Molar Pregnancy

• Miscarriage due to molar pregnancy
• Advice about Miscarriage

Miscarriage due to molar pregnancy

April 2005

ive just experienced a miscarriage. the ultrasound indicated a molar pregnancy but the pathology report was inconclusive. does any one have experience with this sort of pregancy? questions

First of all, I'm sorry that you had to go through a miscarriage. My first pregnancy was determined to be a molar pregnancy and I was devastated. In my case, the ultrasound indicated a partial molar pregnancy, which was then confirmed by the lab results. I then had to have my blood drawn every week for 4 weeks to make sure my pregnancy hormones were decreasing (because I guess there is a chance that the d & c would miss some cells, which then can continue growing), and then drawn monthly for 4 months. Thus, I had to wait 6 month before I could try to get pregnant again, which I immediately did and now have two healthy, beautiful children. So I guess my advice is to make sure that your follow-up treatment is appropriate given that the ultrasound indicated a molar pregnancy, even though the lab results weren't conclusive. Good luck. anon

I am sorry for your loss. I experienced a molar pregnancy (MP) last year. What I learned is that there is a lot of conflicting information out there about MPs. I suggest contacting the New England Thromboblastic Disease Center for their information packet. Here's a link to some of their information: http://www.isstd.org/gtd/09%20word%20for%20print.pdf. I also suggest visiting the molar pregnancy forum in the community section of www.babycenter.com. I learned a lot of information from the women on the board and it was extremely helpful to talk to people who were going through the same thing as I was. Because MPs are rare, many doctors are not up-to-date on the current research and often tell women to wait longer than is necessary before trying to conceive again. I was told to wait six months before trying again. According to the NETDC, because my levels dropped to zero in less than 7 weeks, I could have tried again after 12 weeks (I followed the NETDC guidelines but didn't conceive again until my 7th cycle; I'm now 22 weeks pregnant). Your doctor should be monitoring your hcg levels until they reach zero because there is a danger of developing cancer-like cells and needing chemotherapy. I think doctors generally treat inconclusive pathology reports as MPs to be on the safe side. The good thing is that repeat MPs are extremely rare. I hope you have a successful pregnancy soon (if that's what you want). Hannah

My sister-in-law had a molar pregnancy. Although it was a sad, scary experience, she went on to have 3 healthy children. For whatever reason, sometimes things go wrong during fertilization and the embryo just doesn't develop normally. (Sometimes there's no fertilized egg at all!) The miscarriage is your body's way of telling you something's not quite right. I don't think it affects your chances for future pregnancies, but I believe there's an increased risk for some types of cancer. The March of Dimes Web site has some information that might be helpful to you: http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1189.asp best of luck, jean

I had a partial molar pregnancy the first time I was pregnant (and miscarried). I'm not sure why the results would be inconclusive--either there are abnormal cells or not? Perhaps yours is also partial molar. About one in 200 pregnancies are molar. I know that a partial molar is generally caused when 2 sperm fertilize an egg by mistake or a double-headed sperm fertilizes an egg. It's not something that tends to happen more than once (I went on to have a healthy baby). I don't know if a full molar has different causes. The complication with a molar OR partial molar pregnancy is this: any time you're pregnant, whether you miscarry, abort or give birth, cells are left behind in the uterus. If the cells left behind after this miscarriage include abnormal cells they can implant in the uterus and begin to grow independently. The chances of this happening are LOW. With a partial molar pregnancy it's not clear, but it's estimated at about a 5% chance as I recall. Even with a full molar pregnancy the chances are only 20%. However, if the cells do implant and grow they form a non-metastasizing tumor. That means that while the tumor grows, it doesn't spread to other parts of your body (liver, brain etc.). Still, it must be dealt with and it's treated with a low level of chemotherapy. Horrible to contemplate when you're already in shock, yes, but probably won't happen to you (didn't to me). The way that the doctors tell that this has happened is that your HCG rises but you're not pregnant. So the bummer is that you're not allowed to get pregnant until your HCG has been at zero for a certain number of months, which your doctor and you can negotiate. They check your HCG by drawing your blood, first weekly, then every two weeks, then less often. Usually in a molar pregnancy they do it for a year. In a partial molar it's unclear how long you have to/should wait. I waited about 9 months, I think, after my miscarriage. It was a hard 9 months, especially since I was on the old side and worried about my fertility.

Anyway, for me it all ended beautifully and I very much hope it will for you, too. I'm sorry this happened. It really sucks. Happily Ever After

Unfortunately, I can relate to your situation since I had a molar pregnancy a few years ago. At about eight weeks into the pregnancy I had an ultrasound in the doctor's office which showed a 'mass'. They sent me to have a more thorough ultrasound, which was inconclusive. I then had a D and the lab report also came back as inconclusive. I thought I was done with it. However, about a week later I started getting sick - as if I was still pregnant. I had a blood test and another ultrasound. It was apparent that there was still tissue in my uterus. I had a second D and the lab report then came back confirming that I had a molar pregnancy. The reason why it hadn't immediately been apparent was because with a 'partial' molar pregnancy there are both normal and abnormal cells so 'molar' cells can be missed. Now, in most cases a single D takes care of the problem, so keep in mind that what happened in my situation is very rare (I think about 1%). After the second D the mass continued to grow and I needed to undergo a very mild form of chemotherapy (I did not lose my hair). It didn't work the first time (started to grow again) so I had a second treatment. Then I had to have to have blood tests weekly for six months to make sure that it wasn't coming back. I was pretty upset about it (my extreme fear of needles didn't make it much fun) and sad about having to wait a full year before getting pregnant again. At the end of the year I did get pregnant but had another miscarriage (not another molar pregnancy). Finally I had a normal pregnancy, and eventually a healthy baby. It is highly unlikely that even if you did have a molar pregnancy it would require the treatment that I had. However, even in the worst case you will be fine and it won't affect your future pregnancies. Try to stay calm and don't do any internet searches!