Subj : Re: Question for Doc Sharon (and any other doctors out there) To : alt.tv.er From : Sharon Three Date : Tue Sep 13 2005 09:12:02 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.er "LadyOO7" wrote in message news:1126214269.814456.270540@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com... > I've got a while to go before my OB/GYN rotation, but I've been curious > about something. > > What are the odds of an abortion/miscarriage/stillbirth leaving a woman > unable to bear children? Whether it's that she can't carry a child to > term or can't even conceive one in the first place? Incredibly uncommon, especially in the case of an uncomplicated medical abortion, despite what some religious fanatics would have you believe. In more than 20 years, I have literally never seen a single patient who was unable to bear children due to a previous abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth(I've delivered over 5000 kids, BTW). Unless there are serious complications at the time of that pregnancy that result in a woman needing a hysterectomy (life threatening hemorrhage), it would almost never happen. > > I don't believe for a second that the "medicine" practiced on the soaps > in is any way accurate, but the above scenario has been presented so > many times, it's borders on irresponsible. > It sure does, and it is particularly irresponsible in that there are often treatments available that the soaps never bother to mention. For example, it is possible to get something called Asherman's syndrome after a miscarriage, abortion or delivery which would make future childbearing difficult. However, AS can be treated with success rates well over 80% in most cases. Therefore, anytime you see a woman on a soap being told she can never have another child due to some nebulous problem with a previous pregnancy and that there is nothing to be done, realize that this is total bullshit. I think that preying on women's fears that they won't be able to have kids due to some past 'sin', whether it be an abortion or miscarriage or stillbirth (since on the soaps, all miscarriages or stillbirths are caused by falling down the stairs or fighting with one's partner or are otherwise self induced), is the soaps stock in trade and it sucks. Doc Sharon .