My wife has had five miscarriages

But we are still determined to have another child

When my wife Emily came into the sitting room and told me there was "something in the soap dish" I knew the stomach pains she had been experiencing during the eighth week of her first pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage.

Should I bring the "something" into the sitting room, discuss it with my wife and then make a decision to bury it in a beautiful location? Or should I protect my wife by flushing it down the loo? I went for the latter, enduring the worst existential moment of my life; then I tried to comfort her.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/09/first-person-miscarriages-child

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Bringing Hope to Others

In the beginning of December 2006, Kara miscarried.

"It was the worst thing that ever happened to us," Kara said on their Web site hopeisheart.org.

"I wanted to figure out a way to help because my heart just breaks for people who can't have a child," she said.

So, she and Andrew founded "Hope Is ...," a nonprofit agency geared toward supporting couples with infertility or those who have had miscarriages. They also raise funds to help couples seeking to adopt.

Read more: http://www.ourtownonline.biz/articles/2009/05/04/neighbors/local_news/sample400.txt

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Mother miscarried before having "undetected" twin

Miss Hunter experienced pains in her side six weeks into the pregnancy and was taken to hospital where she was told she had probably suffered a miscarriage.

Miss Hunter was still in discomfort for a week and it was discovered she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy, where the foetus does not implant in the womb.

The condition carries the risk of infertility, and in extreme cases can lead to the death of the mother.

Despite an operation to remove the foetus and damaged ovary, Miss Hunter still experienced problems and after six weeks was given another pregnancy test.

She said: "When it came back positive I was left stunned, it was amazing after everything I'd been through."

Miss Hunter, herself a non-identical twin, was told the baby was a surviving twin from the pregnancy.

Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4639731/Mother-miscarried-before-having-undetected-twin.html

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Serious Safety Issues for Female Veterinarians

Photo by www.naturalnews.com
(NaturalNews) X-rays, anaesthetic gases and pesticides contribute to a high level of miscarriage in female veterinarians. In fact, researchers found that they were twice as likely to miscarry as reported in an article published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (1)

Researchers from the UK and Australia, lead by Professor Lin Fritschi, used a survey to discover health risks of graduates from Australian veterinary schools from 1960 to 2000.

The risks to pregnant female vets who conducted surgery and were exposed to unscavenged anaesthetic gases for more than an hour every week had the highest rate of miscarriage – 2.5 times more likely than those who weren't.

Unscavenged anaesthetic gases are what is exhaled by anaesthetised animals in the operating theatre. The longer the surgery, the longer the exposure to these gases.

A simple anaesthetic consists of nitrous oxide and oxygen. It is the nitrous oxide that is of concern. Other studies have found that nitrous oxide interferes with the synthesis of folate, methionine and thiamin by vitamin B12. These components play a role in normal cell division and the production of DNA.

It is believed that this interference is the cause of higher rates of miscarriage and infertility in female health workers. Studies in 1992 involving dental assistants found that there was a relationship between exposure to high levels of unscavenged anaesthetic gas and reduced fertility. (2)

Fritschi's team reported that the use of X-rays is also linked to miscarriages. Female vets carrying out more than 5 diagnostic X-rays per week were 1.8 times more likely to miscarry than those who performed less X-rays.

X-rays are electromagnetic radiation and have been linked to cancer. X-rays pass through the body and can cause damage to cells like other forms of high energy radiation such as those emitted by the sun. This means that the more exposure you have, the greater the risk. (3)

Another, perhaps unsurprising, finding of Fritschi's research is that vets who use pesticides increased their chance of miscarriage by 1.9 times.

The research team noted that vets who graduated in the 60's and 70's were less likely to take precautions as there was much less emphasis and less knowledge about occupational health and safety issues. However, they stressed that female vets should be informed of the risks to reproductive health.

References:

1. ((www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,2 ...)

2. Rowland AS, Baird DD, Weinberg CR, Shore DL, Shy CM, Wilcox AJ (1992). 'Reduced fertility among women employed as dental nurses exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide'. New England Journal of Medicine, 327: 993-7.

