Q: My wife is 25 years old and having irregular periods. Her last period was 2 months back. Last week, she had a urine pregnancy test, which was positive. We consulted a doctor and she asked us to undergo pelvic ultrasound. Since there was no visibility of yolk sac, she advised us to perform another ultrasound after two weeks and prescribed duphaston 10 mg for 15 days (30 tablets). The radiologist mentioned in the report that there is a possibility of intrauterine gestation of 6 weeks growth, need to confirm after two weeks. Can you please advice whether she should take duphaston or not?

A:If the periods are irregular, there is a possibility of a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) or corpus luteum deficiency, both of which can result in an abortion. The duphaston will help keep the uterus quiet and prevent an abortion, once the pregnancy and its viability is confirmed. There is however a very small risk of fetal abnormality after taking duphaston, and weighing the benefit over the risk, it can be taken. You will need to under go an anomaly scan at about 18-20 weeks, to confirm that the fetus is normal, which is anyway a routine in most pregnancies now.