What is molar pregnancy ?

 

Molar pregnancy is also known as hydatidiform mole , gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) or a mole. It is an abnormality of the placenta which is caused by a problem during fertilization when the egg and sperm join together. Molar pregnancy is uncommon but also a very frightening pregnancy complication.

 
molar pregnancy
 

It occurs when  genetic error occurs during fertilization. This leads to the growth of abnormal tissue in the uterus. This error transforms what should have been the placenta into a mass of grape-like cell clusters. This pregnancy complication can result in serious complications including a rare form of cancer.

 

What causes molar pregnancies ?

 

Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, one pair from the mother and the other from the father. In molar pregnancies, all the pair of chromosomes come from the father. The mothers’s chromosomes are lost shortly after fertilization while the father’s chromosomes are duplicated. This results in an egg with no or inactive nucleus.

 

What are the types of molar pregnancies ?

 

There are two types .

 

Complete molar pregnancy

 

This occurs when a sperm fertilizes an empty egg. There is no embryo present even though the placenta  may grow and produce the pregnancy hormone, hCG.

 

Partial molar pregnancy
 
In this case, there is the presence of both an abnormal tissue and an embroyo which is severely malformed. The embryo begins to develop but cannot survive.

 

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