3. ((www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/ ...)

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/023113.html

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Specialists Trying to Unravel the Mystery of Miscarriage

The first time Patricia McCreary became pregnant, she had a baby.

"I look at that now as this naïve bliss time, when I thought pregnancy meant a baby," said Ms. McCreary, who lives in Seattle.

But five years and four miscarriages later, she said, "When I hear someone say, 'I'm pregnant,' to me it's like, fear and dread and when am I going to get my heart smashed."

The agony of infertility for thousands of American women is not that they cannot conceive, but that they cannot hold on to their babies beyond the first few weeks of pregnancy - and no one can explain why.

Doctors say that as many as 3 or 4 percent of couples who try to have children suffer from what doctors call recurrent pregnancy loss, in which women younger than 40 experience three or more consecutive miscarriages with the same partner.

A fourth of those couples, doctors say, will probably remain in the "don't know why" category. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that of the 6.23 million pregnancies recorded in the United States in 1999, 1 million ended in miscarriage. A 25-year-old has a 15 percent chance of miscarrying. By 42, that figure exceeds 50 percent.

Miscarriages, though common, are rarely discussed. Nor have they been much studied until recently.

In most women, miscarriages occur because an embryo with genetic abnormalities is not viable, and that is also true for some losses among women who miscarry often. In those cases, women can opt for in vitro fertilization and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. That ensures that only embryos deemed genetically normal are implanted in the uterus.

Other causes of recurrent pregnancy loss include anatomical abnormalities in the uterus, diseases of the immune system, hormonal imbalances and problems with blood clotting. Infections and, more rarely, chromosomal abnormalities in a parent, can also be factors.

Patients and doctors say that treatments can differ wildly from practice to practice and that there is only a limited consensus on how to address unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss.

"Doctors forget to order the very basic tests, check the uterus," said Dr. William H. Kutteh, a specialist in immunology and reproductive endocrinology at Fertility Associates of Memphis. Over half the women Dr. Kutteh sees with recurrent pregnancy loss, he said, have never been given a cheap, simple test for insulin resistance, although that problem is associated with higher miscarriage rates.

Even a treatment as venerable as progesterone, a hormone vital to a healthy pregnancy, is divisive. Some doctors swear that it helps. Others argue that it does nothing but postpone an inevitable miscarriage. New research suggests that very high doses of progesterone may be effective in some cases, probably a result of the hormone's immunosuppressive effects.

"How many patients do we save from miscarriage with progesterone supplements?" Dr. Alan B. Copperman, director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, asked. "Not that many. Do we do it routinely? Sure we do. It's a mostly harmless, inexpensive treatment, which a lot of patients go on. But it probably doesn't save that many pregnancies."

Dr. Kutteh said that when he was a student 15 years ago "there was no training on pregnancy loss."

"It's just one of those areas where there wasn't much known," he added. "And there were not many experts, and there was not a consensus on what to do."

Now, he said, more than 25 training programs turn out about 50 specialists a year.

Despite exhaustive testing to find a cause, many miscarriages go unexplained. This was the case for Ms. McCreary and for Isabel Letsch, 25, of Baltimore, who has charted the reproductive history of her three miscarriages after failed fertility treatments in a Web log, Isabel's Journal.

"It's just a big mystery," Ms. Letsch said. "My doctor has given up hope and told me it's because I'm overweight."

No data support that diagnosis, she said, adding:

"I know I can get pregnant. I've never got as far as to see a heartbeat. We know it implants. It just doesn't develop any further. We're just kind of frustrated."

Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/health/08baby.html?pagewanted=2&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1203446180-dmaEtkRBFH5sURiqYQhshg

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Embryo Toxic Factor (ETF)

Some of the common causes of miscarriage are due to pregnancy complications such as blighted ovum, ectopic pregnancy or molar pregnancy. However, women who experience multiple miscarriages will likely require further assessment in order to determine whether or not an underlying condition may be affecting fertility. Among the various fertility testing procedures that may be performed is the embryo toxic factor (ETF) test.

