April’s Story: Repeated Pregnancy Loss
April, 40 years old white female, had been pregnant 6 times in the past 4 years but
miscarried every time. After she miscarried for the fourth time, she was referred to me
by her friend who had successfully, naturally conceived in our clinic.
But April didn’t come then. She believed that she had the ability to have a baby. She
thought her pregnancies were unsuccessful because she was just unlucky but that she
would have a baby eventually if she just continued to try. But then she had two more
miscarriages. By the time she visited us, she had not been pregnant since her last
miscarriage ten months ago, even though she had continued to try and take different
kinds of medicine. She felt that conceiving was much harder than it had been a year
ago. That was the reason why she came to see me.
April and her husband had done a genetic test, which was normal. The pathology test of
the fetus was normal too. She only had a slight problem with blood clotting. In the past 4
years, she had seen a specialist. She did more than 6 IUIs with Clomid and/ or follistim
from 2009 until she came to see me. But none of the cycles brought back positive news.
She did two IVF cycles in 2010: in one of the cycle she got pregnant and took heparin to
prevent blood clotting but still miscarried. Her ovarian reserve was getting progressively
lower as she aged. Because of all these issues, her doctor would not do any IVF for her
anymore and suggested that she use donor eggs. But she was not ready to give up
yet—she began to understand that western medicine couldn’t help her condition. She
instead began to look for alternative methods.
(Note 1: A miscarriage, or a spontaneous abortion, is defined as the sudden end of a
pregnancy before the embryo or fetus has finished growing. Miscarriages are often
caused by chromosomal abnormalities, blood clots, autoimmune disorders, low
progesterone, infections, and diseases such as thyroid disease, uterus structure
abnormalities and low endometrium receptivity, etc. If this has occurred more than three
times, it is known as recurrent miscarriages.)
April is a happy and positive women—she had never cried over any of her miscarriages
in the past. She asked me, “why have I had recurrent miscarriages even after all that
I’ve tried?” The answer was that she didn’t need to change her medication or
treatment—she needed to change herself. Her uterus was not suitable for the baby to
grow. Nancy’s diet was terrible. Cold drinks, large servings of red meat, and oily, deep
fried fast food made up her everyday meals. As someone who exercised minimally, she
was also overweight. In addition, she also experienced hot flashes, constipation, and
was very thirsty at night—all symptoms that Chinese medicine describes as “yin
deficiency.” Yin is opposite of yang. Blood, liquid, saliva, lubrication and cervical mucous
are all categorized under “yin.” Blood thickens if there is not enough yin. Her dark red
tongue and the purple color on the side were the signs of her “blood stasis” condition
according to Chinese medicine, which can easily result in blood clots. Chinese medicine
solves this condition differently in order to create a healthy environment for the baby to
grow.
I told her that I could help her with Chinese medicine —under the condition that she first
change her lifestyle. First, I explained to her that drinking cold water all day long would
cool her blood and stimulate arterial contractions, which would narrow blood vessels,
slowing circulation. Slowing circulation would then affect material exchange between the
organ and tissues. Because of this, the organs (including the ovaries) would lack
nutrients and oxygen. Not only would nutrients have trouble moving in, metabolites and
other wastes also would not move out as quickly, which could result in a dysfunctional
reproduction system and poor egg quality in the ovaries. According to Chinese
medicine, a “cold uterus” can’t conceive.
In order to solve the problem, April decided to follow my recommendation and eat a
lighter and more balanced diet. I also prescribe herbal supplements to help with her yin
deficiency and blood stasis.
By the second month of treatment, her hot flashes and other symptoms were
disappearing and she had lost ten pounds. Her tongue was turning from dark red into
light red which indicated that her circulation was improving. On the twelfth day after
ovulating on her third cycle, Nancy found out she had conceived with a high HCG that
she had never had before. She continued both herbal and acupuncture treatment until
her twelfth week of pregnancy and carried a healthy baby boy to full term. “Chinese
medicine was amazing!” Nancy said, “I not only have a baby now, but I also feel much
healthier!”