Molar Pregnancy

A molar pregnancy is a rare condition, which happens when there is a problem with fertilisation. Usually, an embryo gets half its genetic material (chromosomes) from the mother’s egg and half from the father’s sperm. In a molar pregnancy, the wrong combination of chromosomes comes together. Sadly, this means the pregnancy can’t continue and a baby can’t develop.

Rarely, a molar pregnancy can also cause health problems for you. That’s because cells from a molar pregnancy can turn cancerous. It sounds scary, but this doesn’t usually happen. And when it does, medical treatment is nearly always successful.

It’s also reassuring to know that after a molar pregnancy, it’s very likely you can have a healthy pregnancy in the future.

In a complete molar pregnancy, the father’s sperm fertilises an “empty” egg that contains no genetic material from the mother. Sometimes two sperm fertilise the egg . It is not possible for an embryo to grow. Instead, there is a mass of abnormal tissue, which may be seen on an ultrasound scan.

In a partial molar pregnancy, two sperm fertilise a normal egg, giving the embryo too many chromosomes. In this case, a fetus does begin to develop and may show on a scan. But unfortunately, the fetus can’t survive and develop into a baby.

Most women recover fully after surgery(D & C- Dilation and Curettage) to remove the molar pregnancy, and the follow-up tests that are needed to make sure the surgery worked. Sometimes, a bit of the abnormal tissue remains or comes back, but this can be treated with a very high success rate.

Source: www.babycentre.co.uk