What is Embryo Toxic Factor?
Embryo toxic factor is a cytokine that is secreted by the immune system’s white blood cells in response to pregnancy tissue. If excess amounts of ETF are produced by white blood cells during pregnancy, the immune system may recognize the embryo as a foreign substance and may attack the embryo in order to maintain the body’s health. This in turn will lead to a miscarriage.

Diagnosing Embryo Toxic Factor
Diagnosing embryo toxic factor requires a complicated procedure involving laboratory analysis. For this reason, unless a woman suffers from recurrent miscarriages and requires testing for infertility, this type of diagnostic procedure will not be performed. In fact ETF testing is not a routine procedure, and is considered an experimental testing method.
ETF testing involves two stages to determine whether or not the body is producing an immune system response to pregnancy. The test aims to assess whether or not the body’s lymphocytes (white blood cells) are producing any type of substance that would be harmful to a developing embryo.

A blood sample will first be taken in order to isolate certain lymphocytes. These lymphocytes will be treated with a solution and left to culture for several days. These lymphocytes will then be combined with cultured mouse embryos and allowed to sit for several days. A fertility specialist will then assess the embryo development as it is affected by these lymphocytes. If the embryos have stopped developing or have died, the presence of ETF will be determined. If the embryos are developing normally, no ETF is secreted.

ETF Treatment and Miscarriage Prevention
In order to prevent the recurrence of miscarriage, certain treatment options are available for women with embryo toxic factor. Treatment of ETF to avoid further pregnancy complications typically involves immune system suppression in order to allow embryo development and implantation to occur.

Treatment may involve the following:
• progesterone in vaginal suppositories or gel caps taken until the sixteenth week of pregnancy
• IVIg infusions from donor blood
• progesterone oil injections in cases when the women is undergoing IVF treatment

Progesterone is commonly used to increase hormone levels and strengthen the uterus, and in higher doses works to suppress the immune system. Dosage is typically 200mg to 400mg, and is taken twice daily. Speak to your health care provider for more information regarding your particular health concerns.

Source: http://www.womens-health.co.uk/miscarriage_embryo.html

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Ceremony honors parents' lost kids

COAL CITY -- Thursday is Children's Day across the nation. At Memorial Park, 580 S. Broadway, a prayer vigil will be held in front of the Angel of Hope Memorial.

The Angel of Hope is one of only 80 angels in the country honoring lost children, with the one in Coal City honoring lost children's lives from miscarriage to adulthood.

"It uplifts you to simply remember them," said Jamie Lavezzi, who founded the park in memory of her own loss of her twin baby boys. "As a bereaved parent you remember them in your heart always, but this ceremony every year uplifts you, and brings them back so that everyone can remember the loss of your child."

The ceremony will include the Coal City High School Choir and poetry readings. Each parent who has lost a child can place a flower at the angel's base and say the child's name.

Coal City's Angel of Hope program has grown to provide grants for infertility treatments for couples and headstones for families who have lost a child.

Source: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/681147,4_1_JO05_ANGEL_S1.article

Baby-desperate moms share every detail online

Gillian Wood has been trying to get pregnant for three years. She's used fertility drugs, tried intrauterine insemination and has even been tested for in-vitro fertilization.

She considers none of this private information. Instead, Ms. Wood, who hopes to embark on in-vitro sessions soon, is sharing every last detail of her experience, fears and all, via her blog, the Hardest Quest.

"I am so afraid to take that next step," she writes of her infertility journey. "You cannot imagine. (Okay, maybe some of you can. But right now, it seems overwhelming and immense to me.)"

This is the world of the infertility blog.

Here, women (and a few men) relay every medical moment, every disappointment and every shred of hope they find in their attempts to have babies.

