Guest Author - Krissi Danielsson

If you research miscarriages online, you're probably going to find a lot of conflicting information. Scientists have a lot of factors that may play into miscarriages and numerous potential treatments, but few are proven by numerous controlled research studies. Some doctors will treat some factors "just in case" it will help, while other doctors are waiting for solid proof that treatments work before intervening.

The MTHFR gene is one of those things that some treat and some don't. Your doctor may have tested you for it already, or you may have never heard of it except in scant mentions on online sites.

Standing for "5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase," the MTHFR gene is responsible for absorbing folate. (And of course, most readers familiar with trying to conceive have heard of the importance of folate/folic acid. Taking folic acid reduces the risk of having a baby with neural tube defects (which is why most of the grain products on the market are fortified with folate).)

This page provides a decent summary of some general information about the MTHFR gene, which has been linked with everything from increased risk of depression to increased risk of miscarriages. This report0 links the C677T mutation with increased homocysteine levels and recurrent miscarriages. I've read of two mechanisms for this. One says that MTHFR increases the risk of blood clots, which could block nutrients from reaching the placenta, and the other says that MTHFR causes lower folate and B-vitamin levels, which increase the risk of miscarriages. (Check here for a report that linked low folic acid to miscarriages.) Plus, new reports are starting to show that women with recurrent miscarriages are at higher risk for heart disease later on (they love to pile the good news on us, huh?), which would also play into the idea of folate and blood clotting being related.

But I've also come across a few reports that claimed that MTHFR was unrelated to miscarriage. And then there's the problem that plenty of women who have the MTHFR gene never miscarry (up to half the population may have at least one copy of the gene, and around 11% have two copies), so it can't be a causative factor all on its own.

If you have the MTHFR gene (or suspect you might), ask your doctor what action might be merited. Some doctors will go all out and prescribe heparin/aspirin to prevent the possible clotting mechanism that could lead to miscarriages, while other doctors might prescribe high doses of folic acid as a preventative measure. I have yet to find any evidence that high doses of folic acid are harmful in any way, so this could be a good preventative measure that will do no harm and could help. Be sure to check it with your doctor, of course, but even if he or she is skeptical of the benefit, your doctor will likely agree that it won't hurt.