Does Molar Pregnancy Count As Gravida?

Obstetric history provides important information regarding the pregnancy history of the patient. Various systems such as GPA and GTPAL are used to depict obstetric history.

Molar pregnancy is counted as gravida, because gravida is the number of times a woman gets pregnant even if there is an unviable pregnancy.

Molar pregnancy is a type of unviable pregnancy which indicates that the pregnancy will not result in a viable fetus. This is due to the fact that this pregnancy is achieved by the fertilization of an egg which is devoid of genetic material. The fetus is not present and there is only placental growth. Although the pregnancy is not viable, it is included in the umbrella of pregnancy. Further, when the pregnancy do not achieves full term, it is considered an abortion or miscarriage. Even if the fetus is present in the molar pregnancy in the form of hydatidiform mole, there are severe genetic defects present, leading to the cessation of fetal development. This type of pregnancy is diagnosed at the initial stage of the pregnancy and is removed surgically from the uterus of the patient. Gravida is defined as a number of times a female gets pregnant. As molar pregnancy is also a form of pregnancy, it is counted in gravida irrespective of the fact that it will not be able to achieve full term. This will help the gynecologist in identifying the obstetric history of the patient in a more detailed manner and this inclusion becomes more important in cases with recurrent molar pregnancy to take the appropriate safety steps.

Pregnancy is a sea of exciting feeling through which the women swim. But at times, it poses certain dangers to both mother and the fetus. The risk can be partially countered by knowing the obstetric history of the patient. It is an important tool for analyzing the previous condition and status of women related to pregnancy. This allows digging important information to the gynecologist. The obstetric history starts with the number of children the patient has and whether they are born through normal or cesarean delivery. The next information is regarding the number of abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths. The gynecologist should be well aware regarding the weight and complications during the previous pregnancies. Also, the gynecologist should ask about any assisted reproductive technique used to achieve previous pregnancies. This will help in countering the possible complications during the term of pregnancy and delivery.

Various systems are adopted for depicting the obstetric history of the patients regarding the pregnancy. These are:

GPA System. This system is termed as Gravida, Parity and Abortus system which determines the pregnancy history of the patient. Gravida means the number of time a woman gets pregnant while parity is the number of pregnancies achieving more than 20 weeks. Abortion or miscarriage before 20 weeks is also depicted.

GTPAL. This system stands for Gravida, Term births, Preterm births, Abortions, and Living children.

Following are the risk factors of molar pregnancy:

Genetic Mutation. Genetic mutations are also a contributory factor in developing molar pregnancy. To genes regulates the process of development of oocyte. Any mutation in these genes results in the abnormal development of the egg cell. When the sperm fertilizes with these faulty egg cell, the result is a molar pregnancy.

Age. Age is considered as an important factor for the occurrence of molar pregnancy. Women who had conceived at an early age are at higher risk of achieving molar pregnancy. Similarly, the women of age above 40 years are more prone to developing molar pregnancy.

Ethnicity. According to the research, the risk of molar pregnancy increases according to the ethnicity of the women. Women in the Asian region are at higher risk as compared to the western world in developing molar pregnancy.

Medical History Of Molar Pregnancy. Previous molar pregnancy also adds the risk of molar pregnancy in the subsequent conception. Studies have indicated that women with previous molar pregnancy have 6 times increased the risk of subsequent molar pregnancy.

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• Can Molar Pregnancy Happen Twice?
• How Do You Detect A Molar Pregnancy?
• Lifestyle Changes For Molar Pregnancy
• How Common Is Partial Molar Pregnancy?
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