Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
|
|
 Ask Dr. Greenfield
Father's Contribution to Miscarriage Risk | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Greenfield,
My baby's father has had two different women miscarry his babies, one at 12 weeks and another at about 20 weeks. Should I be concerned about increased risk for miscarriage with my own pregnancy? Thank you for your help. I've been so concerned.— Anxious Mom-to-Be in Seattle, WA | | | ANSWER |
September 27, 2001 | | | Dear Anxious Mom-to-Be,
While there are causes of recurrent miscarriage that can be passed by the father, these are pretty rare. The most likely causes of these two losses are coincidence and bad luck.
That said, if the 20-week fetus was tested for chromosomal abnormalities, that information would be helpful. This would indicate whether your baby's father carries a rare genetic cause for miscarriage, called a balanced translocation, which can be tested by looking at his chromosomes.
Since I doubt that you will have access to information about his other miscarriages, there probably isn't any testing that should be done in your case other than routine prenatal testing and the triple check test. Just take good care of yourself and your baby-to-be. Good luck!— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. |
|
