets pregnant to help lower her odds of having a miscarriage.

Dr. Mable Roberts, an obstetrician/gynecologist, said the average miscarriage rate is about 15 percent due to problems related to chromosomes.

However, once a heartbeat is detected, those odds drop significantly.

“If you have an identifiable pregnancy and you see a baby with a heartbeat by ultrasound, that percent of risk drops to about three percent,” she said.

While moms can't control everything, Roberts said there are eight things a woman planning a pregnancy can do to lower her odds of having a miscarriage.

1. Don't smoke.
2. Don't drink alcohol
3. Take a multi-vitamin with folic acid
4. Get regular exercise
5. Eat a healthy diet
6. Get body weight close to ideal numbers
7. Balance blood sugar levels if you have diabetes.
8. If you take medications, make sure they are compatible with pregnancy -- especially those for high blood pressure.

Roberts says most of the time it all comes down to pretty much one thing:

“The healthier you are the lower your chances of miscarriage,” she said.

If you've had a previous miscarriage, Roberts said prenatal testing may also be recommended

Source: http://www.13wham.com/guides/health/story.aspx?content_id=0d38b064-8cbb-48ff-80b9-e748f64a6b9b