The miscarriages they can be devastating. And they are more common than you think. Specifically, they affect approximately one 15% of pregnancies and they usually occur in the first 9 weeks, as stated in an article published in the Research Health Journal. The Mayo Clinic raises this proportion to 20% of pregnancies before week 20. These are surprising percentages, since they are generally not thought to be so high.
In most cases, its origin is unknown and the risk of recurrence is very low. Among the known causes, the most frequent are chromosomal abnormalities, and others are described as malformations, toxins, or maternal diseases. In a high percentage of cases, pregnancy loss cannot be prevented or treated. They often seem to happen out of the blue and are beyond the control of doctors. But researchers may have found a new high-tech way to predict which pregnancies are more likely to end in miscarriage and which are not.
This method would involve using 3D ultrasound with virtual reality technology. Through this tool it is possible create a hologram of a developing embryo to see if it is maturing as expected, as embryos from pregnancies that end in abortion take longer to develop than those from pregnancies that result in live birth. And so this technique could be much more useful than measuring the size of the embryowhich is routinely performed during pregnancy.
This is suggested by a study recently published in the scientific journal human reproduction, carried out by the team of Dr. Melek Rousian, gynecologist and obstetrician at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam (The Netherlands). Although the work does not provide clues about the possible cause of a miscarriage, it does lead to the conclusion that new technologies could help identify at-risk pregnancies earlier and/or reassure expectant parents.
“Couples who have had more miscarriages may be very concerned about the state of the embryo,” Rousian explains to the specialized Healthday media. “If we could show that the development of your embryo is normal in these early stages of pregnancy, we could reassure and comfort them“But more research is needed to get to that point, he added.
The findings could help identify the risk of miscarriage
For the study, the researchers tracked embryonic development using 3D ultrasound and virtual reality technology in 644 pregnant women seven to ten weeks after conception. They were followed up for one year after delivery.
Of them, 33 pregnancies ended in miscarriage. An embryo is assigned what is known as a Carnegie stage number, from 1 to 23, based on its external characteristics during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Through this system, the study found that pregnancies that ended in abortion it took four more days to reach the final Carnegie Stadium than those of pregnancies that resulted in a healthy baby. Therefore, the longer an embryo takes to develop, the more likely it is to miscarry.
Pregnancies that ended in abortion they were also related to shorter embryo length from the top of the head (crown) to the bottom of the buttocks (rump), according to the study. The new findings held up even after the researchers controlled for other factors that might affect the risk of miscarriage, such as age, alcohol use, smoking, and use of folic acid or other vitamin supplements During pregnancy.
The researchers did not have access to genetic testing after the abortions, so they did not know if the embryos had genetic abnormalities that could have caused the abortion. So while the new study doesn’t help understand why miscarriages occur, the findings could help to identify the risk of miscarriage earlier.
Genetic problems, behind the causes of spontaneous abortion
“Many abortions are due to genetic abnormalities of the embryo“, explains Dr. Ashley Wiltshire, a specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Columbia University Fertility Center in New York, who reviewed the results. “As no genetic testing was included in this study, it is impossible to determine the correlation of the genetic status with their findings on embryonic development”.
Likewise, Wiltshire warned that even if the embryo has a late follow-up, it does not mean that abortion is inevitable. “The rate of embryonic development observed on ultrasound may be related to an increased risk of miscarriage, but does not confirm with 100% certainty that an abortion will occur“.
Most miscarriages occur because the fetus does not develop as it should. Around 50% are associated with the lack or excess of chromosomes. Most often, chromosome problems are the result of chance errors that occur as the embryo divides and grows, not hereditary problems.
In some cases, if the mother has a disease, this could cause a miscarriage. Examples, the Mayo Clinic includes: uncontrolled diabetes, infections, hormonal problems, problems with the uterus or cervix, or thyroid disease. They also point out that there activities that do NOT cause a miscarriage despite what one may believe, as exercise, including high intensity; sexual intercourse or work (as long as you are not exposed to harmful chemicals or radiation).
Miscarriage Symptoms
Most miscarriages occur before the 12th week of pregnancy. Signs and symptoms of a miscarriage may include vaginal spotting or bleeding, pain or cramping in the abdomen or lower back, and fluid or tissue leaking from the vagina.
Discussion about this post