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The Common Characteristics Between Infertility and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

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Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

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Abstract

Currently, infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) are two separate entities, evaluated and treated by different caregivers in different facilities. Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after 1 year of unprotected intercourse while RPL’s definition is more debatable and includes a history of 2 or 3 clinically documented pregnancy losses. A thin clinical border exists between infertility and RPL in the form of preclinically documented pregnancies, also known as chemical pregnancies or non-visualized pregnancies. In these cases a positive pregnancy test confirms the occurrence of fertilization, but neither an intrauterine nor an ectopic pregnancy is visualized before a decline in HCG levels is documented. In these pregnancies, because fertilization occurs, patients are not defined as infertile and because implantation was not completed, they are not considered to have pregnancy loss.

This chapter aims to challenge the artificial separation between infertility and RPL. Not only do infertility and RPL patients share the same unfulfilled desire to deliver a baby, they also share common etiologic characteristics, evaluation pathways, as well as common management in some of the cases. In the chapter we briefly mention some of the common etiologic factors of both RPL and infertility. We suggest redefining infertility so that couples who cannot deliver babies will not be misjudged as fertile. Also, the conclusion of the chapter suggests implementing a multidisciplinary approach towards both the consistently infertile and RPL populations that will involve experts from both fields in the same evaluation and treatment facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Clinic, Fertility and IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel

    Avi Harlev MD

  2. D.N Negev 3, Sansana, 85334, Israel

    Avi Harlev MD

  3. Cleveland Clinic, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Deepak Kumar

  4. American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, 10681 Carnegie Avenue, Desk X11, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Ashok Agarwal PhD

Authors
  1. Avi Harlev MD
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  2. Deepak Kumar
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  3. Ashok Agarwal PhD
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Correspondence to Avi Harlev MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel"., Be’er Sheva, Israel

    Asher Bashiri

  2. Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Clinic Fertility and IVF Unit Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel, Be’er Sheva, Southern, Israel

    Avi Harlev

  3. Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Ashok Agarwal

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Harlev, A., Kumar, D., Agarwal, A. (2016). The Common Characteristics Between Infertility and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss. In: Bashiri, A., Harlev, A., Agarwal, A. (eds) Recurrent Pregnancy Loss. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27452-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27452-2_10

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