ABSTRACT
Most work on recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) has concentrated on the causes, prognosis, treatment, and subsequent live birth rate. However, a question arises as to whether this group of patients is at a higher risk for obstetric complications such as bleeding, fetal anomalies, preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preterm labor, and perinatal mortality, and whether prenatal care has to be modified to seek these complications. The question then arises as to whether these complications are associated with specific conditions associated with RPL. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and hereditary thrombophilias are two such conditions that have been described to be associated with recurrent pregnancy loss and late obstetric complications. Various interventions have also been reported to affect the incidence of later obstetric complications. These interventions include paternal leukocyte immunization and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) for unexplained RPL, anticoagulants and aspirin or IVIG for APS, and anticoagulants for hereditary thrombophilias. This chapter assesses some of the obstetric complications associated with different forms of RPL and the treatment modalities that have been used.
