A friend of mine, quite a few years back, talked about doctors removing a clump of tissue from her uterus. She said that it wasn’t a baby, but it did have hair and teeth. Okay, my thought was, it might not have ended up a living baby, but it sure sounded like it was one in the beginning. I have always wondered about that.
After becoming a writer, you learn many things because of the sheer amount of research you have to do. In this article, I ran up on the condition my friend probably had. It’s called a molar pregnancy or hydatidiform mole. The Mayo Clinic defines it as a noncancerous tumor that develops in the uterus. Further, a molar pregnancy can be complete – where there’s no embryo or normal placental tissue in the mass – or it can be incomplete – containing an abnormal embryo and even some placental tissue. In the case of the incomplete molar pregnancy, the embryo is so malformed that it can’t survive.
How would you know?
First of all, every pregnant woman should get prenatal care to monitor any changes that may happen. Additionally, if you are experiencing any of the following, the Mayo Clinic suggests seeking medical help:
• Dark brown to bright red vaginal bleeding during the first trimester
• Severe nausea and vomiting
• Vaginal passage of grape-like cysts
• Rarely, pelvic pressure or pain
Once seen by your physician, the doctors will look for signs similar to the ones listed below:
• Rapid uterine growth — the uterus is too large for the stage of pregnancy
• High blood pressure
• Preeclampsia — a condition that causes high blood pressure and protein in the urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy
• Ovarian cysts
• Anemia
• Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
Who’s at risk and what causes it anyway?
A molar pregnancy happens once in every hundred pregnancies. Those who are very young (under 20) and older (over 35) are at risk. If you’ve had a previous molar pregnancy, then unfortunately, your chances increase on having another one. And lastly, research has indicated that this type of pregnancy seems to occur most in Southeast Asian women.
The cause stems from an abnormal fertilized egg. In cases such as these, the only chromosomes used are the 23 from the father, not 23 each from both parent as in healthy fertilizations. This is especially true of the complete molar pregnancy. In an incomplete molar pregnancy, one set of chromosomes is from the mother and two sets from the father, resulting in 69 instead of the 46 needed. This causes an abnormality.
When a molar pregnancy is diagnosed, doctors will suggest a D&C to remove the tissue. Depending on how invasive the tissue has become and whether or not the female desires more children, the other option is a hysterectomy. Nevertheless, after each procedure, your doctor will monitor your HCG levels. Doctors want to make sure all of the mole is removed to prevent cancer from developing (chriocarcinoma).
How to cope with loss
At this time, the emotional pain may be deeply felt. First and foremost, have a good cry. Next, please do what you need to do – talk to a friend, spouse, family or a therapist – to successfully cope. Everybody’s emotional requirement will be different at this point so take time to examine what’s really important in order to ask and receive the right kind of help when you are ready for it.
Resource: Mayo Clinic
Dita Faulkner is a freelance writer who loves to write poetry. Please feel free to read her poem entitled, Fat Lady on Top:
FAT LADY ON TOP
not only does the fat lady sing
she stands on top with her hands on her hips
she throws her head back and bellows out a laugh
a laugh so insatiable, even the stingiest of hearts crease
she stands on top with a gapped-legged stance
wearing cute pink pumps and a pink gingham dress
there’s a string of pearls around her neck
her hair is pulled back into a bun
she’s got a gleam in her eye
her chubby cheeks are slightly rouged with a hint of red
they accent her berry black skin
her mouth spreads wide and full – how else?
you know when she’s sung her song
she’ll let you know
a voice sings softly in your ear
- Baby, it’s over. You tried hard and that’s all you could do.