If you have had a #miscarriage and you have a working internet connection, you have probably heard of #MTHFR testing. Do you need to worry? Today, I hope to put your mind at ease about this common genetic variation.
What is MTHFR? MTHFR is one of the thousands of genes in our bodies. This particular gene makes an enzyme that converts one type of folic acid to another type. Some people have variations in the MTHFR gene which effects how efficiently it works. However, having a variation, even an uncommon variation, is not necessarily a bad thing. For example, being left handed is an uncommon variation. Only 10% of the population is left handed. But 9 out the best 11 baseball pitchers of all time were left handed.
MTHFR variations are a lot more common than being left handed. There are two main variation in the MTHFR gene. You can find one or both of these variations if more than half of the population. Think about that! Having MTHFR variations is actually more common than not having a variation.
Now, how common is the problem of recurrent miscarriage? About 1% of women will have three or more miscarriages during their lives. So more than half of all women have MTHFR variations but only 1% have recurrent miscarriages. This means that the vast majority of women with MTHFR variations do not have recurrent miscarriages.
Some doctors have recommended using special forms of folic acid in women who have both recurrent miscarriages and MTHFR variations. Heck, I used to recommend this to my patients also.
Why did I stop? Here’s why. Scientific research. In 2015, a study was published involving hundreds of women with unexplained recurrent miscarriages. They randomly assigned half the women to a regular prenatal vitamin containing folic acid and the other half took the special, extra expensive kind that is supposed to help women with MTHFR variations.
What they found was very interesting. There was no difference in the chance for miscarriage whether they took the fancy folic acid or not. It also didn’t matter whether they had an MTHFR variation or not. Women with MTHFR variations had the same number of miscarriages whether they took the fancy folic acid or not.
So if you are woman with recurrent miscarriage, don’t waste your money testing for MTHFR variations - chances are you have one.
If you are any woman looking to get pregnant, recurrent miscarriages or not, start taking a prenatal vitamin with 1 mg of folic acid in it before you get pregnant and continue once you are pregnant. All women should do this because it reduces the risk of birth defects and helps with fetal brain, eye and heart development
Then sit back and watch Sandy Koufax, the greatest left handed pitcher of all time, win Game 7 of the 1965 World Series on only two days rest.
Infertility TV is your weekly source for the best medical information if you have infertility, recurrent miscarriage or are just trying to conceive. (TTC). InfertilityTV covers infertility testing, fertility treatments such as Clomid, Follistim and Crinone and fertility treatments like IUI and IVF (in vitro fertilization)
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Dr Morris is a practicing IVF and infertility expert who sees patients at IVF! located in the Naperville Fertility Center.
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6 сен 2024
