Life Begins...

Miscarriage stories of loss, hope and help. It's always devastating to experience a loss. It can cause you to feel alone, isolated. There's no 'right' way to feel - a range of reactions are possible and normal. In addition to the grief you may feel, your body will be undergoing some profound hormonal adjustments, which may make you feel very emotionally volatile. If you have had a miscarriage, take the time to understand better why these occur and why it is not your fault.

Showing posts with label research. Show all posts

Monday, August 03, 2009

Treating Unexplained Recurrent Miscarriage

Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor Administration Shows Promise in Treating Unexplained Recurrent Miscarriage

Miscarriage occurs in 10%-25% of all clinically recognized pregnancies, with around <5%>

Now a randomized controlled study, published in the recent issue of Human Reproduction, reports the potential of subcutaneous administration of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) as an effective strategy to improve the pregnancy outcome in patients with idiopathic recurrent miscarriages.

Source: http://medinewsdirect.com/?p=695

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

5,500 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: easy to get pregnant but end up in miscarriage, cvs miscarriage risk, grieving fathers, miscarriage after ivf, surviving a miscarriage

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Statin Drugs May Prevent Miscarriage

Image via Wikipedia

(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

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

5,100 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: can heavy exercise cause miscarriage?, can green tea make you miscarry, naming a miscarried baby, vitamins after miscarriage, miscarrage risk over forty, inspiration thoughts for miscarriage

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Chromosome clue to 'human miscarriage'

LONDON: Miscarriage, the most common type of pregnancy loss, can be a horrible and hugely depressing experience for any woman.

But, ever wondered why do women have more miscarriages than females of other species? It's all in the chromosomes, a new study says.

Researchers in Belgium have carried out the study and found that it's normal for human embryos to contain cells with the wrong number of chromosomes, which can actually cause them to self-destruct.

As women age, their eggs are more likely to have the wrong number of chromosomes, which can lead to miscarriages.

For their study, the researchers examined 23 embryos from nine young, fertile couples who were undergoing IVF for screening purposes and found 21 had chromosomal abnormalities, the 'New Scientist' reported.

The study, led by Joris Vermeesch from the Centre for Human Genetics in Leuven, has been published in the latest issue of the 'Nature Medicine' journal.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health--Science/Chromosome-clue-to-miscarriage/articleshow/4478938.cms

Recent Keyword Searches: what pain to expect with miscarriage, spirit babies and miscarriage, miscarriage jewelry, ivf miscarriage stories, treatment to avoid miscarriage

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Women sought for pregnancy study

Wayne County - Could an 81 mg. baby aspirin increase a woman’s chances of getting pregnant and maintaining a healthy pregnancy?

To participate in the study, a woman must be between 18 and 40 years-old, have suffered a doctor-documented miscarriage or pregnancy loss in the past (no more than two miscarriages), and want to become pregnant at this time.

To learn more about the study, got to http://www.thecommonwealthmedical.com/ , select research, and clinical trials. For further information, contact Cathie McGeehan at 504-9683.

http://www.wayneindependent.com/news/x1092983536/Women-sought-for-pregnancy-study

Recent Keyword Searches: pregnancy after 2 miscarriages, why does implantation on day 11 increase risk of miscarriage, alone miscarriage, miscarriage rates with ivf, spirit babies

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

New bid to halt miscarriage misery

A unique research project aimed at helping thousands of couples avoid the misery of repeated miscarriages and other pregnancy complications has been launched by leading medical experts.

Expectant couples at five major London hospitals are to be invited to participate in the so-called "Baby Bio Bank", which will collect blood from both mothers and fathers and samples from the umbilical cord and placentas of babies as well as other detailed medical history.

Researchers hope the bank will act as a resource for major medical research projects across the world examining the causes of recurrent miscarriage, growth problems in the womb, pre-eclampsia, or high blood pressure in pregnancy, and pre-term delivery.

Professor Lesley Regan, of St Mary's Hospital in London, an international expert on recurrent miscarriage, said the four pregnancy complications targeted by the bank should not be viewed in isolation. She said they all had a link.

"I think the change in our understanding is that you don't look at them in isolation," she said.

