Difficulty Maintaining Pregnancy
Question
From all the advice given, I feel that I should ask my question to you very educated people.
I am 23 years old. I have a 3 yr. old and a 21mo. I’m 5’11” and 130. Before I had my two children I was 134 – 140. I’ve miscarried twice since my youngest, first at about the 7th week but the baby had a development of 5wks. Then recently about 10 months from that miscarriage, I got pregnant, then started bleeding at the 4th week and took another test (negative) and did have uterus contractions that were very minor compared to what I had the first time.
I’m tired almost always but very active. I eat very well trying to do my best to stay away from sugar and processed foods. I do take supplements for iron. I have a tendency to be borderline anemic. Just got my iron levels checked and they were 13.
My midwife wants me to get my thyroid checked and hormone levels before I take a progesterone cream. I used progesterone before the first miscarriage for a month before and quit using it around the 5th week of pregnancy and I feel that’s what happened. We want one more child but I feel that it may take some time to get me back to normal levels and I worry and want everything to be ok and this thyroid thing really freaks me out.
I’ve never had a food disorder or anorexia, although it is hard to maintain the weight that I have. I love my size and feel comfortable but want to be healthy. Also for about seventeen years of childhood I was on antibiotics for strep or other throat viral things and I’ve been detoxing for that. Could this affect my fertility? I’ve been able to get pregnant but not able to maintain. I want to be natural but I can’t handle this. Sometimes my body shows signs that I ovulate 2 times a month within a few days of each other and after each miscarriage I’ve ovulated the day I miscarried.
Truly this is all overwhelming and I don’t care for the physicians in our area. Any advice would be helpful. I wanted to give as much info as I could without babbling but to give you an idea of what has been going on.
Thanks. Danielle
Answer
Last Updated: July 24, 2013
You have had some very difficult circumstances. First off, I don’t think the antibiotic use in your childhood had anything to do with your miscarriages.
You should begin charting with the Creighton Model of Fertility Care since you will need a system that will integrate well with a medical workup of your miscarriages. You should then see a medical provider who is a natural family planning medical consultant. That medical professional should be able to direct a full hormone evaluation timed according to your fertility cycle. A thyroid test would be part of that.
My hunch is that you will need progesterone supplementation during your next pregnancy. Supplementation of natural hormones before and during pregnancy can literally save you from miscarriage. There is a great deal of hope for you in this situation.
George Delgado, M.D., F.A.A.F.P.
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