Chemical Pregnancy After IUI: Understanding Chances of Natural Conception

Question
hello doctor.i am 26 years old.my husband and i have been trying to concieve since the last 1 and a half years.i have endometriosis grade-1.we have done 3 cycles of IUI and the last one resulted in a pregnancy but i miscarried at 6 weeks and my doc said that it was a chemical pregnancy.it was really hard dealing with the loss.now we have decided not to take any artificial treatments and want to try naturally.in ur opinion how hard would it for me to concieve naturally?and do i need to take any vitamins or any related non hormone medications to keep my body healthy to be able to sustain a pregnancy?and lastly after miscarriage last month doc got my bloodwork done and only two infections came back positive,rubella(igG) is positive and value is 3.52 AI,and lupus anti coagulant is positive and value is 34.7 sec(control value 33.2sec).do i need to take any medications for these infections?

Answer
Hello Natasha,

I am sorry to hear about your loss, but keep in mind that the miscarriage rate among all pregnancies is 40%.  That is 4 out of every 10 pregnancies end in miscarriage.  The miscarriage was probably caused by an abnormal embryo (the most common reason) and it is your body's and nature's way of insuring that an abnormal baby does not get born.  So rather than be sad over the loss, think more of it as a good thing because you would not want to have an abnormal child, would you?

Because you did not get pregnant on your own for 1.5 years, I would not recommend going backwards and trying on your own again.  There is the possibility of becoming pregnant, but there is the equal possibility of being in the same boat as before and not getting pregnant.  When dealing with infertility, you always have to keep moving forward.  Look ahead to your goal.

The only concern I have regarding your tests is the lupus anticoagulant.  This can be a cause of repeated miscarriages.  I would recommend that you go on low-dose aspirin (81 mg) each day, and even low-dose heparin (2000 U twice per day injections) or Lovenox.  You'll have to discuss these with your doctor.

The positive rubella just means that you were immunized to rubella in the past.  You are not infected with it.

Good Luck,

Edward J. Ramirez, M.D., FACOG
Executive Medical Director
The Fertility and Gynecology Center
Monterey Bay IVF Program
www.montereybayivf.com

Monterey, California, U.S.A.