She added: "We have done studies that have shown that the levels of psychological distress and disturbance in couples who have repeated miscarriages and lose babies is very similar to that in psychiatric hospitals. It really is an enormous burden on people."

Professor Gudrun Moore of the Institute of Child Health and an international researcher on pregnancy complications, said she hoped the bank would act as a database and the project would extend in scope.

She said: "The aim of this project is that in the long term we will save the lives of women and their babies and protect families from some of these birth disorders."

The bank is receiving more than £1 million from the Lord Mayor's Appeal 2008 and hopes to get underway at the beginning of June. The project has been created by the charity Wellbeing of Women.

Currently around 250,000 UK pregnancies end in miscarriage and more than 50% of stillbirths remain unexplained. Statistics also show that one in 13 live births in England and Wales are pre-term and 25% of premature births are caused by pre-eclampsia.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gvBhZ02eGQHqXSH_4KS4YmCI9OlA

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,800 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: ivf success stories after miscarriage, miscarriage stories, chance of misscarriage at 40, misdiagnosed miscarriage, rates of miscarriage in women over 45

Monday, November 24, 2008

Living near heavy traffic increases chances of miscarriage and newborn death

Women who live near busy streets have an increased chance of a miscarriage or of their newborns dying, reports a study from Brazil. The findings implicate air pollution.

Women living in areas with heavy traffic flow are 1.5 times more likely to lose their babies during late gestation or have their newborns die compared to those who live in areas with less traffic, according to a Brazilian study.

The research finds a positive association between living in heavy traffic areas and risk of losing late term pregnancies or giving birth to a baby who dies during the first week of life. Previous studies have linked air pollution exposure to higher risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and perinatal mortality (i.e., death that occurs between 22 weeks gestation and first six days of life).

No prior studies, however, have investigated directly the effects of residing near these high traffic areas on fetal or infant mortality. Brazil has one of the highest perinatal death rates in the world and some cities in Brazil are highly polluted due to heavy auto and truck traffic.

In this case-control study, researchers compared the addresses of 318 women living in São Paulo, Brazil, who lost their children either during pregnancy or shortly after birth (the "cases") to those of 313 women whose children survived past 28 days (the controls). Mothers with the highest exposure to traffic-related pollution were more likely to have had a child die, and the highest risk was for young infants during the first week of life. The authors, however, could not rule out the potential confounding factors of birth weight or gestational age, which may also be impacted by traffic-related air pollution. Typically, those who live in high traffic areas are also more likely to be smokers, have low socio-economic status and have worse health care; factors that potentially add to the complexity of the observation. This study did not statistically adjust for these factors so the effects may be due to something other than air pollution. Even though, the increased risk is very high and deserves additional studies to find its cause.

Traffic related air pollution and perinatal mortality: a case-control study. Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.11679.

Full article: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/living-near-heavy-traffic-increases-the-chance-of-miscarriage-and-newborn-death

Recent Keyword Searches: aspirin while trying to conceive in over 30 women, maca - infertility over 45, ivf misscarriage stillbirth, home remedies to prevent miscarriage, misscarriage at age 42

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Blood Type & Miscarriage

From The prenatal wages of interracial relationships

All of this means that genes matter, and they matter in ways we can possibly predict. For example, imagine a population where everyone has blood group O (many Native American tribes are like this) and another where everyone has blood A (I believe this is close to true for the Blackfeet). If you make the claim (which is empirically defensible, see links above) that women who are O blood group will have much higher rates of miscarriage when they are carrying babies from males who are of blood group A, you can conclude that matings between the first population and second will have reduced fertility.

But, the same applies to people from populations where there is a fair amount of blood group variation. If a woman from a village in Norway of blood group O marries a man from the same village of blood group A, even if they are cousins she will have the same heightened risk of miscarriage. There's nothing mystical in the blood here, it's simple genetics. The likelihood is a product of clear and distinct factors.

