4 miscarriages and still no baby?

[Spring Sun]

Hi All, I came on this board when I was ttc my second, and, knowing how much research you have all done, I was hoping you could point me in the right direction.

My best friend is about to have her fourth miscarriage. With her first two, she found out at 3 months that there was no baby in the first place (phantom womb). She was theoretically pregnant, there was just no baby. She still had to deliver the placenta.

With her third pregnancy, there was a baby, but a weak heartbeat, hcg levels that were not doubling, and then she took a pill to miscarry that one.

This time, they have just not been able to find any heartbeat, and she is at 8 weeks. Her hcg levels are rising, but not as they should. She is going to do a d and c this time, but not until they do one more ultrasound to be sure there really is no baby in there.

Has anyone heard of anything like this? Could you point me to a website or literature that would help us understand what is going on? The doctors don't give her any answers, they just tell her she will see a specialist this time.

Does this mean she can not have babies? Is it her eggs? Also want to add that the first two pregnancies where with a boyfriend, the last two with her husband, so two different men.

Any insight or guesses would be greatly appreciated!

[MaerynPearl]

Blighted ovum... I have had one... but when you have repeated blighted ovums, that can be a sign of problems with fertilization.

http://blightedovum.kokopuff.net/blightedovum.html explains it a bit better.

for causes -

In most liklihood the reason for a blighted ovum is random chromosomal accident (further research suggests a 4 in 5 chance that the cause is chromosomal in this situation). In some cases, the egg or the sperm may be of poor quality. The age of the parents may contribute to this factor although this diagnosis happens to all ages. Occasionally the cause may be something other than chromosomal, such as low hormone levels. This is rare but in these cases a treatable condition might be the cause. For example, a low hormone level may have caused early termination of the pregnancy. In these cases, hormone pills such as progesterone may work. If repeated blighted ovums occur, artificial fertilization may be an answer. Genetic testing in the case of multiple losses may be advised to rule out genetic problems.

I am proof that age does not necessarily play a factor, I was 19 when I had mine (13 weeks along...) And that was with a different father than my 2 children had or my current gestating baby has.

She really should have testing done to see what is causing it to find the best course of correcting it, IF indeed this is another blighted ovum it may be genetic however... with having one with a developed baby and the possibility that this one does too (were they just using doppler at 8 weeks or was it ultrasound? because its extremely rare for a doppler to pick up heartbeat at 8 weeks!) it may simply be a hormonal imbalance... easily fixed.

I am sure the specialist will do all of this for her.

[kalamos23]

Is she positive of when she ovulated? Is there a chance that at 8 weeks past LMP she is actually more like 6 weeks past ovulation? The reason I ask is because she could have ovulated later and then the baby would appear to be developing at a slower pace etc.

[HulaJenn]

Does she completely trust her HCP? It is better to wait for the body to act naturally isn't it? And if the dates are off or an u/s tech/lab tech has an off day, these babies with heartbeats could be viable no? i would get her to seek a second opinion.

[jenniferadurham]

I agree wth the 2nd opinion and maybe she isn't as far along as she thinks too. I would let the body do what it needs to do naturally. Humans make errors too. I hope that everything turns out ok and that she gets her baby that she's been hoping for.

[karmab]

i know we are getting this third hand, but if what you are saying is right, i think she needs to be looking for another doctor. if she is having another u/s to make sure there is no baby in there (im reading this to say that she has had at least one u/s and they didnt see a sac in the uterus) and her hcg is rising at a slower than normal rate, she

1) doesnt need a d&c because there isnt anything in the uterus to remove, and

2) her doctor should be busy looking for an ectopic- this is classic presentation- empty uterus, slow rising hcg- should be a big red flag that she could have an ectopic and a d&c isnt going to help that!

[Spring Sun]

Thanks guys! I think she probably is as far along as she thinks. This is the fourth time this has happened She will still need a d and c bc she has a placenta, amneotic sac, etc... She is pregnant, there is just no baby. She has had two ultrasounds so far. With the last three, she delivered naturally, and since she was at about 3 months with all of them, it was extremely painful for her, so I don't blame her for wanting a d and c this time. That way they can get a good sample to test as well. They checked for an ectopic pregnancy too.

I sent her the info on blighted ovum, thank you!

She is going to wait 10 days and see what happens. I just hope she can have a baby one day, she has gone through enough. With blighted ovum, most women do not have that happen so many times. I wonder if her eggs are bad in some way?

[Spring Sun]

Glad you are pregnant MaerynPearl! You were with me when I was ttc my second, not sure if you remember

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by Spring Sun

Glad you are pregnant MaerynPearl! You were with me when I was ttc my second, not sure if you remember

Not sure if I remember either lol... I was here a long long time before finally conceiving!

Well if another US has said theres another blighted ovum, the fertility specialist will know exactly what hormonal and genetic tests to give her to find out why.