More than 60% of habitual abortions are related to immune factors. With various immunotherapy treatments, more than 90% of habitual miscarriages caused by immune-related factors, patients are eventually able to have a successful pregnancy.
Part 1: 60% of habitual abortions are related to immune factors
Pregnancy is a joyful event in life, but for women who have had spontaneous miscarriages one after another, it is very complicated when they see the “Lieutenant” (two bars) on the pregnancy test, half of them are joyful and half are anxious.
The reason for the uneasiness is, of course, the fear that this pregnancy will be like the previous one, that it will suddenly miscarry on its own in the middle of the pregnancy, and that it will be impossible to keep it.
Such a worry is obviously not superfluous. In fact, habitual miscarriage is very common in clinical practice.
Having 3 or more spontaneous miscarriages before 28 weeks is called habitual miscarriage.
When it comes to the cause of the occurrence of habitual abortion, Professor Jianping Zhang believes that “more than 60% of habitual abortions are related to immune factors.”
Compared to those diseases whose causes have not even been found yet, apparently, the treatment of habitual abortion, a disease whose main cause has been found, is not as difficult as the general public thinks.
“With various immunotherapy treatments, more than 90% of patients with immune-related causes of habitual abortion are eventually able to have a successful pregnancy.” A quote from Prof. Zhang Jianping brought great hope.
Under normal circumstances, after a foreign body invades the body, the body will undergo a certain immune response to attack and remove the foreign body.
However, the normal pregnancy process generally involves the wife developing immune tolerance to the genetic antigen from her husband, telling her immune cells not to reject it as a foreign body attack.
This process, of course, is not just a matter of the wife talking with her mouth; it relies on the immune response in her body.
Faced with her husband’s genetic antigen, the wife’s body then produces a protective factor (i.e., a confinement factor or confining antibody) that modifies and camouflages her husband’s antigen. This is equivalent to a stamp that tells the wife’s immune system: this is her own family. In this way, the immune system in the wife’s body does not fight against the genes from the husband. This prevents immune-related miscarriages from occurring.
Pregnant women who have immune-related miscarriages often do so because the pregnant woman is unable to produce a blocking factor against her own husband’s genetic antigens. Therefore, even though she is pregnant, her own immune system keeps attacking the “foreign substance” that contains her husband’s genes, resulting in a miscarriage. This is the most common form of alloimmune miscarriage.
Part 2: The husband’s blood is the medicine
At first glance, it sounds as if this is an immutable phenomenon – the wife’s immune system cannot accept the genetic antigens in the husband’s semen.
Even some experts abroad believe that homozygous immune miscarriage can be called the wrong union of the couple. This is because, if both spouses change other partners, the genetic antigen of the male partner, in the other woman’s body, is likely to be accepted and not attacked by her immune system; or in the case of another male, the genetic antigen of his semen, when it enters the woman’s body, is also accepted and not attacked by the immune system. In this way, the problem of miscarriage does not exist.
Fortunately, we don’t need a cold “divorce” to correct this “wrong union”.
This immunotherapy for habitual abortion is not difficult to perform and does not cause much pain to both spouses.
The rationale is actually quite simple. The wife’s immune system always thinks that the husband’s sperm is a foreign substance, then stimulate a few more times, “mix a face”. Professor Zhang Jianping describes it this way
Operationally, the husband’s venous blood is taken, then the lymphocytes are isolated and subsequently injected into the wife’s skin.
“It is injected about once every 2 to 4 weeks, and usually after 3 to 4 injections, blood can be drawn to check whether there are closed antibodies in the wife’s body.” Professor Zhang Jianping explained to. When the wife’s body is positive for closed antibodies, the couple can safely “make a baby”.
The whole process, from the time the husband’s blood is drawn to the time the wife develops the closed antibody, usually takes just over two months if it goes well.
As you can see, it is not difficult to treat this kind of immune-related habitual abortion.
Prof. Zhang Jianping urged those who suffer from habitual abortion: “Don’t be overly stressed because the current treatment for the disease is very effective. The cure rate can reach more than 90 percent or even 99 percent, which is a very good sign.”
