Trying to STAY Pregnant - Aurora,CO

I definitely hear you because I have gone through the same thing. I lost three pregnancies in a row and had testing done with it all being pretty much normal. My Dr. had me use progesterone vaginal suppositories (my friends used oral pills) from the time I found out I was pregnant until 12 weeks. I also took one baby aspirin a day until delivery. I got pregnant and with these interventions did not have any issues at all. My son is now 16 months, and I am 9 weeks pregnant again with no problems. So yes, both of these steps worked very well for me. I wish you the very best.

My sister had two miscarraiges at 11 and 13 weeks, requiring D&C's both times. She had a lot of infertility problems so it was painful to try for so long only to have miscarraiges. On her third pregnancy, they started her on progesterone (I think it was oral though, not cream) and she delivered a healthy baby at 38 weeks. She has since had two more children and those pregnancies did not require the progesterone. Good luck to you!

S. T,

I recommend vitality for life prenatals from Melaleuca, they are the best form for hard pregnacies, the first mom who had the octoplets used these vitamins, I also took them for years, they are $20 a month and well worth it I think. Even my labors were easy, our last one was only 15 minutes in labor. WooHoo!

Have you tested for celiac disease? I know it sounds weird that an allergy to wheat/gluten would be the cause, but I know someone who had several miscarriages before learning that she had celiac and it does cause infertility in both men and women.

I have heard wonderful things about progesterone. I wish you the best of luck and I had my youngest son when I was 37. Don't worry about your age. I am kind of surprised that the doctor doesn't have you taking natural progesterone right now. This is only what I have heard and I am not your doctor.

Have you been taking folic acid/prenatals? Have they checked your thyroid function?

I have hypothyroidism. I asked to be checked for it myself after having my first 3 children. Once I knew I had it, my new OB/GYN had my thyroid checked a few times throughout the next pregnancies to make sure my medication didn't need to be adjusted.

Here is just one link with some information:
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_8923.asp

The symptoms mentioned may be subtle if you do have any of them. It's an easy check to rule out problems anyway even if you aren't sure about symptoms. I often wonder if I had problems for years with my thyroid before I had it checked. I'm 37 now and have been on medication for only about 4-5 years - so was only about 32 when I first asked to be checked.

I have gone through a similar thing.
Ill list all my experiences and knowledge below but my question is does anyone know the medical term for what this is called(i.e. not producing enough progesterone causing the childs heart to stop before 14 weeks)
I have had 2 miscarriages in less than 1 year and finally was able to have my daughter march 2nd 2009.
The first miscarriage was in April of 2007(didn't know why, hadn't seen a dr.)
The second was the day after thanksgiving 2007(no fetal heartbeat)
The third pregnancy(my daughter) right before I was due to miscarry some,I think blood work, came back saying my progesterone levels were 1/3 of what they should be.Why no one caught this the other times is beyond me.
I was then placed on oral progesterone pills until i was 14 weeks(at 14 weeks the placenta kicks in and progesterone is no longer needed/the only thing that supports the pregnancy)
I got off the oral progesterone at 14 weeks and then my daughter tried to come,premature labor, at 16,18 and I think it was 20 weeks.
I was then placed on bed rest for the remained of my pregnancy when I had her 6 days before the given date at 39 weeks...March 2nd 2009 6 lbs 1 oz 18 inches long at 4:36am.
YES THE PILLS WORK!
MY DAUGHTER IS LIVING PROOF

I am a birth doula and have had countless clients who couldn't stay pregnant fix it with acupuncture. They starting going before they got pregnant and kept it up after. If you want some recommendations, I'm happy to share!

I'm so sorry for your losses. If you want any resources for pregnancy loss support groups or anything, I have that as well.

I wish you the best of luck going forward!

