MTHFR Genetic Mutation. Anyone else have this?

[Bitumz]

Hello everyone :)

When I went to the doctor a few weeks ago concerning my miscarriage he told me that, according to my blood tests, I have the MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) genetic mutation. This mutation is known to cause issues with the absorption of folic acid. He said that while this is so, it is not proven whether or not it effects pregnancies, and did not think it was the cause of my loss.

He said if I was to get pregnant again he would put me on a baby asprin regimen to prevent blood clots (which I assume are also associated with the mutation?)

I was just wondering if anyone has had to deal with something like this while pregnant/ttc and what your doctors did for you or said you should do to assist the intake of folic acid? Do we have to consume more folic acid than the average pregnant woman? And are their prenatal vitamins/supplements specifically for this situation that an ob/gen would normally provide?

I ask because I really want nothing to go wrong in the future and am trying to learn everything I can.
Personal experiences would be so greatly appreciated!!!

[vcusell]

thank you sooo much!!

[Bitumz]

I KNEW IT!!

Thanks so much and I'll definitely be doing more research.

[JessicaBurde]

I am a medical writer, and one of my jobs involves keeping up with the latest research on MTHFR mutations. One recent study found that women with MTHFR mutations who took folic acid during pregnancies where less likely to have miscarriages.

Unfortunately, practicing doctors rarely have time to stay up on the latest research. At this point, researchers have found that MTHFR definitely can contribute to the risk of miscarriage. However it is impossible to say for certain if any specific miscarriage is caused by MTHFR, just that women who have MTHFR are more likely to miscarry.

I'd suggest you go to http://www.pubmed.org and look up 'MTHFR miscarriage' that will give you a list of research studies you can show your doctor about the relationship between the genetic anomaly and your miscarriage risk. Make sure you take folic acid the next time you get pregnant, or before you start trying to get pregnant.

http://www.****.com - new website on MTHFR, with more information going up every week.

[Bitumz]

I'm sorry to hear you've had to go through that.
After doing a lot of research I have convinced myself that it has to effect a growing baby in some way because it is the restriction of the most important vitamin for growth. I'm not a doc of course, but I have a gut feeling, so next time I'm loading up on folic acids. Just in case.
Thanks so much for sharing and good luck in the future!

[vcusell]

hi. i actually too had the same thing happen to me. after my 2nd micarriages i tested positive for the same thing. when i was pregnant the 3rd time i was actually seeing a different obgyn but at the same office. they both too said that mthfr wasnt really anything to worry about that it didnt really effect pregnancies. so for my 3rd pregnancy she put me on progesterone to thicken my uterine lining. well i miscarried again, they did testing and it was from a genetic abnormality.the baby had a whole xtra set of chromosones from me. so its been 5 months and were trying to get pregnant again, she told me once i was pregnant again she was going to put me back on progesterone and also start the aspirin regimen too. im not pregnant yet, but im praying that when i am ill hold this baby FT. good luck to you too!