Sunday, April 8, 2012

"Recurrent Miscarriage Causes: Look Beyond the Woman"

"Recurrent Miscarriage Causes: Look Beyond the Woman", this article answered some important questions that I've always had especially about the developing embryo/fetus.

"Methylation Status of the Developing Child
A study from China[2] published in BMC Medicine states “that defects in DNA maintenance methylation in the embryo, not in the mother, are associated with abnormal embryonic implantation and development. The findings of the current study provide new insights into the etiology of early pregnancy loss (EPL). . . . We also found that disturbance of maintenance methylation with a DNMT1 inhibitor may result in a decreased global DNA methylation level and impaired embryonic development in the mouse model, and inhibit in vitro embryo attachment to endometrial cells.”

What does this mean?
This means that methylation in the developing child is directly correlated to a healthy pregnancy outcome – regardless of the methylation status of the mother or father.

What to do?
  • Support methylation in the father and mother prior to, and during, pregnancy in order to increase the odds of optimizing methylation in the developing child.
  • Identify genetic defects in the methylation pathway, namely MTHFR, in both parents and supplement accordingly in order to bypass the methylation defect thereby increasing the odds of optimizing methylation in the developing child.
  • Identify DNMT inhibitors and have both mother and father cease their use prior to and during pregnancy (for the mother)."
I've wondered this for a very long time. Not just about MTHFR but just in general how much do genetics of the embryo effect the outcome of the pregnancy. It only makes sense that it would and that the mother's body would have to accomodate (if able). And if it can't a miscarriage occurs.

This article also talks about the importance of the father's genetics and if his MTHFR status affecting the outcome of a pregnancy.

I hope you will find this as interesting as I did. You may be interested in checking out these articles as well, "MTHFR Mutation? Oral Contraceptives Not Recommended" and "How Much Methylfolate Should I Take?".