Screening for pregnancy loss.
Over the last few weeks, I have been spending a lot of time on social media, joining the journey of many women who are documenting their pregnancy/infant loss journey and grief.
I have read many stories of women who completed IVF and received multiple blood tests and ultrasounds after their loss just like I did.
My question is, why weren’t we screened for any possible medical condition that can cause a miscarriage before actually having a miscarriage? Whether it be in the first, second, or third trimester.
Why are we waiting for a miscarriage for a Doctor to then say, “we should run some tests to rule out some conditions.”
It wasn’t until I decided to visit my IVF doctor again just for a random follow-up visit that I didn’t need that he recommended I obtain some bloodwork.
That was when I was diagnosed with the blood disorder Antiphoslipid Syndrome. Something I knew nothing about or even existed.
Although they do not complete this blood work panel until the 3rd miscarriage. Why are we waiting for that many miscarriages to happen? Why aren’t we completing screenings to prevent this from happening in the future?
I took time out of my life to visit an IVF doctor, paid $15,000 (not including medicine), received multiple injections of all types of hormones, missed time from work for ultrasounds and blood work appointments to then be told at 19 weeks 5 days that my daughter no longer had a heartbeat.
I could care less about the money at this point but in all reality what makes me angry is that I had to go through a traumatic event when it could have been prevented with proper medication.
What if there are more tests out there that can be done to help prevent this? How is that something I’m supposed to know about to ask for?
Before I complete my next round of IVF the first question I’m going to ask is, are there any more blood panels I can complete before moving forward? I want to be able to not regret that I advocated for myself and my future child.
This healthcare system is unbelievable. Doctors need to be screening for pregnancy loss.
