16 Molar Pregnancies
Description
This article is from the Miscarriage FAQ, by Laura Brooks brook006@mc.duke.edu with numerous contributions by others.
16 Molar Pregnancies
This is what I know, for starters:
Most miscarriages are of the types "fetal demise" (where the fetus dies) or
"blighted ovum" (an egg is fertilized, and a placenta starts growing, but
the fetus fails to grow, so there is only a placenta and an amniotic sac).
Much rarer are molar pregnancies, which are a type of blighted ovum where
an abnormal spongy mass grows on the placenta. Partial moles much rarer
than full moles.
When a molar pregnancy has been diagnosed (the tissue extracted during the
D&C is sent to a pathology lab), the first course of action is to make sure
all the growth has been removed. This is done by doing weekly, then monthly
pregnancy blood tests. This is cruel test to do to a woman who is dealing
with the aftermath of a miscarriage (personal opinion). Three negative
weeks in a row means going to monthly tests. Three negative months is a row
means the patient is "cured". If the test do not go to negative, this
indicates that the growth mastesised (spelling?) and that there is tissue
growing elsewhere in the body. According to my doctor, the usual course of
treatment is then chemotherapy. It is therefore imperative that the patient
not become pregnant again until declared "cured" (since obviously a
subsequent pregnancy would make it impossible to determine if there was any
other growth). It is usually recommended that you wait at least a year
before attempting another pregnancy.
I am hoping that someone out there has gone on to have a successful
pregnancy after a molar pregnancy, since I could use some encourage- ment
when we get around to trying again.
Thanks for your sympathy. As many people are aware, a miscarriage is
certainly a painful loss. Dealing with a non-viable pregnancy is hard, too
(I often felt like I had no right to cry over a baby that never was).
Dealing with the additional issue of whether chemo will become necessary
while dealing with the other parts is hard, too. Especially when a lab
technician just knows you need a pregnancy test and starts making small
talk on the assumtion that you are hoping for a positive.
Later Addendum:
Since the time that i wrote the original letter to Tracy, i have completed
a successful pregnancy (and she'll be 2 on Sunday!) So, I really don't need
encouragement at this point, but if anyone reading the FAQ has had a molar
preg. and would like to correspond, I would be glad to be the moral support
end of an exchange.
Maureen Busch mbb@world.std.com
Mom to Jody(7/27/86), Sean(11/1/88), and Rachel(8/6/93)
misc.kidding since '87; '95 PA pg 25, '94 PA pg 18, also in '93 PA
Continue to:
My Books
