Molar Pregnancy
Berkeley Parents Network >
Advice >
Pregnancy & Childbirth >
Molar Pregnancy
April 2005
ive just experienced a miscarriage. the ultrasound indicated a molar pregnancy but
the pathology report was inconclusive. does any one have experience with this sort
of pregancy?
questions
First of all, I'm sorry that you had to go through a
miscarriage. My first pregnancy was determined to be a molar
pregnancy and I was devastated. In my case, the ultrasound
indicated a partial molar pregnancy, which was then confirmed
by the lab results. I then had to have my blood drawn every
week for 4 weeks to make sure my pregnancy hormones were
decreasing (because I guess there is a chance that the d & c
would miss some cells, which then can continue growing), and
then drawn monthly for 4 months. Thus, I had to wait 6 month
before I could try to get pregnant again, which I immediately
did and now have two healthy, beautiful children.
So I guess my advice is to make sure that your follow-up
treatment is appropriate given that the ultrasound indicated a
molar pregnancy, even though the lab results weren't conclusive.
Good luck.
anon
I am sorry for your loss. I experienced a molar pregnancy (MP)
last year. What I learned is that there is a lot of conflicting
information out there about MPs. I suggest contacting the New
England Thromboblastic Disease Center for their information
packet. Here's a link to some of their information:
http://www.isstd.org/gtd/09%20word%20for%20print.pdf. I also
suggest visiting the molar pregnancy forum in the community
section of www.babycenter.com. I learned a lot of information
from the women on the board and it was extremely helpful to talk
to people who were going through the same thing as I was.
Because MPs are rare, many doctors are not up-to-date on the
current research and often tell women to wait longer than is
necessary before trying to conceive again. I was told to wait
six months before trying again. According to the NETDC, because
my levels dropped to zero in less than 7 weeks, I could have
tried again after 12 weeks (I followed the NETDC guidelines but
didn't conceive again until my 7th cycle; I'm now 22 weeks
pregnant). Your doctor should be monitoring your hcg levels
until they reach zero because there is a danger of developing
cancer-like cells and needing chemotherapy. I think doctors
generally treat inconclusive pathology reports as MPs to be on
the safe side. The good thing is that repeat MPs are extremely
rare. I hope you have a successful pregnancy soon (if that's
what you want).
Hannah
My sister-in-law had a molar pregnancy. Although it was a sad,
scary experience, she went on to have 3 healthy children. For
whatever reason, sometimes things go wrong during fertilization
and the embryo just doesn't develop normally. (Sometimes there's
no fertilized egg at all!) The miscarriage is your body's way of
telling you something's not quite right. I don't think it
affects your chances for future pregnancies, but I believe
there's an increased risk for some types of cancer. The March of
Dimes Web site has some information that might be helpful to you:
http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1189.asp
best of luck,
jean
I had a partial molar pregnancy the first time I was pregnant
(and miscarried). I'm not sure why the results would be
inconclusive--either there are abnormal cells or not? Perhaps
yours is also partial molar. About one in 200 pregnancies are
molar. I know that a partial molar is generally caused when 2
sperm fertilize an egg by mistake or a double-headed sperm
fertilizes an egg. It's not something that tends to happen more
than once (I went on to have a healthy baby). I don't know if a
full molar has different causes. The complication with a molar
OR partial molar pregnancy is this: any time you're pregnant,
whether you miscarry, abort or give birth, cells are left behind
in the uterus. If the cells left behind after this miscarriage
include abnormal cells they can implant in the uterus and begin
to grow independently. The chances of this happening are LOW.
With a partial molar pregnancy it's not clear, but it's
estimated at about a 5% chance as I recall. Even with a full
molar pregnancy the chances are only 20%. However, if the cells
do implant and grow they form a non-metastasizing tumor. That
means that while the tumor grows, it doesn't spread to other
parts of your body (liver, brain etc.). Still, it must be dealt
with and it's treated with a low level of chemotherapy. Horrible
to contemplate when you're already in shock, yes, but probably
won't happen to you (didn't to me). The way that the doctors
tell that this has happened is that your HCG rises but you're
not pregnant. So the bummer is that you're not allowed to get
pregnant until your HCG has been at zero for a certain number of
months, which your doctor and you can negotiate. They check your
HCG by drawing your blood, first weekly, then every two weeks,
then less often. Usually in a molar pregnancy they do it for a
year. In a partial molar it's unclear how long you have
to/should wait. I waited about 9 months, I think, after my
miscarriage. It was a hard 9 months, especially since I was on
the old side and worried about my fertility.
Anyway, for me it all ended beautifully and I very much hope it
will for you, too. I'm sorry this happened. It really sucks.
Happily Ever After
Unfortunately, I can relate to your situation since I had a
molar pregnancy a few years ago. At about eight weeks into the
pregnancy I had an ultrasound in the doctor's office which
showed a 'mass'. They sent me to have a more thorough
ultrasound, which was inconclusive. I then had a D&C and the
lab report also came back as inconclusive. I thought I was
done with it. However, about a week later I started getting
sick - as if I was still pregnant. I had a blood test and
another ultrasound. It was apparent that there was still
tissue in my uterus. I had a second D&C and the lab report
then came back confirming that I had a molar pregnancy. The
reason why it hadn't immediately been apparent was because with
a 'partial' molar pregnancy there are both normal and abnormal
cells so 'molar' cells can be missed. Now, in most cases a
single D&C takes care of the problem, so keep in mind that what
happened in my situation is very rare (I think about 1%).
After the second D&C the mass continued to grow and I needed to
undergo a very mild form of chemotherapy (I did not lose my
hair). It didn't work the first time (started to grow again)
so I had a second treatment. Then I had to have to have blood
tests weekly for six months to make sure that it wasn't coming
back. I was pretty upset about it (my extreme fear of needles
didn't make it much fun) and sad about having to wait a full
year before getting pregnant again. At the end of the year I
did get pregnant but had another miscarriage (not another molar
pregnancy). Finally I had a normal pregnancy, and eventually a
healthy baby. It is highly unlikely that even if you did have
a molar pregnancy it would require the treatment that I had.
However, even in the worst case you will be fine and it won't
affect your future pregnancies. Try to stay calm and don't do
any internet searches!
this page was last updated: Nov 11, 2007
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network