No Longer Brushed Off: A Minnesota Clinic Tries to Rewrite Medicine’s Approach to Miscarriage

August 31, 2023

(STAT News) – To Barbara Toppin, the physician treating Teske that day, the stories from patients are painfully consistent. They’re told their losses are so early in pregnancy they’re likely due to chromosomal abnormalities. They’re told testing is unnecessary unless they’ve lost two, or sometimes even three, pregnancies. They’re told to just try again.

She, along with a smattering of providers across the country, is pushing for a more aggressive approach. She asks patients about everything from their history of pregnancy loss to whether their immediate family members have developed heart disease or had strokes. She rules out known causes of miscarriage, such as uterine abnormalities. And she offers a battery of tests, which can reveal blood clotting problems, chronic inflammation, and autoimmune issues that could make it hard for a pregnancy to progress.

The philosophy behind her approach is simple: Treat miscarriages like a medical problem, not just a fact of life.  (Read More)