In many cases sterility, embryo implantation failure in in vitro fertilization treatments and miscarriage are due to the same problem. They must, therefore, be studied and treated in a similar way.
Dr. Marisa López-Teijón, Director of Institut Marquès, expresses her concern about the management of repeated miscarriages and embryo implantation failures in IVF cycles, blaming the main cause on the lack of knowledge on these matters. “It has become fashionable to perform all kinds of diagnostic tests without scientific basis and empirical treatments”, concludes the director.
What we know
By now we know that progress has been made in the knowledge of implantation failures and causes of miscarriage, and when a patient has had two or more miscarriages, the probabilities of a repeat miscarriage are high if the problem has not been diagnosed and treated.
The most frequent cause of repeat miscarriage is chromosomal abnormalities of the embryo, in approximately 50% of cases. Other causes are acquired thrombophilias (antiphospholipid syndrome) and hereditary thrombophilias, approximately 20%.
What we do not know
Dr. Marisa López-Teijón, National Prize for Medicine and Physician of the Year in Assisted Reproduction, points out that in 30% of the cases of miscarriage or implantation failure a clear diagnosis is not achieved and recognizes that efforts should be focused on research and study, since “sterility is a new science, but it is science”.
Finally, he reminds us that sterility is a disease that requires a diagnosis, prognosis and adequate treatment “given that, without doing anything there is a chance that the next pregnancy will go well” and concludes by adding that in addition “we all suffer pressure from the pharmaceutical industry and from patients who have read everything on the Internet”.