Nairobi — In many African societies, pregnancy loss and miscarriages are often not discussed. Many times couples usually keep quiet and endure their grief in silence after losing their unborn child.
Yvonne and Michael's journey to get their first baby was marked with 3 rounds of heartbreak after lost pregnancies.
The couple's first pregnancy loss came as a shock. A day after they realized they were expecting a baby, they lost it, a scenario so uncanny that even doctors could not give answers as to why it happened.
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"We didn't know what was happening because in our first pregnancy, we didn't know that we were pregnant. We realized a day like today, and then the following day, we lost it. And when we went to the doctor to get checked, she couldn't explain why, and she chalked it up to blighted hover. And that was it. There was no follow-up. We just went on," they said.
Determined to try again, the second pregnancy did not catch them off guard; after conceiving, the couple began their antenatal care, which they attended for 8 weeks. However, cautious for a second round of heartbreak, the two were hesitant to go for an ultrasound.
"And then for our second miscarriage, at least for this one, we knew beforehand, and we went back to our doctor then, and then she followed through with the normal ANC. And some few weeks in, like eight or nine weeks, she had called us for an ultrasound, but we didn't want to jinx it, so we didn't do the ultrasound," they stated.
Before reaching their 12-week mark, the two lost the pregnancy once again, and even after seeking medical attention, the doctors were also uncertain when they lost the baby because the fetus still measured five weeks instead of the expected 9 weeks.
The third pregnancy, however, came with renewed hope since it lasted longer than the previous two.
During this time Yvonne experienced all the pregnancy signs, factors that reinforced the couple's ambitions to conceive a baby.
However, one morning, their fears of losing a baby were realized. Yvonne experienced the contractions, and after seeking medical help, doctors were forced to perform a manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) procedure.
"After the third loss, we just stayed. I think we didn't do anything. We just thought, Okay, we'll take a break. Even mentally, it was taking a toll on us," they said.
Mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, the couple decided to take a break before trying their luck again; however, in the process, they decided to seek consultation from a gynecologist at the Nairobi West Hospital, a hospital where they had taken a loved one for treatment once.
Unlike their previous experiences where medics were unable to explain the exact cause of their recurrent pregnancy loss, experts at the hospital paid attention to every detail of their ordeal, which marked the beginning of their successful journey. During their visits, doctors conducted procedures that enabled them to conceive their first child.
According to Dr. Ayman Mostafa, a fertility expert at the Nairobi West Hospital, in the case of recurrent miscarriage, the hospital recommends a laparoscopic procedure, which is a good alternative before considering in vitro fertilization (IVF).
IVF is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) that helps individuals with fertility problems conceive by fertilizing an egg with sperm in a laboratory and then transferring the resulting embryo(s) into the uterus.
Laparoscopy procedure is a minimally invasive surgery that helps solve infertility by allowing doctors to visualize and treat conditions like endometriosis, scar tissue, or blocked fallopian tubes that can hinder conception.
"When you find a couple facing problems in pregnancies or being pregnant, we first get their history, and after this, we make a lot of blood tests. Sometimes you find that they have a problem of endometriosis or recurrent miscarriage, and the solutions to these problems are not IVF; the solution is laparoscopy, and this will facilitate this couple to get a baby normally," he said.
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Mostafa further recommended hysteroscopy to solve infertility problems and enable a couple to conceive and deliver a baby normally.
Hysteroscopy procedures can solve infertility by allowing doctors to diagnose and treat uterine issues like polyps, fibroids, and scarring that can prevent successful implantation or pregnancy.
Both laparoscopy and hysteroscopy address infertility issues, particularly in cases where other treatments like IVF are not effective.
"Laparoscopy and hysteroscopy is a very important step in the infertility journey," he asserted.
Michael and Yvonne are among the few lucky couples who have decided to seek medical help for pregnancy loss and infertility. The couple has urged other couples who have experienced pregnancy loss to also step up and seek a second opinion on how to solve the problem.
