Miscarriage statistics are on the rise, despite the scarcity of awareness on the occurrence thereof. This is in a resolve to demystify most of the issues revolving around miscarriages.

What Causes Miscarriages?
Out of the numerous factors that lead to miscarriages, the most common is a chromosome abnormality.

Also known as ‘aneuploidy’, this refers to there being extra or missing whole chromosomes as a result of mis-division of chromosomes in the egg or sperm that are involved in conception.

If a baby lacks the correct amount of chromosome material, at the time of conception or as a fetus, it will cause a miscarriage or chromosome-related syndromes in the baby such as Down’s syndrome. The risk of chromosome abnormality is higher in women over the age of 35.

It is an established statistic that one out of every four recognized pregnancy ends up in a miscarriage. Although most women who have had a miscarriage may have a subsequent healthy pregnancy, there are those who will be prone to second and third miscarriages.

There has been a rise in miscarriages and this is attributed to awareness because pregnancy is detected early and a woman is aware she has miscarried as opposed to before when a miscarriage would be dismissed as an unusual period.

Which types of genetic testing are useful for them?
Genetic testing involves conducting different types of tests on DNA in a cell. Chromosome analysis is the best test to conduct on miscarriage tissue or POC (products of conception) since it identifies the cause of miscarriage. It involves karotyping and use of more recent technology like micro-arrays.

How Does Chromosome Testing help?
For starters, it helps one know if there will be a repeat occurrence of miscarriage since it may be due to some genetic predisposition. It also helps a couple begin the journey to heal emotional scars caused by a miscarriage. It is especially helpful for those who have experienced multiple miscarriages.

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