W. Nichols-Dewey, CD(DONA)
www.birthfirstdoula.vpweb.com

Yes, it may be a progesterone issue. if your body doesn't make enough on it's own, you can use a cream, or in a pill. bloodwork will show your level once you are pregnant. that was my issue, too, and now i have two beautiful girls. the other thing to try is acupunture. i know it sounds wierd, but there is an acupuncturist in FC, Rachel Blunk, who specializes in fertility, women's issues, and pregnancy stuff. she can definitely help you get/stay pregnant. tell her T. sent you! she is great. go to babybyblunk.com

Ohhh, I'm so sorry! You have been through quite a bit. And I've been there - Dr.s are not kind. They never want you to get too optimistic. They also have little graphs that tell you what percentage is this "failure" or that "failure", and there's usually a little section that is "We don't know".

"You've had one child, so, there shouldn't really be a reason why you can't do it again."

Thanks. Doesn't really help me out right now, does it! I've been through it and lived to reproduce two more - both boys. Let me ask you - do you like cleaning wet, soiled tp off of the ceiling? More babies are a blessing (always) but God may just be being merciful if you get a darling sweet girl. Hang in there - it'll work out. Don't let the fear overpower your hope. ;D

S.,
I am so sorry to hear that this is happening to you. I went through this almost exact situation. I lost 5 pregnancies and went through the blood tests and also the histopingogram. All normal. Finally it was recommended to go with the progesterone and I was able to carry to full term! I truly believe that was the issue and I am so thankful we finally figured it out. Good luck and try the progesterone.

Hi:

I got married late in life and didn't start trying to having kids until I was 41. I had 2 miscarriages back to back, when all seemed to be going normal with the pregnancy, I lost one at 11 weeks and the other at 12 weeks. As with you, I didn't have problems getting pregnant, I had problems staying pregnant. My doctor perscribed progesterone pills (not a cream) for me. Needles to say, it worked and I have a beautiful little boy to show for it. I totally think it was the progesterone that made the difference with this pregnancy. Good luck. I wish I would have used the progesterone from the start.

I want you to know that I understand the pain you are feeling to see a hearbeat and then to see that it has stopped. Progesterone is an amazing drug. I lost a pregnancy with twins we think because we caught the progesterone levels to late. So when I got pregnant the next time we started checking my progesterone levels immediately and then every few days. It did what my doctor expected and started to drop so she put me on progesterone pills until I was 12 weeks along. I now have a sweet 2 1/2 month baby boy. While on the pills we were checking my levels and changing the dose as needed (if the levels dropped we increased it). I was having my blood drawn 2 times a week. But I just want to let you know one thing. The progesterone made me so sick. I was so nauseated almost all the time. The increase in progesterone is the cause of morning sickness. So needless to say I wasn't a happy camper when I was taking huge amounts of progesterone. But the truth is it was all worth it.
I hope this helps and best of luck to you.

I can't speak to the progesterone issue, but I lost a baby at about 10 weeks, most likely due to a clotting disorder (MTHFR). There are much more severe clotting disorders than mine... all it took was me taking massive doses of folic acid and baby aspirin and we were able to have a 2nd healthy boy. (The loss was in between the two boys.)

But you might talk to your doc about upping the folic acid just as preventative measure. Two losses is certainly enough for one person to have to suffer...might as well try everything you can to give yourselves the best chance at helping the next one make it.

Best of luck to you... I hope you update to this post after the birth of your next baby! :)

Progesterone works very well for several of my friends. A baby aspirin a day (and Lovenox shots for my last) have worked well for me. Since starting that, we haven't lost one due to my diagnosis. We had lost 3 prior to that. The last was partially lost due to the meds I had to be on, but mostly due to twins and the complications that can come with that. Aspirin is considered by many to be a bit of a cure all, so you might see if you can take it starting as soon as you find out you're pregnant, if not now. GL! I hope you get a baby to hold soon!