Full story: http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2008/10/the_prenatal_wages_of_interrac.php

Recent Keyword Searches: miscarriage at five months?, can vitamins help a womans egg quality, de ivf for women over 50, worrisome bleeding in pregnancy, miscarriage over 40 support

Friday, September 26, 2008

Women's Preferences For Management Options For First Trimester Miscarriage

Photo by Bubbels

In the absence of clear evidence of clinical superiority from randomised controlled trials, the decision about which management option to offer women with a diagnosed first trimester miscarriage should be informed by evidence on cost-effectiveness and women's preferences. To elicit women's preferences for attributes of alternative management options for first trimester miscarriage.

A recent study led by Dr. Stavros Petrou of the University of Oxford entitled "Women's preferences for attributes of first trimester miscarriage management: A stated preference discrete choice experiment", published in Value in Health, elicits women's preferences for attributes of these alternative management options. The study was co-authored by Dr. Emma McIntosh also from the University of Oxford.

Approximately one in nine confirmed early pregnancies end in miscarriage during the first trimester. The traditional approach is to surgically evacuate the retained products of conception. However, surgical management has been associated with a number of complications. Two alternative management options to surgical management, medical management and expectant management (no intervention) have been increasingly offered to women.

Says Dr. Petrou: "The study highlights the importance to women of reducing the levels of pain and the time taken to return to normal activities after treatment. Overall, the study suggested that many women undergoing management of first trimester miscarriage value surgical and medical management more highly than expectant management. These results should be taken into consideration by decision-makers as they consider how best to organise gynaecological services for women experiencing miscarriage."

ABSTRACT

Full article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/122971.php

Recent Keyword Searches: when can we start exercising after miscarriage, aspirin to miscarriage, miscarriage aftercare, in vitro fertilization and miscarriage, what happens if you get pregnant immediately after you miscarry

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Steroids may prevent up to a third of miscarriages by controlling ‘killer cells’

Picture by mbabaracus

Women who have suffered repeated miscarriages or failed IVF treatment could become mothers by taking a course of steroids, trials have shown.

Up to 3,000 unexplained miscarriages, a third of the annual total, might be prevented each year by the drug, the British Association conference in Liverpool was told yesterday. Siobhan Quenby, of the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, said that tests involving 120 women had identified natural killer cells as a cause of miscarriages and failed IVF embryo implants.

Full story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4720133.ece

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,750 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: loss of baby miscarriage, visions of miscarriage babies in heaven, is miscarriage rate higher in first time pregnancies, risk of miscarriage at 42, genetic link in miscarriages

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Miscarriage linked to first weeks of life in foetuses

Picture by missmeliss916

EXPERTS believe they have come a step closer to understanding why women suffer miscarriages.

A study out yesterday found that the babies involved in miscarriage had always failed to grow properly in the first few weeks of life.

The research, on 292 women, revealed that the so-called crown-rump length (CRL) of the foetus was "significantly smaller" in pregnancies that subsequently ended in miscarriage.

Full story: http://news.scotsman.com/scitech/Miscarriage--linked-to-.4451376.jp

Recent Keyword Searches: how much aspirin for reoccurring miscarriages, odds of miscarriage repeat weeks, waiting for a miscarriage to start, reducing risk of miscarriage in older mom, passing a missed miscarriage

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Work on miscarriage markers wins VI Basque Research Thesis Prize

Picture by hburroughs

first prize of a laptop computer and a weekend holiday in a Basque tourism farmhouse

The Elhuyar Foundation, through its Basque Research website, organised the VI PhD Thesis Prize and this morning the judges’ panel made its decisions known. This year the winner was Ms Estibaliz Alegre, a researcher at the University of Navarra, for her work entitled, La molécula HLA-G como marcador de aborto espontáneo (The HLA-G molecule as a marker in spontaneous abortions).

Ms Alegre is a biochemist and has done research into a marker which can help to identify women at risk of suffering miscarriages. The extract that she presented, apart from being written in an understandable and easy to read manner and was focused from the outset on the core of the matter under research.

This was one of the reasons the Jury decided to award her the first prize of a laptop computer and a weekend holiday in a Basque tourism farmhouse, courtesy of Sistek Computers & Microsystems and Nekatur, respectively.

