Sperm and egg compatibility issues

[Roro1]

Hello there,

I’ve just gone through my 3rd miscarriage natural pregnancies. All 3 happened shy of 5 weeks. Nurse says the sperm and egg are not compatible, does this even exist? Is there anything I can do? Has this happened to anyone? Do we have a chance of ever starting a family?

I am on the waiting list for IVF and have an appointment in November and have been referred to the recurrent miscarriage clinic but is there a point if the egg and sperm are not compatible?

Thanks in advance.

[Beclp]

Hi Roro1 x I’m so sorry to hear about your miscarriages. I’m no expert but I’ve been through 2 cycles of ivf and read alot of information.I would think if the egg and sperm were not compatible, they would have never created an embryo and made it to almost 5 weeks.

From what I have read miscarriages occur for many different reasons. Not because of incompatible egg and sperm.

I believe you will find out more once you start ivf 🙏

Best of luck with ur journey 💕

[Roro1 in reply to Beclp]

Thanks Beclp, and sorry for your losses too. It’s a relief to hear that, It’s so hard not knowing what the issue is. I am 41 abs scared I don’t have a lot of time

[Beclp in reply to Roro1]

I’m 41 too so I do understand. But lots of 41 year olds get pregnant and you have 3 times already so that’s a really positive start. The reason for your MC maybe something that has nothing to do with the egg or sperm at all. It could be immune or blood issues. You actually may not even need ivf if the miscarriage clinic are able to do some testing on these things.

I really hope things work out for you 🙌

[Hanj10]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I had 5 miscarriages after natural pregnancies all before 6 weeks (2 of them confirmed blighted ovums). We then went on to IVF and from 12 eggs we made 9 embryos. We had those chromosome tested and 5 were normal. I agree with previous poster that if the sperm and egg were not compatable then you wouldn't be able to get pregnant. With early losses the most common cause is chromosome issues but through your IVF testing you can hopefully rule out others such as clotting issues or immunology. We did sperm DNA fragmentation testing on my husband and it was high so he was treated with high dose anti oxidant supplements for 3 months. I found out I had PAI-1 polymorphism which was treated with Heparin injections and aspirin. I also had my TH1:TH2 ratio (one of the chicago blood tests) and this was high so was given intralipids and steroids. It all worked and I'm now 27 weeks. So basically there could be many factors causing your miscarriages and unfortunately the only way to find out is lots of testing! Good luck

[Roro1 in reply to Hanj10]

Congratulations, and thank you for giving me some hope. With all the tests mentioned above, will that be done during the IVF cycle or do I have to pay for them privately? xx

[Hanj10 in reply to Roro1]

I did the tests at the clinic prior to starting treatment but I was all private treatment anyway no NHS funding. The tests were all additional costs to the actual treatment cycle. x

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Roro. This where your embryologist plays his/her part, to decider whether to do IVF or /ICSI. Sometimes a sperm fragmentation test can be recommended to sort out the best to use. There are options, so don't get disheartened. Good luck! Diane

[Roro1 in reply to DianeArnold]

Thanks Diane, really helpful.

[Hidden]

I had 3 mc 2 we’re blighted 1 grew to 9w but I mc all after 12w I often thought maybe we just aren’t compatible as I’ve had 2 children to ex husband my fiancé had no kids. I had a further 2 chemicals then conceived again and had my baby at 41 he’s 15w now took us 4 years. How can a random nurse know if your compatible did she run tests? I had reoccurring mc tests came back fine.

[Roro1 in reply to Hidden]

I am so sorry for your losses, and congratulations on your 15week old. Your response gives me hope. It’s so annoying not knowing what is causing the mc and scared to try again incase I have another mc. I was shocked by her response as no tests were done but at the time all I needed was answers, after reading all your responses and thinking through it this weekend, I will keep going and hope for my miracle. Thanks to this group and to you as I feel that there is hope.