Q: Both my and my 26 years old wife’s blood group is O+. My wife had an abortion after tenth week of pregnancy because the fetus did not have a heart beat. Why did this happen? What can we do to avoid such a problem again?

A:I am sorry to hear about the abortion. There are many causes for this. As it is not clear whether or not the heart beat was there earlier, it is difficult to say what is the probable cause. If the heart beat was never there, and the development stopped very early, the cause could be a chromosomal defect in the baby (usually not repeated in the next pregnancy, and it is the nature's way of clearing a defective pregnancy early), or a deficiency in the progesterone blood levels (would need to be supplemented early in next pregnancy). If the heart beat was seen earlier and then disappeared, the cause could be antiphospholipid antibodies, endocrine problems like hypo- or hyper-thyroidism, uncontrolled diabetes, or some infections, even malaria or typhoid that is accompanied with high fever. Please consult an experienced gynaecologist for advice a follow-up. The abortion is not connected to your blood groups (fortunately you both have same blood group and Rh factor).