Source: http://www.basqueresearch.com/berria_irakurri.asp?Berri_Kod=1787&hizk=I

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,650 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: words of support for mother who had miscarriage, how to reduce a miscarry, protocol of 23 week baby death, miscarriage myths, miscarriage 5 months babies

Friday, June 13, 2008

Lewis gets on his bike to help baby charity

Photo by adam_trd

bike ride in aid of Tommys, the baby charity which funds research into pregnancy complications

A NINE-YEAR-OLD Mirfield boy is taking part in a sponsored cycle ride in memory of his unborn brother.

Rugby league and football fan Lewis Jeffrey, of Huddersfield Road will ride from Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley Stadium to the Galpharm Stadium on Sunday, July 6.

He will be accompanied by his step-dad Simon Pollard during the challenge in aid of Tommy’s, the baby charity which funds research into pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth.

Anyone wanting to sponsor Lewis and make a donation online can visit: www.justgiving.com/lewisjeffery

Full story: http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2008/06/11/lewis-gets-on-his-bike-to-help-baby-charity-86081-21054054/

Recent Keyword Searches: grief on father's day, unsafe herbs & ttc, how can improve my egg quality through natural herbs, misdiagnosed miscarriages, fathers day baby loss

Friday, May 30, 2008

Miscarriages: Understanding the missing links

Photo by central

Pregnancy loss can be emotionally devastating to both mother and father. Frequently, the response tends to be, “Why me, and what could we have done differently?” It is important for these couples to realize that the miscarriage is usually not a result of something that they have done. It is also important to realize that they are not alone.

Full article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/?p=13500

Facts about Miscarriage
Information, hope, and healing for women who have lost babies due to miscarriage, still birth, or premature labour.

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,600 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: when does the risk of miscarriage reduce, evening primrose oil uterus toner, recurrent miscarriage specialists and ontario, herbs preventing miscarriage, experiences of miscarriage after ivf

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

RECURRENT MISCARRIAGE: Causes, evaluation, and treatment

Photo by www.medscape.com

Many syndromes associated with recurrent fetal loss include anatomic anomalies, endocrine/hormonal abnormalities, genetic/chromosomal abnormalities, and blood coagulation protein/platelet defects.

Recurrent miscarriage or fetal loss syndrome (also known as fetal wastage syndrome) is characterized by recurrent spontaneous abortion. There are many syndromes associated with recurrent fetal loss, including anatomic anomalies, endocrine/hormonal abnormalities, genetic/chromosomal abnormalities, and blood coagulation protein/platelet defects.

Many of these syndromes are treatable, leading to normal term pregnancy, if the clinician is astute and vigorously pursues a thorough evaluation of why the patient has suffered unexplained, spontaneous miscarriages. There is no uniform agreement on how many spontaneous, unexplained miscarriages are needed to diagnose recurrent fetal loss; we generally pursue an evaluation for causation if a women has had 2 or more such events.

In this article, we discuss the common reasons for recurrent fetal loss, plus diagnostic procedures to consider in pinpointing the problem, such as cytogenetic studies, blood coagulation protein/platelet tests, hysterosalpingography, sonography, and magnetic resonance imaging. We also describe management strategies that often lead to successful pregnancy outcome when the underlying problem is addressed.

For example, in the case of thrombotic defects, a common cause of recurrent fetal loss, we report a 100% success rate in achieving a normal-term delivery among women who took low-dose (81mg/day) aspirin preconception followed by postconception low-dose (5000 units q12h) heparin.

Full article: http://www.asklenore.info/miscarriage/bick/bick4print.html

Recent Keyword Searches: miscarriage emotional pain, percentage of miscarriage in women over 35, blood test waiting miscarriage, preventing miscarriage when over 40 years old, miscarriage, chocolate

Monday, May 12, 2008

Stillbirth rate not coming down

Photo by news.bbc.co.uk

Mothers living in deprived areas had higher rates of stillbirth

The number of stillbirths remains stubbornly high, a report says.

The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) study blames factors such as obesity, social deprivation and mother's age.

In 2006 the stillbirth rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was 5.3 per 1,000 total births, compared to 5.4 per 1,000 in 2000.

However, the report found there has been a reduction in the number of babies dying in the month after birth.

These neonatal deaths went from 3.9 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 3.4 per 1,000 in 2006.

