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Home › Articles › Conditions Affecting Conception and Pregnancy › What Is a Molar Pregnancy?

What Is a Molar Pregnancy?

Just the Facts

By Carol Sjostrom Miller

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What Happens Now?

When a molar pregnancy is confirmed, the woman will quickly have a procedure called a dilation and curettage (D&C), "which is the removal of the abnormal tissue from the uterus using a suction tube," says Dr. Stotland. This was the case for Hiltbrand. "Two days after the diagnosis, I underwent a D&C," she says.

Although most women whose molar pregnancies are removed will require no further treatment, follow-up care after the D&C is extremely important. "It is very important that the woman gets her hormone levels checked regularly for at least a year and that she has regular doctor visits," advises Dr. Stotland. This is because there are several complications that, although rare, are very serious and require immediate diagnosis and treatment. These complications occur when abnormal cells remain in the body after the molar pregnancy has been removed. These cells, which can include invasive moles, says Dr. Stotland "are usually diagnosed when the hormone levels do not drop after the D&C," and can also include choriocarcinoma, which is a form of cancer. Both invasive moles and choriocarcinoma are treated with chemotherapy and "the prognosis is excellent with treatment," notes Dr. Stotland.

Hiltbrand's follow-up care was comprehensive and lasted for a year after her molar pregnancy. "My doctor ordered baseline chest x-rays to ensure that the tissue had not spread to the lungs," she recounts. "I then started weekly blood draws [to monitor my hCG levels]." Two weeks later, she had another ultrasound because her hCG was not dropping as expected. "Thankfully, the ultrasound revealed no remaining or spreading tissue," she says. "The hCG was just slow in dropping."


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Molar Pregnancy by Anonymous on 03/10/2010 06:31PM

i am 12 weeks pregant and i have a complet molar pregnancy with twins but only have one fetis. this is scarey because i bleed all the time and my doctor said if i want to keep the baby i need to go in the hospital on may 1 when i am 20 weeks so they can watch me. i have to see a cancer doctor after i have the baby or if i have a miscarraige. i just wanted to knwo if any other people have a complet molar with twin and had the baby with no problems with the baby when he or she was born. you can e-mail me at jessicarjackson2000@yahoo.com

Molar Pregnancy by Miranda on 01/31/2010 07:57PM

i have justc resently (2 days ago) had a molar pregnancy! it is truly the scariest thing ever! i had never been prergnant before (im 16) and was in a way looking forward to having a child! I was having alot of spotting and bleeding when i called the doctor. We went to have an ultrasound. As soon as they realized that i had a molar pregnancy they immediatly took action! I found this out at about 10 that morning and was going in for a D&C by 3 that afternoon! People need to know about these kind of things because you never know if it could happen to you or not! Before friday i had absolutly no idea what a molar pregnancy was!!

Re: What Is a Molar Pregnancy? by anonymous on 12/13/2008 01:59AM

I had a molar pregnancy in 1976. It started with some dark spotting in my fourth month. I immediately called my doctor, and he said he didn't need to see me, that spotting was quite normal and not to worry unless the flow increased or the blood became bright red. Well, both of those things happened in the middle of that night, and I miscarried most of the molar pregnancy at home and finished it up in the emergency room. Two days later I was back in the doctor's office. He ordered an ultrasound and a blood test and FINALLY realized what was really going on. I ended up having a D&C a few days later and was told not to try to get pregnant again for a year. So I waited. I now have two healthy sons, ages 26 and 29. My 29-year-old and I nearly died in my 8th month due to undiagnosed pre-eclampsia. (Yes, it was the same doctor -- and no, he didn't get another shot after that). I found out afterwards that eclampsia is more common in those who've experienced molar pregnancies. At least that was the way it was in 1979. Just in case it's still true today, I think that's an important piece of info to add here.

Re: What Is a Molar Pregnancy? by miranda on 11/14/2008 12:56AM

I had a molar pregnant about five years ago. Was devastating. But it didn't help that I hadn't even heard of a molar pregnancy before. Thank you for educating other woman about it. You can never know too much before, during and after pregnancy.

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