Understanding Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

MH speaks to the experts on why it happens and what can be done to reduce its risk.

- Nurulhuda Suhaimi

Miscarriage. It is the one thing that every pregnant mother out there definitely doesn’t want to go through at any time during her pregnancy. It is extremely heartbreaking when a mother finds out that she has lost her baby; it is even more heartwrenching when it happens more than once – an occurrence known as recurrent pregnancy loss. More specifically, recurrent pregnancy loss refers to “two or more consecutive pregnancy losses/ miscarriages”, according to Associate Professor Tan Thiam Chye, head and senior consultant of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Causes Unfortunately, in up to 50 per cent of recurrent pregnancy loss cases, there is no explainable cause for the loss, says Dr Chua Yang, obstetrician and gynaecologist at A Clinic For Women, Mount Alvernia Medical Centre. In other cases of recurrent pregnancy loss, Dr Chua Yang says that there are a few possible causes including:

Autoimmune causes – which make up 20 per cent of recurrent pregnancy loss cases – such as antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS). APS is an autoimmune disorder whereby the immune system produces antibodies that mistakenly attack healthy tissues, resulting in blood clots. The blood clots then cause the foetus to receive insufficient nutrients for its development, hence resulting in a miscarriage.