When a pregnancy is terminated unintentionally before 20 weeks, it is considered a miscarriage.
This is relatively common during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Fortunately, thanks to research there are diagnostic tests, for example to select those embryos free of genetic abnormalities, or tests that allow analysis of the embryo’s genetic abnormalities.
Unfortunately, this is quite common.
However, there are diagnostic tests and treatment options that can help the pregnancy to develop normally thanks to chromosomal analysis.
PGT-A: Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidies
If you are undergoing IVF treatment, you can perform a preimplantation genetic diagnosis, known as PGT-A.
Each person has two pairs of 23 chromosomes or 46 total chromosomes. When a chromosome is missing or there is an extra one, health and development problems can appear. Thanks to the PGT-A it is possible to identify numerical chromosome aneuploidies (imbalances), that will lead to health and development problems.
The PGT-A is performed on the embryo before it is transferred and significantly increases pregnancy rates per transfer.
POC: Products of Conception test
The POC test studies the fetal tissue of a spontaneous abortion in order to check if it has been caused by a chromosomal abnormality. Approximately 50% of spontaneous abortions are due to a chromosome anomaly.
The results by this test are obtained in 99% of the cases, and the results arrive in 7 business days versus 58% with conventional testing which can take up to 1 month for results. It is also very reliable because it rules out maternal cell contamination by also testing a blood sample from the mother that verifies that the analyzed material is from a fetal origin.
Thanks to the POC tes,t the parents will receive the genetic information that enables appropriate reproductive counseling to help them plan for any future pregnancies.