I completely understand your pain. I had one very normal pregnancy followed by five miscarriages and finally another healthy pregnancy. I tried the baby aspirin and pregesterone suppositories but that didn't work. After four miscarriages my doctor sent me to a specialist from the University of Utah who works in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. All of my tests were normal and they told me that with most that is the case. But that about 60 percent will have a successful pregnancy. We tried Heparin shots in my next pregnancy but I still lost it which might have been due to the fact that they were twins. After that I had kind of given up hope and stopped trying to get pregnant. A few months later I unexpectedly found myself pregnant again. I started on the heparin again. I was doing everything medically that I could and decided for a spiritual approach as well. I had my entire family fast and pray for me and asked for a blessing. I had a very healthy baby boy last May. I don't know if you are religious but if you are I would definitely use that along with your medical help. I would also say to see a specialist, more than just your regular OB doc. My doctor's name is Dr. Ware Branch. I saw him at the midwives clinic inside IMC in Murray. I think one of the best things about going there is that they deal with this a lot so they realize that you can get kind of crazy about it. If I was worried, I could call and get in for an Ultrasound right away. His philosophy is that if the mom is worried, he is worried. That became really important at the end of my pregnancy too. I had noticed a slight decrease in fetal movement but it was still in the acceptable range. I mentioned it to the nurse and she kind of brushed it off to the baby getting bigger and not being able to move around as much, but when I mentioned it to the Dr he sent me straight over to get a NST. It turned out that I had low amniotic fluid and was monitored very closely for the next two weeks. Finally he had me deliver 4 weeks early because it just got too low, but my boy was perfectly healthy. Good luck. I know it's hard. It kind of made me a little crazy for a while. Sorry for the novel but I thought it might give you some hope. :)

I haven't gone through something like this, but my sister has. She gets pregnant very easily but part way through she would miscarrie. Just like you. She had three miscarriages It turned out that her body doesn't make enough progesterone so she would get pregnant but couldn't keep the baby. As soon as they figured that out she took progesterone. I don't know if she used a cream or pill. But after she started using progesterone, she had very normal pregnancies with no problems. She now has two kids.

I babysit for a lady who has had eight pregnancies and only has two kids who are five years apart. There was also a still born in there. She said her two biggest recommendations to women having trouble staying pregnant are progesterone and baby aspirin. The baby aspirin might not aply to you since your babies are on track for growth. She said that it thins the blood just enough to pass through the cord more easily and be absorbed better by the baby. Progesterone is supposed to be a key in staying pregnant. My sis-in-law also had one miscarriage, and was threatening miscarriage with her second pregnancy. They figured out the progesterone at about 10 weeks and she is now 25 weeks pregnant with a healthy, on track baby. Good luck! God bless.

I would really recommend meeting with Cecily Y at Ancient Art Healing and Accupunture (do a search on here and you will find her). Her story is very similar to yours, after accupunture she has had 2 successful pregnancy and that is now why she practices it. Good luck!

I have a client who went through the same thing (2 miscarriages), and she was only 20. I put her on an herbal tincture called Carry-On by Trilight herbs. We also significantly increased her vitamin intake. At 20 weeks her doc had told her she was going to lose the pregnancy.....she carried to term and had an over 8lb baby girl.
It might be worth a try! Hope that helps. I'll be praying!
S.
www.buenavistamidwife.com

S.,
I went through this EXACT same thing - the only difference was that they did find I carry the gene for a minor clotting disorder. When I got pregnant again, I used the progesterone cream and I used accupuncture to help maintain the pregnancy. I am convinced that the accupuncture made the difference in my ability to carry a totally normal pregnancy after one preterm birth and two losses.

I also relied heavily on the advice of the wonderful women at Apothocary Tinctura in Cherry Creek:

http://www.apothecarytinctura.com/

They do loads of work around fertility, pregnancy and nursing. Services range from massage to emotional work to sustaining teas and herbs.

Keep in mind that there is lots you can do (herbs, uterine massage and accupuncture BEFORE you get pregnant in order to set up as good an environment as possible for your embryo to implant and be nourished. Talk to the ladies at Apothocary, and ask your OB or fertility specialist for recommendations for a good accupuncturist who works with pregnancy.

Good luck!!

What about progesterone suppositories at nighttime, or a shot of progesterone in the hip for the first 12 weeks? I did both, plus took baby aspirin and no miscarriage.

My heart hurts for you,

Marci