Q: My wife's pregnancy was confirmed by a urine test which was positive. The doctor suggested a scan after 45 days which showed that ovaries are devoid of corpus luteum. The rest of the scan report is normal and the age of the foetus is estimated about 6 weeks. What is this condition? The doctor said that this is a hormonal deficiency and there is nothing to worry about. He has advised an injection that she will have to take every fortnight.

A:If the corpus luteum is not seen on ultrasound it does not mean it does not exist or is not functional. The co-relation that your doctor has made between the corpus luteum not being seen and hormonal deficiency, is not scientifically proven. Either way even if your wife has a hormonal deficiency, giving injections is not useful at all. Please do not take all these irrational treatments, let nature take its course and the general rule that all medicines should be avoided in pregnancy is the right thing to do especially for all hormones. All hormones are potentially dangerous in pregnancy and none have been proved to be useful in pregnancy. Please do not take any medicines at this stage except folic acid (a vitamin which has been shown to reduce the risk of having an abnormal baby). Repeat ultrasound at 11-14 weeks which will tell you whether the pregnancy is alive or not. Meanwhile just stop imagining what all is wrong with your pregnancy and have faith in nature. Whether this pregnancy continues or not will depend upon whether the fetus conceived is normal or not which was decided on the day of conception and no amount of treatments in the form of hormones will change that. Avoid unnecessary ultrasounds as FDA of USA has issued repeated warnings that ultrasound should not be done unless absolutely essential and it cannot be assumed to be safe.