Thousands of women are needlessly suffering repeated miscarriages when a simple blood test and daily aspirin could solve their 'sticky blood' syndrome, a leader doctor has said.
One in five women who suffer repeated miscarriages has a medical condition that means her blood is too thick and sticky which starves the baby of oxygen and can trigger very late pregnancy loss.
Few are tested and many are labelled as infertile and embark on expensive and difficult treatment, a conference was told.
Prof Graham Hughes, of London Bridge Hospital, said a simple blood test can identify their problem and a daily lose dose aspirin costing a few pence can lead to a successful pregnancy.
Speaking at the Aspirin Foundation conference in London, he said current guidelines mean many women are not given the test for Hughes syndrome, named after Prof Hughes, until they suffer many miscarriages, if they are tested at all.
He called for awareness amongst doctors to be raised and for women to be tested after their first, or certainly, their second miscarriage.
Following treatment the successful pregnancy rate can rise from lower than 20 per cent to around 75-80 per cent, he said.
He told the Daily Telegraph: "Some women have suffered 12 or even 15 miscarriages before the problem is spotted and that is tragic because the treatment is so easy.
"Some of these pregnancy losses can occur at eight months or more.
"Hughes syndrome is now known to be the commonest cause of repeat miscarriage yet it is still an unrecognised problem. It is starting to catch on in the obstetrics world but current advice is to test women after three or more miscarriages and that is terrible.
"If it were my daughter, I'd test after the first, it costs a few pounds and is a simple blood test."
Symptoms of the condition include migraine, memory problems, balance problems and pins and needles, which can lead them to be wrongly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Aspirin has been hailed as a wonder drug after it was found to significantly reduce the chances of developing cancer and in the prevention of stroke and heart attacks.
The conference at the Royal College of Physicians also heard of the role of aspirin in dementia and diabetes where early studies suggest it may be beneficial.
(Personal Sharing)
Why in Singapore, women are not tested when they suffered from multiple miscarriages? I am a victim myself. The doctors I have seen all assumed that pregnancy cases in Singapore should be smooth-sailing and when things go wrong, they would say 'sorry for your loss'. I hope the doctors can be more caring like the 'Deliver Me' doctors in Discovery Home and Health. If they know a woman has suffered from more than one miscarriages, they should give the woman tests on the first visit and monitor them closely. Don't just think of earning money from the smooth-sailing pregnancies.
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