What are the symptoms of a Molar pregnancy?
Symptoms Of A Molar Pregnancy
A molar pregnancy is an unusual and severe complication of pregnancy that could occur in any pregnant woman. A molar pregnancy is medically referred to as a hydatidiform mole. It is a kind of gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD).A molar pregnancy occurs when there are certain abnormalities in the fertilized egg, during conception. There are two types of molar pregnancies: complete and partial. Complete molar pregnancy would occur when the sperm fertilizes an empty egg. There are only placental parts and no baby. The placenta continues to grow and produces hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin -the pregnancy hormone) and so a woman thinks she is pregnant. In complete molar pregnancies, the egg contains no maternal chromosomes and two copies of the paternal chromosomes as the chromosomes are duplicated.
In a normal pregnancy, half of the chromosomes are from the mother and the other half from the father. In a complete molar pregnancy, the chromosomes from the mother’s egg are inactivated or lost and the father’s are duplicated. There is no normal placental tissue, embryo or amniotic sac. The placenta forms a mass of cysts which resembles a cluster of grapes. In a partial molar pregnancy, the fertilized egg has the normal 23 chromosomes from the mother but double the amount from the father. So there are 60 chromosomes instead of the normal 46. This happens when either two sperms fertilize an egg or when the father’s chromosomes are duplicated. Instead of twins being formed, an abnormal fetus and placenta develop. The baby has too many chromosomes and in most cases, since it is so abnormal, it usually dies in the uterus.
What are the symptoms of a molar pregnancy? The symptoms are similar to any normal pregnancy like morning sickness, breast tenderness, increased urination, a missed menstrual period and fatigue. However along with these symptoms there are also other symptoms in the person like:-
• Severe nausea and vomiting
• Pelvic discomfort
• High blood pressure
• Loose stools
• Abnormal growth of uterus
• Vaginal bleeding during the first trimester
• Swelling in the feet, ankles and legs
• Vaginal discharge of tissue that resembles grapes
• Trembling of hands
• Signs of hyperthyroidism – thyroid enlargement, fatigue, weight loss, sweating, irritability, muscle weakness, anxiety, heat intolerance
• Symptoms similar to preeclampsia which occur in the three months of pregnancy itself. This is one of the most prominent signs of a molar pregnancy as preeclampsia does not usually occur this early in a normal pregnancy.
Submitted by P T on August 3, 2010 at 12:28
