RPL

I would like to start by first thanking our friends and family who have been so outrageously supportive and generous with their well-wishes over the past few weeks.

Knowing we have people in our corner rooting us on helps so much.

From the bottom of our hearts we thank you and love you all so dearly.

 

We have an appointment at the Ottawa Fertility Clinic on March 5th.

I read some reviews of the doctor we've been referred to and the comments are less than stellar. He's been described as cold, abrasive, unempathetic, always late and unprepared for appointments. Great... I suppose we'll be the judges of that when we meet him next month.

 

Pop quiz kids!

 

RPL stands for:

 

a) Ridiculously Perfect Lips

b) Rocket Plane Liftoff

c) Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

 

If you guessed a) Ridiculously Perfect Lips you are correct!

 

If only.

Unfortunately as most of you might have guessed, it stands for recurrent pregnancy loss.

Never in my life did I imagine this acronym would be part of my story, but there it is.

 

Recurrent pregnancy loss is defined as "the miscarriage of two or three consecutive pregnancies in the first or early second trimester."

 

Here are some stats: 

 

- 25% of all recognized pregnancies result in miscarriage

- Less than 5% of women will experience two consecutive miscarriages

- 1% will experience three or more

 

According to the patient fact sheet on recurrent miscarriage provided by the fertility center, here are the known causes of RPL:

 

1) Genetic/chromosonal causes

 

60% of early miscarriages are due to random chromosonal abnormality of the embryo. The odds of having three in a row is very rare.

 

Translocation is an inherited chromosonal abnormality that causes embryos to receive too much or too little genetic material.

 

The suggested treatment is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and in vitro fertilization.

 

2) Hormonal abnormalities

 

Progesterone is a hormone that is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Low progesterone levels sometimes called a lutein phase defect, is a known cause of repeated miscarriages.

 

Treatments include ovulation induction, progesterone supplements or injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

 

3) Metabolic abnormalities

 

Women with uncontrolled diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome have higher rates of miscarriage.

 

Treatment includes controlling blood sugars before conception

 

4) Uterine abnormalities

 

Approximately 10 - 15% of women with recurrent pregnancy losses have some form of uterine distortion.

Congenital uterine abnormalities include a double uterus, uterine septum and a uterus in which only on side is formed.

Asherman's syndrome (scar tissue in the uterine cavity), uterine fibroids and uterine polyps also can cause recurrent miscarriages.

Diagnostic screening tests include hysterosalpingogram, sonohysterography, ultrasound or hysteroscopy. Some of the conditions listed above can be surgically corrected.

5) Antiphospholipid Syndrome

3%-15% of recurrent miscarriages can be linked to antiphospholipid syndrome.

Antiphospholipid syndrome causes tiny blood clots to block the blood supply to the placenta and/or may interfere with the fertilized egg’s ability to implant in the lining of the uterus.

Treatment includes low dose aspirin and heparin.

6) Male factor

Abnormal integrity of sperm DNA can affect embryo development and increase miscarriage risk.

7) The scariest of all. Unexplained

No explanation is found in 50% - 75% of couples with recurrent pregnancy losses.

 

 

That last point is pretty scary. More like terrifying. I've read stories of women who have spent years miscarrying and are still without a baby in their arms. My heart aches for them. While my experience has been sad the biggest emotion I feel is frustration. I know I can have babies so why won't my body just cooperate and make another one?!

 

My hope is that further investigation and testing will find a reason and we'll be able to grow our little family. My fingers and toes are crossed!

 

"In all things it is better to hope than to despair"

- Goethe

 

Until my appointment in March my plan is to enjoy as much wine and other alcoholic beverages as I can. Any volunteers who wish to join me in my quest are welcome!

 

xo, Vicky