THE NEED TO BE GRATEFUL FOR MOST ABORTIONS

She was the mother of two children, radiant and full of vigor.
Her life was normal until she took in the third time. Little did she know that pregnancy would consume her.
She presented to the hospital with history of loss of menstruation, lower abdominal and back pain, weight loss and intractable bleeding per vagina. Before her presentation she had been in a peripheral hospital and had received about 10 units of blood.
The test for pregnancy was positive but the predictive value was alarmingly elevated. Other investigations done supported the diagnosis of a molar pregnancy which had over time transformed into cancer. The chemotherapy wasn't making her condition any better, pain was her constant companion, she bled more than the woman with the issue of blood. She was constantly transfused with blood and all their resources drained. Her husband became frustrated and requested for the uterus (womb) to be removed but no, it was late, the cancer had spread to the bladder, rectum and backbone. Everyone had been exhausted including the health care providers. She could no longer fight to live, her end had come, in tears she gave one last look to her younger sister who had been by her bedside all along and to her weary mother who had been praying and earnestly waiting for a miracle, then to her dear husband, who held tightly to her hands as if in a tug of war game with death. She apposed her eyelids gracefully and passed on with tears rolling down her cheeks.
ABORTION

It stings like a bee, hurts like a sore, painful like labour and agonising like the sorrowful mysteries to have waited for years, spending all the energies in sex, with great expectations for conception which inadvertently ends in abortion. But would you rather prefer it ends like the story above?

Before I proceed it's pertinent that we understand the concept of the term, abortion. It is the termination of pregnancy before the age of viability (when the baby can survive outside the womb). In advanced countries the age of viability is between 20-24 weeks while in less developed countries it's about 28 weeks. Nevertheless, when this termination is initiated by human intervention using any means and not based on medical reason (s) , it's termed 'Criminal Induced Abortion'. On the contrary, when it occurs by itself, it's termed 'Spontaneous Abortion' and this is where my interest lies.

CAUSES OF SPONTANEOUS ABORTION

• Chromosomal/ Genetic abnormalities 
• Maternal Disease conditions ; Diabetes, Renal disease. 
• Infections 
• Genital tract anomalies
• Cigarette smoking 
• Alcohol 
• Toxins including certain drugs 
• Radiation
• Unknown

ESSENCE OF GRATITUDE 

There are two main reasons for gratitude to God for some cases of spontaneous abortion. 

1. Aversion of malformed babies
2. Aversion of malignant cancer

Aversion of malformed babies 

Incidentally, most causes of spontaneous abortion are responsible for congenital malformation (abnormal structure at birth). The body has a surveillance system that screens, identifies and repairs /eliminates abnormalities at cellular, tissue, organ or systemic levels. This is done to terminate conditions incompatible with life and further prevent complications and preserve an individual. This regulatory mechanisms fail sometime at the initial stage and the child is born with such abnormalities but eventually dies sooner after birth or lives a life without quality. Consider the trauma posed by this situation on both parents as well as relatives. 

Aversion of malignant cancer ( Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia)

It is scary to know that pregnancy can transform into cancer. This is usually the product of chromosomal abnormalities following the fertilisation of an empty or normal ovum (egg) by 2 Y chromosomes instead of one.
When the surveillance system fails to terminate this abnormal (molar) pregnancy, it developes into an invasive mole, the cells become immortal and may transform to malignant cancer, Choriocarcinoma. It eventually spreads to near and distant tissues and results in death of the individual.

I'm yet to see a patient that survived this but it's not altogether a hopeless situation.
So see a reason in this and be grateful for your experience(s). Thank you for reading!!!