A molar pregnancy is a non-cancerous tumor that develops inside the uterus. A molar pregnancy occurs when the placenta develops into a group of sacs and does not develop into a healthy pregnancy containing healthy placental tissue and an embryo.
In a complete molar pregnancy, there is no healthy placental tissue at all and there is no fetus either. In contrast, in a partial molar pregnancy there is little healthy placental tissue in addition to the unhealthy fetal tissue, and therefore a live fetus cannot form.
A molar pregnancy may turn into a rare type of cancerous tumor, and therefore this case must be treated urgently, as careful follow-up of the course of a molar pregnancy is important in order to reduce the complications of this problem and to provide the opportunity for a healthy pregnancy in the future.
Symptoms of a molar pregnancy
The pregnancy appears in the early stages of a molar pregnancy as a healthy pregnancy, but then the symptoms of a molar pregnancy begin to appear, which are:
Vaginal bleeding that appears in the first trimester of pregnancy and is often dark brown to bright red.
severe nausea and vomiting
The exit of a cyst that is shaped like grapes.
Sensation of pressure or pain in the pelvic area.
Very rapid enlargement of the uterus, meaning that the size of the uterus is too large in relation to the size of the uterus that is supposed to be at this stage of pregnancy.
high blood pressure.
Preeclampsia.
Ovarian cysts.
Anemia.
Hyperthyroidism.
A thickened, cyst-filled placenta fills the uterine cavity.
Causes and risk factors for a molar pregnancy
In a healthy pregnancy, the egg is fertilized by the mother by the father’s sperm, and it contains 46 chromosomes, 23 chromosomes sourced from the mother’s egg and the rest 23 come from the father’s sperm.
1. Causes of a molar pregnancy
Causes of a molar pregnancy include
In a complete molar pregnancy, all chromosomes come from the father due to the loss of maternal chromosomes and the duplication of paternal source chromosomes.
In a partial molar pregnancy, there is no loss of chromosomes that come from the mother, but a double set of chromosomes that come from the father, meaning that the fertilized egg contains 69 chromosomes.
A partial molar pregnancy occurs when there is a doubling of the number of chromosomes that come from the father, or after a single egg is fertilized by two different sperms.
2. Risk factors
There are several risk factors for a molar pregnancy
Age: Hydatid pregnancies are more common in pregnancies that occur in women 35 and over or girls under 20 years of age.
Previous hydatid pregnancy: The probability of a hydatid pregnancy is about 10 times higher in women who have had a hydatid pregnancy than in other women.
Ethnicity: Hydatid pregnancy is more common in women of Southeast Asian descent.
Complications of a molar pregnancy
In 10% of cases, after the abortion of a molar pregnancy and the removal of diseased placental tissues, hydatid tissue remains in the uterus, which continues to grow. This can be observed when a blood test shows high levels of the pregnancy hormone and vaginal bleeding occurs if the hydatid tissue penetrates the layers of the uterus.
Very rarely, hydatid tissue develops into choriocarcinoma and may spread to other parts of the body. Treatment of choriocarcinoma also depends on the combination of chemotherapy and is usually successful.
Diagnosis of a molar pregnancy
On the ultrasound examination that is preferable at this stage through the vagina, the absence of a fetus, absence of amniotic fluid, and other symptoms can often be noted.
The following must also be done
Blood strength check.
Thyroid hormone level check.
Preeclampsia examination.
Molar pregnancy treatment
There is no possibility that a molar pregnancy will turn into a healthy pregnancy, so the molar pregnancy must be removed as soon as possible, where the pregnancy is removed by a surgical operation that can be performed under local or general anesthesia, as the duration of the surgery is short and most likely lasts for 15 minutes up to 30 minutes.
The operation is carried out through the vagina and does not require an abdominal incision. In the event that the volume of hydatid tissue is large and the woman does not have the desire to have children, the entire uterus can be removed. After the surgery, the level of the pregnancy hormone in the blood is monitored. To make sure that the hydatid tissue has been completely removed.
After the level of the hormone returns to the normal level, the follow-up continues for half a year and up to a year, and the doctor may advise during this period not to become pregnant to make sure that the increase in the pregnancy hormone is not caused by the development of hydatid tissue again.
This condition may require chemotherapy and generally results in success.
Prevention of molar pregnancy
There is no way to prevent, but a woman who has had a molar pregnancy must be monitored periodically by a doctor to avoid it later.
