Comparison of reproductive outcome, including the pattern of loss, between couples with chromosomal abnormalities and those with unexplained repeated miscarriages

Abstract

Aim: Chromosomal abnormalities are an important cause of repeated miscarriage. Several studies have discussed the association between chromosomal abnormalities and repeated miscarriage. This study attempts to describe the pattern of miscarriage in this group of women and the eventual pregnancy outcome of couples with chromosomal abnormalities compared with couples with unexplained repeated pregnancy loss.

Material and methods: This was a retrospective study involving 795 couples with repeated miscarriages.

Results: Out of 795 couples, 28 (3.52%) were found to have a chromosomal abnormality (carrier group). Over half (65.5%) of the chromosomal abnormalities were balanced reciprocal translocations. After referral, this carrier group had a total of 159 pregnancies, leading to 36 live births (22.6%) among 18 couples. The after referral miscarriage rate in the chromosomal anomaly group (55.6%) was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that in the unexplained recurrent miscarriage group (28.1%). In couples with chromosomal anomaly, the miscarriages were more likely to occur between 6 and 12 weeks' gestation.

Conclusions: The encouraging cumulative live birth rate of 64.3% for couples with chromosomal anomaly and repeated miscarriage suggests that further attempts at natural conception are a viable option.

Keywords: chromosomal abnormality; live birth; repeated miscarriage.