Cytogenetic survey in couples with recurrent fetal wastage

Cytogenetic studies have been performed in 1068 couples with antecedent fetal wastage, i.e., at least two spontaneous first trimester abortions or one spontaneous first trimester abortion and one late fetal death, particularly with multiple congenital malformations. Three major types: 33 reciprocal translocations (3.09%), 20 Robertsonian translocations (1.87%) and six other chromosomal abnormalities (0.56%) were found, bringing the total number of chromosomal abnormalities to 59 (5.5%) in 1068 couples under investigation. In contrast to couples with reciprocal translocations, a high excess of female over male carriers was found in the group of Robertsonian translocations. In the evaluation of chromosomal polymorphisms, only variants with particularly large paracentromeric constitutive heterochromatin blocks were taken into account, and their low frequency in the present study is therefore not comparable with that in a general population. The impact of further extensive familial investigation on genetic counseling and the follow-up of prenatal diagnosis are discussed.