Issue No. 69 - March - April 2012 - DOH

maternal HEALTHMOLAR PREGNANCY where a fertilized egg does not develop into a pregnancy but instead grows and forms into a bunch of grape-like shapes. Photo grabbedfrom and inset illustration grabbed from < www.mdguidelines.com>.Molar PregnancybyGLEN S. RAMOSHEALTHbeat StaffPregnancy is almost always ahappy event in a woman’s life, but it is notwithout risks. One of the uncommon andvery frightening complication of pregnancyis molar pregnancy or in its formal medicalterm, hydatidiform mole. This happenswhen a fertilized egg does not develop intoa pregnancy, instead, it grows and forms intoa bunch of grape-like shapes.Molar pregnancy is one of a groupof conditions called gestational trophoblastictumors. Even though they are called tumors,they are usually not cancerous. They mayspread through the womb, but can be cured.Only 1 out of 1,000 develops into cancer.Dr. Abigail Baret, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist and a resident physician atTalon General Hospital (TGH), one of thepremier 50-bed tertiary level referralhospital based in the City of Tarlac,describes molar pregnancy as a defect ofthe fertilization process. She said the eggreleased by the ovary is entirely devoid ofDNA, or what is also called as “empty egg.”The chromosomes in a normal pregnancyis 46. A fertilized egg has 23 chromosomesfrom the mother and 23 from the father. InMarch - April 2012 I HEALTHbeat 9