Getting Answers After Pregnancy Loss: Lucy’s Story
When Lucy and her husband decided to grow their family, she worked to do everything right – exercising, eating healthy, taking prenatal vitamins, and going to regular checkups with her OBGYN. She was excited when she learned that she was pregnant with a girl, exactly what she and her husband had been hoping for.
At 22 weeks, shortly after her gender reveal party, Lucy visited her OB for a checkup. Lucy’s mom was with her, excited to see her first grandchild on the ultrasound. Unlike previous checkups, the sonographer asked her to wait in another room afterward. Lucy began to expect something was wrong when she was told they needed to “take a second look.”
After a long wait, Lucy was told that something was wrong with the baby’s brain and that she’d need to see a high-risk OB, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, to determine next steps.
A few days later, Lucy and her husband waited anxiously as a high-risk specialist performed a 90-minute ultrasound. They were trying to stay optimistic, hoping the sonographer was just being overly cautious and nothing serious was wrong. Their hopes were crushed when the doctor broke the news—their baby had many problems; her brain was underdeveloped and some parts were not forming normally, her hands and feet were clubbed, and her heart wasn’t developing properly. It was unlikely she would survive until birth. Lucy and her husband were devastated.
The Devastation of Losing a Pregnancy
Beyond overwhelming sadness and grief, many individuals who have experienced a pregnancy loss describe guilt, loneliness, and the feeling they’d done something wrong to cause it.1 Lucy was no exception.
“In just a few days we went from excited for our little girl, to there might be something wrong, to there is something wrong, to no more baby. I started to blame myself. Was I eating too much of this? Was I working out too much? I went into this dark place.” - Lucy
Lucy’s pregnancy ended before additional diagnostic testing that might have clarified the cause of her baby’s conditions could be performed, leaving her in the dark. Lucy’s high-risk specialist recommended Anora™, a comprehensive test that helps to determine why a pregnancy loss occurred. Anora tests for the most common cause
of miscarriage, chromosomal abnormalities.2
Chromosomal Abnormalities: Common Causes of Miscarriage
The results from Lucy’s Anora test showed that her baby had triploidy, a chromosomal abnormality that occurs due to a random mistake during fertilization. Usually, humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from each parent. In triploidy, an extra set of chromosomes is present, for 69 total chromosomes. Pregnancies with triploidy almost always result in miscarriage or stillbirth.
“I cried when I found out it was triploidy because I needed that answer. The genetic counselor said it’s not something that’s likely to happen again and it wasn’t because of something I was doing. Testing provided closure and we felt that we could be at peace and start healing.” - Lucy
Lucy and her husband learned that the triploidy was of maternal origin—paternal origin triploidy increases the risk of developing gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) due to partial molar pregnancy. These results helped her OB assess her risk for future pregnancies and determine the next steps before the couple could try again. Anora is the only test that can determine the parental origin of triploidy.
More than half of miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities.2 Most chromosomal abnormalities happen by chance and have a low risk of happening again. When parental testing is indicated, knowing the parental origin of the chromosomal error can help direct appropriate follow-up testing.
Finding Answers Through Miscarriage Testing
People who have been through a pregnancy loss may find testing with Anora helps them to better understand the reasons for a loss and the risk of recurrence. Many report that the results of testing help reduce feelings of guilt and shame.1
Trusted by physicians for more than a decade, Anora is the most comprehensive chromosome test for miscarriage.3 Anora analyzes the tissue from the miscarriage to identify if a chromosomal abnormality was the cause.
Anora results are generally returned within a week. Tissue can be collected at home during a miscarriage, by a doctor during a D&C, or on preserved tissue from a pregnancy loss that occurred several years ago if the tissue has been saved in paraffin.
More Than a Miscarriage Test
People who are interested in learning more about Anora or their results can schedule a complimentary 15-minute
phone call with a board-certified genetic counselor, before or after their test. Lucy found speaking with a board-certified genetic counselor was an important part of her healing process.
“Talking to my genetic counselor was awesome. I felt like I was being seen as a person and not just a number.”
Anora can help ease the emotional burden associated with pregnancy loss. For Lucy, Anora helped to provide answers and create a roadmap for future pregnancies.
“No one goes into a pregnancy thinking that something will go wrong. You plan for the best but sometimes it can be taken away from you. You might not think that you need testing, but it is important. You’ll want as many answers as you can get for your future.”
Lucy and her husband are planning to try again and plan to work with a high-risk specialist from the start during their next pregnancy.
Find Answers with Genetic Testing After Miscarriage
A pregnancy loss can be devastating. Anora helps provide relief through understanding why it happened, so that you can move forward. To learn more, read our FAQs, watch our video, download our brochure.
If you have questions about Natera billing, please call the Natera billing phone number at 1-844-384-2996 ( (8 am-7 pm CT M-F).
References
- Bardos et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2015; 125(6): 1313-20.
- Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Fertil Steril. 2012;98(5):1103-11.
- Levy et al., Obstet Gynecol. 2014;123 (2 pt1): 202-9.
Anora has been developed and its performance characteristics determined by the CLIA-certified laboratory performing the test. The test has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). CAP accredited, ISO 13485 certified, and CLIA certified. © 2022 Natera, Inc. All Rights Reserved.