Preventing Miscarriage: The Good News (Revised Edition)

Front Cover
......Page 1
Back Cover
......Page 2
Title Page
......Page 3
Dedication
......Page 4
CONTENTS......Page 5
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 7
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 8
Privacy Disclaimer......Page 10
Introduction......Page 11
PART ONE Miscarriage and You......Page 19
“You Don’t Ever Forget a Miscarriage”......Page 21
“No One Knows How to Respond to You”......Page 23
Can the Baby’s Weight Be a De.nition?......Page 25
Just How Often Do Miscarriages Happen?......Page 26
Why Were Three Miscarriages Once Necessary Before Investigation Occurred?......Page 29
Why Has Information on Miscarriage Been So Slow in Coming?......Page 30
Waiting Until Three Miscarriages Have Occurred Is Not Always Necessary......Page 31
“It’s One Heck of a Way to Be Pregnant!”......Page 32
What Should You Expect from Your Doctor After a Miscarriage?......Page 33
When Can You Try to Conceive Again Following a Miscarriage?......Page 41
Keeping a Positive Attitude......Page 42
“How Do You Find the Strength to Go On?”......Page 43
When the Bleeding and Cramping Spell Trouble......Page 48
What to Do When You Fear You May Be Miscarrying......Page 50
Should You Have an Internal Examination If You Are Bleeding in Early Pregnancy?......Page 51
Is Ultrasound Safe in Early Pregnancy?......Page 53
If the Pregnancy Is Viable, What Should You Do Next?......Page 55
Some Doctors Say It Is an Old Wives’ Tale......Page 56
What About Sexual Intercourse?......Page 59
What Do the Different Terms Used for a Miscarriage Mean?......Page 60
Collecting the Tissue......Page 62
“I Began to Go a Little Crazy...”......Page 64
Missed Abortion......Page 67
What Is a Blighted Ovum?......Page 69
Preparing Yourself Mentally to Cope with a Missed Abortion or Blighted Ovum......Page 71
Other Reasons for Bleeding in Early Pregnancy......Page 72
“Emptying” the Uterus......Page 76
“Whether There Ever Was a Fetus or Not, the Buildup Is the Same”......Page 78
“I Could Sense That My Body Was Attacking the Embryos”......Page 81
What Causes Midtrimester Miscarriages?......Page 84
The Role of Beta-Mimetic Drugs in Middle-Trimester Threatened Miscarriage......Page 85
Stillbirth, or Death in Utero......Page 86
How You Can Keep an Eye on Your Baby’s Well-being in Advanced Pregnancy......Page 88
The Developing Science of Perinatology......Page 92
How Do Scientists Spot Disorders Caused by Gene Abnormalities?......Page 94
PART TWO Why Did It Happen? What Tests and Treatments Are Available?......Page 95
What Are the Genetic Causes of a Miscarriage?......Page 97
The Lives of Chromosomes and Genes......Page 99
What Abnormalities Might Occur?......Page 102
When Should You Go for Genetic Counseling?......Page 103
What Happens at Genetic Counseling?......Page 104
Amniocentesis......Page 105
Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS)......Page 106
Nuchal Translucency......Page 107
Routine Ethnic Genetic Blood Screening......Page 108
Fetal Blood Sampling......Page 109
What Are the Anatomical Causes
of a Miscarriage?
......Page 110
How Are These Anomalies Diagnosed?......Page 112
Other Uterine Problems That May Need Correction......Page 115
Are Uterine Abnormalities a Common Cause of Miscarriage?......Page 116
My Cervix Was So Effaced That I Could See My Daughter’s Hand Reaching into the Cervical Canal......Page 117
“There Were Times I Was So Depressed That I Couldn’t Get Out of Bed”......Page 120
What Makes an Incompetent Cervix?......Page 123
Preventing Damage to the Cervix......Page 125
Why Does an Incompetent Cervix Give Way?......Page 126
How the Shirodkar or MacDonald Stitch Is Put In......Page 128
Treatment and Care After Surgery......Page 130
When Is the Stitch Removed?......Page 131
“He Weighed 11⁄2 Pounds and They Were
Keeping Him Alive in the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.”