The number of babies dying in the neonatal period from twin pregnancies has also fallen, from 22.3 per 1,000 births in 2000 to 19.3 per 1,000 births in 2006.

The report also highlights the poor uptake of post-mortem examinations for stillbirths (38% in 2006 compared with 48% in 2000) as one key reason why the cause of so many stillbirths is still unknown.

Highest rates

The research reveals that mothers under 20 and over 40 had the highest rates of stillbirth in 2006, at 5.6 per 1,000 births and 8.1 respectively.

These age groups also had the highest rates of death in the perinatal period (immediately before birth and in the first seven days after birth period) and in the neonatal period.

Of the women who had a stillbirth, and where their body mass index (BMI) was recorded, 26% were obese with a BMI over 30, while 22% of those whose child died in the neonatal period were also obese.

Mothers living in the most deprived areas of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, had stillbirth and neonatal death rates that were 1.7 times higher than those in the least deprived area.

Black women were more than twice as likely to suffer stillbirth or have their baby die in the first week or month of life. Asian women also had around twice the risk of their baby dying when compared with white women.

'Changing population'

Jo Modder, CEMACH's clinical director for obstetrics, said the reason stillbirth numbers have not declined is probably down to a combination of factors.

She said: "Health services are improving and there are greater advances in neonatal care, however these are happening against the background of a changing population.

"People are getting fatter and there is also an increase in the number of people from ethnic minorities. It is well recognised that people from these groups have maternal conditions like diabetes which are known to be linked to stillbirth."

Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said: "The death of a baby is a tragic occasion for all involved - parents, relatives and equally for healthcare professionals.

"The RCOG supports good research that examines why these deaths occur and would like to see increased investment in midwifery and senior consultant staffing to help improve outcomes for mothers and their babies."

Jane Brewin, chief executive for Tommy's, the baby charity, said: "These new figures confirm that more research is desperately needed into finding the causes of stillbirth, so that more babies lives can be saved through developing preventative measures.

"Obesity in pregnancy is a significant problem in this country and has massive implications for both mother and baby. It carries an increased risk of major pregnancy complications including miscarriage, pre-term birth and stillbirth."

She said Tommy's has just opened a pioneering new research centre focusing jointly on the causes and consequences of obesity in pregnancy.

CEMACH - which carries out research to improve the health of mothers, babies and children - is running a national research programme into obesity

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7388285.stm

Recent Keyword Searches: pregnancy loss babies circle around head, late miscarriage support group, percentage of misdiagnosed miscarriages, poem of hope after miscarriage, miscarriage blues

Friday, May 09, 2008

Take the plunge for charity

Photo by foodie

Tommy’s Splashathon to fund research into the causes of miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth

TODDLERS and young children can make a splash at Wishaw Sports Centre while raising money for charity throughout May and June.

Tommy’s Splashathon encourages parents to have fun with their little ones as they splash a length or width of their local pool, and the baby charity hopes this year’s event is bigger than ever.

Tommy’s Splashathon, which is backed by baby swimwear specialists Splash About and First Choice holidays, last year raised £20,000 to fund research into the causes of miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth.

Registration is open now, and further information can be obtained by calling the Splashathon hotline on 08707 70 70 69, or visit: www.splashathon.org .

Source: http://www.hamiltonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local-news/motherwell-news/2008/05/07/take-the-plunge-for-charity-51525-20875805/

Recent Keyword Searches: pregnancy after two miscarriages blog, royal jelly midlife fertility, successful pregnancy after miscarriage, chlorella miscarriage help, what are some of the factors of a miscarriage at age 45

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Can Aspirin Stop Miscarriage

Photo by

esrasu
It's a distressing thing to happen when you're trying to get pregnant. Doctors estimate about 30 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage.

In our Healthy Living report, could a simple over the counter treatment help?

Researchers right here in Utah are trying to find some answers.

A pregnancy is usually a happy time in a woman's life. But millions of women deal with the trauma of miscarriage.

“Pregnancy loss is one of the most common problems affecting couples trying to have a baby,” said Dr. Bob Silver, University of Utah Hospital.

The University of Utah hospital is one of two research facilities in the U.S. studying a possible solution…baby aspirin.

