Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) or repeated miscarriages is the condition when a woman has 2 or more pregnancy losses before reaching 20 weeks from the last menstrual period. Miscarriages are common and have a chance of occurring in about 15 to 20% of all pregnancies. Although miscarriages can be common women who experience pregnancy loss once or twice can go on to have a healthy pregnancy and a baby.
Recurrent pregnancy loss is rare and it only affects about 1% of women as the likelihood of having repeated miscarriages is very small. Commonly miscarriages can occur at random and it usually happens during fertilization due to an unusual amount of chromosomes received by an embryo. Miscarriages can also occur with or without any medical conditions affecting the pregnancy and women with an advanced reproductive age have a higher chance of pregnancy loss.
What Causes Recurrent Pregnancy Loss?
Generally, most pregnancy losses are a result of abnormal chromosomal, or genetic activities and random events. As conception is a complicated procedure any kind of abnormality from the egg, sperm, or embryo can result in a miscarriage with approximately 12-15% of all medically recognized pregnancies ending in miscarriages.
As aforementioned the risk of pregnancy losses increase with the advancing maternal age which is caused by the poor egg quality that leads to genetic abnormalities. The risk of pregnancy loss also increases with the increase in the number of previous pregnancy losses. Abnormalities in the uterus, poor blood supply to the pregnancy, inflammation, other health conditions, and a woman's immune system can also lead to an RPL.
Conditions That Increase The Risk Of RPL
Some of the health conditions that can increase the risk of recurrent pregnancy loss are as follows:
- Ashermans Syndrome – which is a condition that causes scar tissues and adhesions to form inside the uterus.
- Polyps and Fibroids – uterine polyps are growths that develop in the inner lining of the uterus and fibroids are benign tumors and both of these conditions can cause infertility or miscarriage.
- Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS)- is a disorder of the immune system that leads to abnormal blood clotting and miscarriages with other autoimmune diseases.
- Thyroid Disease – is a medical condition that keeps the thyroid from making the right amount of hormones that help keep the body functioning properly.
- Diabetes – when left untreated or poorly controlled this condition can increase the risk of pregnancy loss and it is also important to maintain a healthy sugar level for a healthy pregnancy.
For more queries you can always consult with the best obstetrician in Siliguri.