......Page 132
What Are the Hormonal Causes of a Miscarriage?......Page 135
Hormone Deficiency in Early Pregnancy
......Page 136
Can Ordinary Infections ora Virus Cause a Miscarriage?......Page 173
Why Doesn’t the Corpus Luteum Always Function Properly?......Page 139
Can Hormone Therapy Be Enough to Prevent Miscarriage?......Page 141
“It Took Me a Month to Let Myself Wake Up to the Fact That I Had a Son!”......Page 142
“I’d Reached the Point of Giving Up. The IVF Doctor Recommended Either an Egg Donor or Adoption”......Page 146
Other Hormonal Causes of Miscarriage......Page 150
The Organs of Reproduction......Page 151
The Internal Genitalia......Page 153
The Endometrium and Hormonal Change......Page 155
The Hormones of Pregnancy......Page 158
The Uterus, Fallopian Tubes, and Ovaries......Page 159
The Menstrual Cycle and Human Ovulation......Page 160
How the Embryo and Fetus Develop Throughout a Pregnancy......Page 162
Is There a Link Between Infertility and Miscarriage?......Page 168
and the Rest Failed to Get Me Pregnant”......Page 170
Infections and Diseases That May Cause Miscarriage......Page 175
Viruses......Page 179
Can You Be Vaccinated During Pregnancy?......Page 180
Infections Associated with Certain Procedures......Page 182
Maternal Diseases......Page 184
Paternal Disorders......Page 189
Placental Disorders......Page 190
The Histopathology of Early Pregnancy Loss......Page 191
Stress and Anxiety......Page 192
The Immunologic Paradox of Pregnancy......Page 194
What Are the Immunological Problems of Pregnancy?......Page 196
Other Immune Tests and Their Treatments......Page 198
Treatments for Immunologic Disorders......Page 203
“The Second I Received IVIG Treatment, I Became Pregnant”......Page 207
“My House Was Like a Fertility Shrine”......Page 210
“All My Friends Were Having Babies. Why Couldn’t I?”......Page 214
Environmental Factors and
Their Effect on Miscarriage
......Page 217
Pollution......Page 218
Social Habits That Are Harmful in Pregnancy......Page 219
Workplace Pollutants......Page 220
Job Stress and Pregnancy......Page 223
Other Hazards to Avoid During Pregnancy......Page 224
Other Factors That Can Affect Your Pregnancy......Page 227
PART THREE
Are You Ready to Try Again?
......Page 239
Why Healthy Grieving Is So Important......Page 241
Why Grieving Is Normal and Healthy......Page 242
Special Feelings If the Miscarriage Occurred in the Early Weeks......Page 245
Special Feelings If the Fetus Was Lost After Week 20......Page 246
Were You Able to See and Hold the Baby?......Page 247
Keepsakes and Mementos......Page 249
Can Grieving Really Help Overcome the Pain?......Page 250
“We Were Able to Cry and to Hold Her”......Page 251
Your Body Does Not Know the Baby Did Not Survive......Page 255
Postmiscarriage Depression......Page 256
What Can You Expect Your Partner to Be Feeling?......Page 257
Helping Your Other Children Cope with the Loss......Page 258
How Family and Friends Can Help......Page 259
Arranging a Funeral or Memorial Service......Page 260
As Your Feelings Gradually Return to Normal......Page 261
Are You Ready to Try for Another Pregnancy?......Page 262
Coping with the Next Pregnancy......Page 263
What Should You Expect
During Your Next Pregnancy?
......Page 265
Specific Therapies or Treatments That May Be Prescribed......Page 272
“I Just Don’t Believe I’d Have Gotten Where I Am Now If I Hadn’t Decided to Use the IVIG”......Page 276
“I Did a Lot of Research Then and Went to See Many Doctors”......Page 278
A Final Word......Page 281
Emotional Support Group Websites......Page 283
Medical Information Websites......Page 285
INDEX......Page 289
About the Author......Page 301
Praise for
Preventing Miscarriage
......Page 302
Credits......Page 304
Copyright......Page 305
About the Publisher......Page 306
Books......Page 286