Information on Abortions & Miscarriagess

Miscarriage and abortion are the causes of a baby’s death before delivery. The difference between them is that while abortion is a wilful procedure, miscarriage is accidental or due to some abnormalities. The procedure involved in abortion may be:-

* Medical abortion – It is the most preferred form of getting an abortion and usually women in their first or second trimester opt for it. The medicines used in this type of abortion include misoprostol, a mix of methotrexate and misoprostol (to be taken till seven weeks after start of pregnancy), or mifeprex RU-486 (to be taken up to 9 weeks of pregnancy).

* Abortion is also caused by saline solution. This method is preferred when the pregnancy enters its second stage. This method does not find as much favour these days as it used to, but it is still very safe.

* Another procedure of having abortion is one which involves abortion inducement through prostaglandin. This is the method in which the medicine which aborts the baby is injected into the foetus directly, via vagina or even as a form of oral medication.

As you proceed into your pregnancy, the difficulty and complications in having an abortion increase. Consult with your doctor about the physical and also psychological problems that you may have to face during and after an abortion.
As far as miscarriages are concerned, in 70 percent of cases they are due to some chromosomal abnormalities. It could be parental chromosomal abnormalities and embryo chromosomal abnormalities.

The types of chromosomal abnormalities leading to miscarriages are:-

* Nullisomy – In this the embryo is missing a pair of chromosome. These embryos do not survive even after therapy and end up causing a miscarriage.

* Monosomy – This is a situation in which the chromosome of the foetus does not have its homolog. There are a lot of complications in the baby even if such a embryo survives. A no. of birth defects such as Down’s syndrome can occur. Moreover, many of such babies do not live longer than a few weeks.

* Trisomy - It is a case in which an extra copy of the chromosome if found in the embryo. There is very little chance of such an embryo to survive. Most of these are born with Down’s syndrome. The facial features of such babies are distinct with changed body shape and lesser height.

* Tetrasomy – It is a rare condition in which only four chromosome pairs are present leading to miscarriage.