A woman who experienced more than 20 pregnancy losses over 10 years has eventually given birth to a healthy son.
According to the U.S. outlet People recently, Ranim Haddad, 36, who lives near Chicago, became pregnant in 2015, seven months after getting married. However, she miscarried shortly afterward. She went on to experience repeated pregnancies and miscarriages over the next 10 years.
The Haddads underwent various tests to find the cause, but were unable to determine a clear reason. Haddad said, "The hardest part was not being able to find the cause of the problem," adding, "I might have been able to accept it if I had at least known the reason, but even the medical staff said, 'We don't know.'"
In 2018, she tried in vitro fertilization, IVF. Although she secured about eight embryos that showed no problems in genetic testing, she miscarried at nine weeks of pregnancy after the first embryo transfer, and the second transfer also failed.
In 2020, she became pregnant naturally. Her previous pregnancies had ended too early to make it difficult to confirm the fetus by ultrasound, but this time she heard a heartbeat for the first time. However, when she was more than 18 weeks pregnant, her water suddenly broke, and the next day an emergency occurred in which the umbilical cord prolapsed first. Her daughter eventually died during delivery.
After experiencing another miscarriage, Haddad began receiving care from Dr. Susan Gerber, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Northwestern Medicine who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. Additional tests were conducted, but the cause of her recurrent pregnancy losses still could not be identified. The medical staff decided to closely monitor her condition if she became pregnant again.
Haddad became pregnant again in 2021. However, around 14 weeks into the pregnancy, she learned that the fetus had a rare congenital condition called sirenomelia. The fetus had no kidneys and could not produce amniotic fluid, which made it difficult for the lungs to develop properly.
Haddad continued the pregnancy and gave birth to a son, Samuel, at about 29 weeks. Although the medical staff attempted treatment, Samuel died several hours after birth.
Even after experiencing multiple losses, Haddad tried to become pregnant again. She conceived naturally in February 2025, and this time she had weekly ultrasounds and blood tests from the early stages of pregnancy to monitor her condition. During the latter part of the pregnancy, she underwent cervical cerclage to reduce the risk of premature birth. She also developed gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, was hospitalized at 35 weeks, and underwent labor induction at 37 weeks.
She eventually gave birth to a healthy son, Emmanuel, weighing about 3.5 kilograms, on October 1 last year. Haddad said, "I was so scared because the baby did not cry for the first 15 seconds," adding, "When I heard him cry, I just kept saying thank you."
The cause of Haddad's recurrent miscarriages remains unknown. Dr. Gerber, the specialist in charge of her care, said, "It is extremely rare for someone who has experienced this many pregnancy losses to give birth to a healthy child."
Recurrent miscarriage refers to two or more repeated pregnancy losses. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, ASRM, recently defined recurrent miscarriage as losing two or more pregnancies naturally, regardless of whether they occurred consecutively. Various factors can contribute, including fetal chromosomal abnormalities, structural abnormalities of the uterus, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, thyroid disease, and diabetes. However, even testing may fail to identify a clear cause.
When recurrent miscarriage occurs, chromosomal testing of the miscarriage tissue and evaluation of the uterine structure may be considered. Depending on the medical history, the parents' chromosomes, antiphospholipid antibodies, and thyroid function may also be checked. Failing to find a cause does not mean that a subsequent birth is impossible. ASRM explains that even among patients with recurrent miscarriage of unexplained origin, a considerable number go on to successfully give birth in a subsequent pregnancy.
Haddad confessed that she blamed herself during the repeated pregnancy losses and felt lonely when she saw news of other people's pregnancies. As her son's first birthday approached, she shared her experience and said, "I want to tell women going through the same thing not to lose hope."
The Haddads underwent various tests to find the cause, but were unable to determine a clear reason. Haddad said, "The hardest part was not being able to find the cause of the problem," adding, "I might have been able to accept it if I had at least known the reason, but even the medical staff said, 'We don't know.'"
In 2018, she tried in vitro fertilization, IVF. Although she secured about eight embryos that showed no problems in genetic testing, she miscarried at nine weeks of pregnancy after the first embryo transfer, and the second transfer also failed.
In 2020, she became pregnant naturally. Her previous pregnancies had ended too early to make it difficult to confirm the fetus by ultrasound, but this time she heard a heartbeat for the first time. However, when she was more than 18 weeks pregnant, her water suddenly broke, and the next day an emergency occurred in which the umbilical cord prolapsed first. Her daughter eventually died during delivery.
After experiencing another miscarriage, Haddad began receiving care from Dr. Susan Gerber, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Northwestern Medicine who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. Additional tests were conducted, but the cause of her recurrent pregnancy losses still could not be identified. The medical staff decided to closely monitor her condition if she became pregnant again.
Haddad became pregnant again in 2021. However, around 14 weeks into the pregnancy, she learned that the fetus had a rare congenital condition called sirenomelia. The fetus had no kidneys and could not produce amniotic fluid, which made it difficult for the lungs to develop properly.
Haddad continued the pregnancy and gave birth to a son, Samuel, at about 29 weeks. Although the medical staff attempted treatment, Samuel died several hours after birth.
Even after experiencing multiple losses, Haddad tried to become pregnant again. She conceived naturally in February 2025, and this time she had weekly ultrasounds and blood tests from the early stages of pregnancy to monitor her condition. During the latter part of the pregnancy, she underwent cervical cerclage to reduce the risk of premature birth. She also developed gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, was hospitalized at 35 weeks, and underwent labor induction at 37 weeks.
She eventually gave birth to a healthy son, Emmanuel, weighing about 3.5 kilograms, on October 1 last year. Haddad said, "I was so scared because the baby did not cry for the first 15 seconds," adding, "When I heard him cry, I just kept saying thank you."
The cause of Haddad's recurrent miscarriages remains unknown. Dr. Gerber, the specialist in charge of her care, said, "It is extremely rare for someone who has experienced this many pregnancy losses to give birth to a healthy child."
Recurrent miscarriage refers to two or more repeated pregnancy losses. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, ASRM, recently defined recurrent miscarriage as losing two or more pregnancies naturally, regardless of whether they occurred consecutively. Various factors can contribute, including fetal chromosomal abnormalities, structural abnormalities of the uterus, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, thyroid disease, and diabetes. However, even testing may fail to identify a clear cause.
When recurrent miscarriage occurs, chromosomal testing of the miscarriage tissue and evaluation of the uterine structure may be considered. Depending on the medical history, the parents' chromosomes, antiphospholipid antibodies, and thyroid function may also be checked. Failing to find a cause does not mean that a subsequent birth is impossible. ASRM explains that even among patients with recurrent miscarriage of unexplained origin, a considerable number go on to successfully give birth in a subsequent pregnancy.
Haddad confessed that she blamed herself during the repeated pregnancy losses and felt lonely when she saw news of other people's pregnancies. As her son's first birthday approached, she shared her experience and said, "I want to tell women going through the same thing not to lose hope."