What causes a molar pregnancy?
Molar pregnancy is thought to be caused by a problem with the genetic information of an egg or sperm. A molar pregnancy can develop during the earliest stage of a pregnancy when: • An abnormal egg with no genetic information is fertilized by a sperm. The sperm’s chromosomes duplicate and develop into a complete mole. • A normal egg is fertilized by two sperm. This cell mass is most likely to develop into a partial mole. Factors that may increase your risk of having a molar pregnancy include: • Age. Risk for complete molar pregnancy steadily increases after age 35.1 • History of molar pregnancy, particularly if you’ve had two or more.5 • History of miscarriage. • A diet low in carotene (a form of vitamin A). Women with low carotene or vitamin A intake have a higher rate of complete molar pregnancy.
