Struggling to Understand Miscarriages
Question
I am currently seeking closure and understanding of a long history of miscarriages. At the age of 19 I gave pre-term birth to a set of twins, they both died within six hours of birth due to low birth weight and complications. After that pregnancy, to my husbands and my dismay, I found myself unable to maintain a pregancy for longer than two and a half months. As you can imagine this caused a lot of pyschological distress to me and my husband. I finally gave birth to my first healthy baby at the age of 23, but, had three miscarriages after the twins before a healthy birth. My second healthy birth was at age 25, but miscarried once in between the two. My third healthy birth was at age 27; once again I had miscarried twice in between births. My fourth healthy birth was at age 29. I miscarried twice before and once after. For my last healthy pregnancy the doctor discovered that I had a protein S deficiency. I was prescribed an anti-coagulant medication by injection twice a day. The problem is that I don’t think this is the cause of the repeated miscarriages. For each of the pregnancies that I was able to maintain I was on birth control directly prior to the pregnancy. I believe that it was the birth control that gave me the extra progesterone to maintain the pregancies. Even though I told my doctor of my suspicions, my suspicions were rejected.
Could I have been correct in thinking that the cause was low progesterone and that the birth control medication is what caused me to be able to carry the four healthy pregnancies to term?
Stacy
Answer
Last Updated: January 18, 2022
You have had a long, difficult course. I agree with your hunch that you may have a luteal phase defect with low progesterone that gets your pregnancies off to bad starts.
Fortunately, there is a precise, scientific way to test your theory. You should first see a Creighton Model Fertility Care practitioner who will teach you how to chart your cycles. Once you can confidently identify peak day then a medical provider familiar with NaProTechnology can order a comprehensive hormone profile that will tell you exactly what the two main hormones of your cycle, estradiol and progesterone, are doing. Other hormones will be checked, also.
If the hunch is proven true, you can be given progesterone in a cooperative fashion to bring your hormone to a safe level during the luteal phase. Progesterone would be continued during any subsequent pregnancy at least during the first trimester or possibly until 37 weeks with your history of preterm birth. If, prior to or during the evaluation, you conceive again, I advise that you immediately start progesterone in oil 200 mg intramuscularly twice a week.
A bonus of learning the Creighton Model for this medical problem is that you will never feel the need to use birth control again. The Creighton Model is one of the modern methods of natural family planning.
In health,
George Delgado, M.D., F.A.A.F.P.
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