“It’s thought in part, that a lot of cases are due to decreased blood flow to the baby and when there's less blood flow, there's less food and oxygen and nutrients for the baby,” said Dr. Silver.

It's believed low dose aspirin can improve blood flow, in theory reducing the incidence of miscarriage. There are other potential benefits doctors are studying.

“We're also hopeful aspirin can increase fertility and possibly reduce the risk of trouble getting pregnant,” said Dr. Silver.

It's also thought low dose aspirin could reduce pregnancy related complications such as toxemia and preterm labor. Doctors say while aspirin isn't safe for babies it is safe for babies still in the womb since it's metabolized before it passes through the placenta.

“We feel very confident that it's safe,” said Dr. Silver.

Study participants are compensated for their time and receive a free fertility monitor.

To enroll, you must be trying to conceive.

By the way we should tell you this study is done under a doctor's supervision. Pregnant women should never begin an aspirin regime without a doctor's approval.

For additional information on the EAGeR clinical trial and eligibility, women may visit the study’s Web site http://www.eagertrial.org/ , e-mail eagertrial@som.utah.edu , or call 1-866-912-1967.

Source: http://www.kutv.com/content/lifestyle/healthyliving/story.aspx?content_id=9b63f685-71c6-44bf-9569-bf3075200153

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,550 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: over 45 miscarriage statistics, why do women over 45 miscarry when pregnant, miscarriages with ivf rate, which herbs increase blood flow to ovaries, what causes a feteus to be stress, food contains progesterone, multiple miscarriages folic acid, how long for a miscarriage to occur, anger after miscarriage, getting over a miscarriage after ivf

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Miscarriage rates following IVF increased in women with PCOS

Miscarriage rates following in-vitro fertilization are increased in women with polycystic ovaries and reduced by pituitary desensitization with buserelin.

Human Reproduction, Vol. 8, No. 6, pp. 959-964, 1993© 1993 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

To assess the risk of miscarriage after in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with respect to age, cause of infertility, ovarian morphology and treatment regimen, a retrospective analysis was performed of the first 1060 pregnancies conceived between June 1984 and July 1990 as a result of 7623 IVF cycles.

Superovulation induction was achieved with human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) and/or purified follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) together with either clomiphene citrate or the gonadotrophin hormone-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist buserelin, the latter either as a short ‘flare’ regimen or as a ‘long’ regimen to induce pituitary desensitization.

There were 282 spontaneous abortions (26.6%) and 54 ectopic pregnancies (5.1%). The mean age of women with ongoing pregnancies was 32.2 (SD 3.9) years compared with 33.2 (SD 4.1) years in those who miscarried, which were significantly different (P = 0.008). There was no relation between the miscarriage rate and the indication for IVF.

The miscarriage rate was 23.6% in women with normal ovaries compared with 35.8% in those with polycystic ovaries [P = 0.0038, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.68–23.10%]. There was no difference in the miscarriage rate between treatment with HMG or FSH.

Women whose ovaries were normal on ultrasound were just as likely to miscarry if they were treated with clomiphene or with the long buserelin protocol. Those with polycystic ovaries, however, had a significant reduction in the rate of miscarriage when treated with the long buserelin protocol, 20.3% (15/74), compared with clomiphene citrate, 47.2% (51/108) (P = 0.0003, 95% CI 13.82–40.09%).

Full Text (PDF): http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/8/6/959

Source: http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/8/6/959

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,450 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: miscarriage after ivf, infertility , fsh level and epo, the odds of miscarriage at 45 years old, miscarriage 40's high fsh, can royal jelly to help increase progesterone, how to prevent stress causing miscarriage, stress and old age and miscarriage

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Tug-of-war that can wreck a fetus

ABOUT half of all miscarriages and many common human birth defects occur because embryos receive too many or too few chromosomes from their mother. Now geneticists in the US believe they know why. They have identified a hiccup in the production of human egg cells that triggers a tug of war over a single chromosome.

Human cells normally have 46 chromosomes. But egg and sperm cells have 23. This is because their precursors divide twice to produce four cells, each with half the normal number of chromosomes. This process, known as meiosis, is designed to ensure that each parent donates only one copy of each chromosome to their child.

