Delivering baby hope

DANIELA FELDMAN

Following nine miscarriages and 17 years of marriage, a couple from eastern Europe has become parents thanks to an Israeli treatment. Michael and Tamari Berikashvili of Tbilisi, Georgia, this summer welcomed their daughter Mariam.

After almost two decades of heartbreak resulting from an inability to carry repeated pregnancies to term, doctors in Georgia advised the couple to consult with specialists at Rambam Health-care Campus in Haifa. The Berikashvilis traveled to meet with Prof. Benjamin Brenner, Rambam’s director of the Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Institute and the head of the hospital’s coagulation unit.

The meeting was an eye-opening experience, Michael Berikashvili said. “We came to Rambam to check the reason for our repeated miscarriages. For many years, we did not know what the problem was, but the tests given by Prof. Brenner found that Tamari has a condition called hematologic hypercoagulability,” he explained.

This condition, also known as thrombophilia, is common among women who have recurring miscarriages. Brenner and researchers at Rambam’s coagulation unit found the link between repeated miscarriages and thrombophilia, and have determined an effective treatment. Physicians are able to diagnose thrombophilia with a simple blood test, but the Berikashvilis did not have access to this procedure in Georgia. Once diagnosed, Tamari was given proper medication and became pregnant for the 10th time. Because of the risk involved with such a pregnancy, the couple returned to Israel after 13 weeks gestation, rented an apartment in Ramat Gan and frequently visited Rambam for consultations with Prof. Ido Solt, director of Rambam’s special unit for high-risk pregnancies.

“After a couple goes through so much to become parents, everything intensifies,” said Solt. “Throughout the months of observation and prenatal checks, there were many emotions, pressures and fears but, once we saw that the pregnancy was developing normally, we all started to enjoy this amazing experience.”

“It’s not easy to go through all this when we were between Israel and Georgia,” Tamari admitted, “but we waited 17 years together, and I was ready to do everything to become a mom. We made sure to talk to and update our family in Georgia constantly. Meanwhile, the hospital staff was with us all the time and helped us through the process.”

When the couple left Rambam, they were escorted by nurses and physicians who had been involved with their treatment throughout the pregnancy, culminating in little Mariam’s birth. Hopeful for future success, the Berikashvilis plan to visit the gynecology and hematology staffs next year, with Mariam and perhaps another blessing.

– Courtesy of International Media Placement

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