Molar Pregnancy

A molar pregnancy is an abnormal form of pregnancy in which the uterus is filled with a mass of vesicles. This tissue is called a hydatidiform mole.

A molar pregnancy occurs when the fertilisation of the egg by the sperm goes wrong and leads to the growth of abnormal cells or clusters of water filled sacs inside the womb. Molar pregnancies are caused by an imbalance in genetic material (chromosomes) in the pregnancy.

Doctors usually remove the abnormal molar pregnancy tissue from the womb. If the levels of a hormone called hCG go back to normal soon after removal of the molar pregnancy then doctor won't need to give it a stage. If the levels of hCG level stay high or go up this could be a sign that abnormal cells are still present in the womb. In this stage the followings are the symptoms:

• ·        Dark brown to bright red vaginal bleeding during the first trimester
• ·        Severe nausea and vomiting
• ·        Sometimes vaginal passage of grapelike cysts
• ·        Pelvic pressure or pain

Treatment:

Hydatidiform moles should be treated by emptying the uterus by uterine suction or by surgical curettage as quickly as time permits after diagnosis, so as to avoid the risks of choriocarcinoma.

Patients are advised not to conceive for half a year after hCG(human chorionic gonodotrophin ) levels have standardized so that the chances of having another molar pregnancy are around 1%.