In practice, however, this equable allocation of chromosomes sometimes breaks down. The best known example is Down's syndrome, caused by an embryo inheriting an extra copy of chromosome 21. "Until now we haven't had a clue what causes these chromosome segregation errors," says Terry Hassold of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Hassold's group joined forces with a team led by Stephanie Sherman of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, to study chromosome 16. Although less well-known than Down's syndrome, faulty chromosome 16 segregation is even more common. More than one in 100 embryos have an extra copy of chromosome 16, and this inevitably results in spontaneous abortion.

The researchers examined 62 miscarried embryos for some hint of what went wrong. They knew that in the early part of meiosis, chromosomes line up like pairs of shoes set instep to instep at the centre of the cell. The outer edge of each chromosome then attaches to protein cables that pull it towards one end of the cell, so that each chromosome ends up in the correct daughter cell when cell division is completed.

Hassold, Sherman and their colleagues suspected that the problem might lie in a feature of meiosis called crossing over. In this process, which occurs many times in each chromosome pair, the two chromosomes break and reattach to each other, thus swapping portions of their genetic material. This introduces extra genetic variability and also serves two other functions. First, the crossovers weave the two chromosomes together and prevent them from moving away from one another before the cell is ready to divide. And secondly, by holding the "instep" sides of the paired chromosomes closely together, the crossovers ensure that each chromosome can only attach to a protein cable on one side.

The researchers compared the genetic sequence of parts of chromosome 16 from the miscarried embryos and their mothers. This revealed that the rate of crossing over for the eggs that gave rise to these embryos had been normal near the ends of the chromosomes, but reduced by about one-third near the middle (American Journal of Human Genetics, vol 57, p 867).

This dearth of crossing over could explain the problem, says Hassold, as it would mean that the two copies of chromosome 16 were not properly anchored together at the start of meiosis. The chromosomes would have flopped around, he says, exposing their inner edges. Hassold speculates that the exposed inner edge of one copy of chromosome 16 became attached to a protein cable. Because the same chromosome was also attached on its other side, a tug of war began between the two daughter cells. If the wrong cell won the battle, the loser would be left without chromosome 16 and would soon die. The other would end up with two copies, and after dividing again would give two abnormal eggs.

But what could cause the lack of crossing over? Hassold believes the culprit could lie among the proteins that help bring paired chromosomes together, or which cut and splice DNA to form the crossovers. In simpler organisms such as yeast, similar abnormalities can result if one of these meiosis proteins is missing or mutated.

From issue 2000 of New Scientist magazine, 21 October 1995, page 20

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14820002.900-tugofwar-that-can-wreck-a-fetus.html

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,400 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

You Can Get Pregnant in Your 40's
Sharing articles, discussing options & suggestions
http://youcangetpregnant.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: can excericise make you miscarriage, secrets that help prevent miscarriage, age related miscarriages keep trying, miscarriage fsh successful pregnancy, odds of miscarrying 40, miscarriage is high at age 42 using own eggs, chances of miscarriage at age 45, miscarriage how long does it take for hormone levels to normalise?, remedies to avoid miscarriage, misdiagnosed miscarriages

TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Pregnancy Miracle -- - A 279-page, instantly downloadable e-book presenting a 5-step, sure-fire, 100% guaranteed, clinically proven holistic and ancient Chinese system for permanently reversing your infertility and your partner's infertility disorders and getting pregnant quickly, naturally and safely within 2-4 months without drugs, dangerous surgeries, side effects, or expensive infertility treatments. It's probably the most powerful infertility reversal system ever developed, and currently the best-selling e-book of its kind on the entire Web! Here's what the author Lisa Olson had to say about her incredible program: "After 14 years of trial, error and experimentation, I finally discovered the answer to infertility and developed a fool-proof system to getting pregnant the natural way - no drugs, or surgery necessary. And now I'm finally revealing my secrets in this new 'encyclopedia' of pregnancy called, Pregnancy Miracle." "I will be your own personal coach, take you by the hand, and lead you through the lousy advice, hype and gimmicks...and directly to the sort of inner balance perfection that will end your battle with infertility forever and help you become a proud mother of your healthy children."