They share tips on injecting fertility drugs and freezing embryos. They commiserate about insensitive queries from friends and family members, and seek out "cycle buddies" whose ovulation and fertility treatments align.

Infertility blogging has won more adherents, and sites have proliferated over the past 18 months, some say. One of the infertility world's most famous bloggers, Melissa, a.k.a. the Stirrup Queen, says that during her first hard-won pregnancy three years ago (which resulted in twins), bulletin boards and chat rooms were all she could find.

Now, her highly visible blog competes with dozens of others and, like its competitors, has a growing core of loyal readers. "I see myself as a blogger, but also as a pollinator, bringing together bloggers who may have missed each other otherwise," the 33-year-old says by e-mail from the Washington area. (She declines to share her surname.)

May Friedman, a women's studies PhD student at Toronto's York University who studies infertility and mothering blogs, says such forums bring together two of the Web's major hallmarks: anonymity and confession.

Tell-all blogs are safe places for the infertile to overcome the shame and isolation they may feel about infertility. They can "come out," if you will.

Ms. Wood, 37, says she started the blog as an outlet for all the emotions she and her husband were facing - not to mention as a practical spot to record all her drug doses and ovulation schedules. "I thought, 'I'll do it for me; if I get readers, cool,' " says Ms. Wood, a technical writer and editor in Ottawa. "You tell it like it is - you can be as emotional as you want."

Julie, of the blog A Little Pregnant, was also searching for an outlet. She has written about her ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage and, finally, her high-risk pregnancy and 10-weeks-early delivery of a son. Now she and her husband are trying again.

The 36-year-old Vermont native was uncomfortable opening up with family members, but "my blog allowed me to do that, to be frank about what I was going through," she says in an e-mail. When well-meaning friends didn't understand, "I had friends inside the computer who could."

For many, blogs allow for some black humour. Julie defends using salty language on her blog: "You try having your uterus filled with glow-in-the-dark dye, and then we'll discuss what kind of language seems appropriate."

Along the way, readers and writers alike share any expertise they have gained. "My doctor taught me how to give myself an injection," Melissa says. But online, "another infertile woman was the one who taught me how to make an injection less painful."

Community members quickly adopt an insider lexicon - much of it built on medical acronyms: RE is the reproductive endocrinologist; OPK is an ovulation predictor kit.

As South African infertility blogger Tertia writes: "The infertility world is a subculture on its own. It has its own set of rules of interaction, its own language, class system, social hierarchy. ... It is not a culture you willingly belong to, but it becomes perversely comforting once you are in it."

It can also be a complicated place to be when you finally get pregnant. While a positive pregnancy test is the Holy Grail, it also poses a problem.

The editors of Redbook magazine recently found this out when they introduced a new blogger, Lili, to their Infertility Diaries this July. Her first post mentioned she was just back from maternity leave with twins, which threw many readers for a loop.

One, called SarahKt, wrote: "Lili's wonderful announcement of returning from maternity leave ... made my insides ball up into a big barren knot. ... Maybe this isn't the space for me at this time. ... It might be nice to have an expanded reach into voices in the infertile world? To hear from others whose stories are still quite ... barren?"

Julie of A Little Pregnant joined Lili as a Redbook blogger in August. So far, she has not found herself in the middle of controversy, despite having a child. This may be because she is already known as a successful infertility blogger.

Nonetheless, she's keenly aware of the fraught relationship infertility bloggers and their audience have with pregnancy.

She says discord can also arise when someone expresses disappointment about the gender of her baby-to-be or wishes fleetingly that she wasn't having twins - or even complains about how uncomfortable she is in the last few weeks before birth, she says. "It's sometimes hard to be happy for someone else when we're so unhappy for ourselves."

It's too early for Ms. Wood to worry about the politics of getting pregnant. For now, she and her husband eagerly look forward to another round of in-vitro fertilization. She may have a successful blog, but she desperately hopes to move beyond infertility. "I never envisioned a life without children."

Full article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071127.wlblog27/BNStory/PersonalTech/home