However, for immune testing “it is generally not recommended for women who have no history of miscarriage, or who have had one miscarriage, to come in for immune testing,” Zhang said. The need for immunization testing is generally currently advocated for those who have had two or more spontaneous miscarriages.
Most importantly, more than 90 percent of patients with habitual miscarriages are now able to find out the cause of their disease. “So that targeted treatment can be carried out, the effect will be better.” Professor Zhang Jianping said.
Part 3: To settle the fetus, but do not completely bedridden
Once a patient with habitual miscarriage is pregnant, for insurance purposes, it is usually necessary to restrain the fetus.
The fact is that the fetus does not mean that you need to be on “full alert”, nor does it mean that you need to be completely bedridden.
“The actual fact is that it is the same as planting vegetables and trees, we want the child to develop healthily in the womb, but not overly cared for. Just like a tree planted in a greenhouse, it will not grow as strong as a tree that has experienced the storms.” Professor Zhang Jianping metaphorically said.
Patients who have undergone immunotherapy for habitual abortion and become pregnant again are not recommended to be bedridden for a long time, and it is okay to perform some daily activities under the guidance of a doctor. Being bedridden can make the mother’s resistance decrease and her appetite deteriorate, both of which are detrimental to the development of the embryo.
However, one situation that requires relative bed rest is when the patient experiences active bleeding during the process of settling the fetus. In this case, bed rest is required during the bleeding. When the bleeding stops, you can slowly start your daily activities and watch for any recurrence of bleeding and abdominal pain.
It is recommended to monitor the indicators closely related to the development of the embryo, such as the blood test for HCG (chorionic gonadotropin) and progesterone, to see how much the two indicators increase, which can reflect how well the embryo is developing in the mother’s womb.
In addition, regular ultrasound is also necessary to monitor the size of the embryo and to see if the embryo is differentiating and developing normally.
There are many patients with habitual miscarriage who, after immunotherapy, simply quit their jobs and stay home for delivery once they get pregnant for fear of something going wrong. For this kind of behavior, Prof. Zhang Jianping thinks it is not necessary.
If it is a very stressful job, such as the stock exchange, every second of the operation determines the direction of hundreds of millions of dollars, then even if you do not resign, it is necessary to change the position of leisure and no pressure. But if the usual work is just a regular card, the nature of the work is not strenuous, mostly repetitive labor, it is still good to go to work on time.
Professor Zhang Jianping believes that “a regular life is also good for the normal development of the embryo”.
Part 4: Keep “two hearts”, 90% can be cured
In order to cure habitual miscarriage, one must keep two hearts: one must have confidence and the other must have patience, said Zhang Jianping.
Many pregnant women, even if they have spontaneous miscarriages one after another, do not promptly seek medical examination to see what causes them. There are also some patients who have been seen by one or two doctors, but have not had a thorough examination related to miscarriage and have given up before finding the cause. Such people are often in the mindset of taking a gamble and hoping that the next pregnancy will be normal until delivery.
Both of these behaviors are undesirable. If the spontaneous miscarriage has occurred more than 2 times in a row, it is likely that it is not a coincidental event, and this is a situation that needs to be properly checked.
It is important to know that the cure rate of comprehensive treatment for habitual miscarriage can now reach 90-95%. An early and thorough examination may save your baby’s life and welcome him joyfully.
Throughout the treatment process, one must have confidence in the doctor, fully trust him or her, and have confidence in oneself, so that one can actively cooperate with him or her.
It is also important to be patient with the treatment and it is best not to change doctors too often, as each doctor has different experience and frequent changes may disrupt the original treatment plan.
To cure miscarriage and give birth to a baby successfully, another important point is to keep a peaceful state of mind. Patients who have miscarriages tend to have some bad psychology or bad emotions, such as being easily sentimental, low self-esteem, depression or anxiety, and this bad psychological condition can affect the embryo development.
Professor Zhang Jianping concluded, “The treatment is not immediate and requires a process. Maintaining confidence and patience will make the process easier and will allow patients with habitual miscarriage to live their dream of becoming a mother as soon as possible.”