All you need to know about miscarriages.

 

Miscarriage means loss of an embryo or fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy. Most miscarriages occur during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. The medical term for miscarriage is spontaneous abortion. About 15% of known pregnancies end in a miscarriage. Most miscarriages happen before pregnancy is 12 weeks. Hi there, today’s post is going to be about miscarriages. Miscarriage is a relatively common experience but that doesn’t make it any easier. Take a step toward emotional healing by understanding what can cause a miscarriage, what increases the risk and what medical care might be needed. Ready? Let’s begin.

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There are different types of miscarriages.

• Missed abortion or miscarriage: A missed abortion refers to a miscarriage in which the fetus has died. This means that no heartbeat is present, when either a heartbeat has been noted before or when the fetus is of a size in which a heartbeat would always be seen in a healthy pregnancy. However, neither the fetus nor the placenta has been expelled from the uterus.
• Incomplete abortion or miscarriage: A miscarriage is incomplete when a portion of the pregnancy tissue (fetus, gestational sac and/or placenta) still remains in the uterus.
• Complete miscarriage: A miscarriage is complete if the fetus, all the membranes around the fetus and the placenta are expelled completely from the uterine cavity.
• Blighted ovum or an embryonic gestation: This occurs when a gestational sac forms inside the uterus, but no fetus is present and developing inside the sac.
• Recurrent miscarriage: A woman is said to have a recurrent miscarriage after three or more miscarriages in a row. Approximately 1% of women experience recurrent miscarriages.

If a pregnancy ends after 20-22 weeks, it is usually not labeled a miscarriage even though it is a pregnancy loss. The term “stillbirth” is generally used when a fetus is delivered beyond 20 weeks but is not living.

Related topics you might like to read.

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Ultrasound images of miscarriages.

Causes of Miscarriages.

Some of the known causes of early miscarriages might include:

• Genetic or chromosomal abnormalities in the baby, about three in every five early miscarriages are thought to be connected to fetal abnormality.
• The mother contracting rubella, listeriosis or chlamydia during pregnancy.
• The failure of the fertilized egg to implant successfully in the lining of the uterus.
• The mother having a low level of progesterone, which is needed to sustain the pregnancy.

There are other causes related to miscarriages such as Uterine fibroids, endometrial polyps, or vitamins deficiencies.

For the vast majority of miscarriages, there is nothing you can do to prevent it from happening.

Most miscarriages are caused by one time, non-repeating genetic defects in the embryo. The egg might be abnormal, the sperm might be abnormal or the combination might be abnormal. This does not mean that either you or your partner has a genetic defect. Every woman has some abnormal eggs and every man produces some abnormal sperm.

An embryo that has one of these defects is destined to miscarry from the moment of conception. That is why there is nothing that you can do to prevent the miscarriage. The embryo will stop growing and developing at some point and will be expelled by your body.

Symptoms of a miscarriage include:

• Vaginal bleeding that may start as a brownish discharge, when bleeding is heavy there may be blood clots or other tissue passing from the vagina. However, not all bleeding during pregnancy means that a miscarriage is happening. Especially when there is just a small amount of bleeding or spotting, many pregnancies continue to be healthy.  
• Cramps, pelvic pain, lower back or abdominal pain.

Can you prevent miscarriages?

There is a small group of miscarriages that can be prevented. These miscarriages are caused by a progesterone hormone deficiency (luteal phase defect). In the early weeks of pregnancy, the mother’s body produces the progesterone. By about 9 or 10 weeks of pregnancy, the placenta usually takes over the production of progesterone.

Women who do not produce enough progesterone hormone in the early weeks of pregnancy may have repeated miscarriages.

In general, if a miscarriage is about to occur, you cannot prevent it. Most doctors recognize that there is no evidence that any measures, or indeed any intervention, reduce the risk of miscarriage once symptoms have begun.

However, you may be able to decrease your chances of having a miscarriage in a future pregnancy by taking good care of yourself, eating a healthy diet, taking folic acid supplements, exercising regularly and not smoking or drinking alcohol.

If at the start of pregnancy you have any medical conditions, it’s best to work with your doctor to create a treatment plan that keeps you and the fetus as safe and healthy as possible.

Treatment for miscarriages.

If you have a missed or incomplete miscarriage early in pregnancy, there are three options for management.

The first option involves watching carefully for problems but letting tissues pass on their own.

If bleeding is heavy, pain severe, or expectant management is unappealing, you and your obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) may choose a procedure called a dilation and curettage (D & C) to open your cervix and remove any remaining fetal tissue from your uterus.

A third option for managing first trimester losses involves using medicines placed in the vagina or between your cheek and gum (most often by you at home) to promote the passage of tissue. This last option means less time spent waiting than with expectant management, and in most cases avoids procedures such as D&C.

Risk factors for miscarriages.

• Age: Studies have found that older moms are more likely to have miscarriages, because of the quality of the eggs. About one in three pregnancies after the age of 40 ends in miscarriage.
• Thyroid imbalances: Thyroid hormones affect the whole body and can alter levels of other hormones. Including those that play a role in pregnancy.
• Overweight or underweight: Obese women(those with a BMI of 30 or higher) have a significantly higher risk of miscarrying. Likewise, women with a BMI under 18 are more likely to miscarry.
• Large uterine fibroids: These benign tumors can cause pregnancy complications including an increased risk of miscarriages, and is all related to the location or the size of the fibroid.
• Vitamin deficiencies: Researchers have found that deficiencies in vitamin D can increase a woman’s risk of miscarrying.
• Certain STDs: Sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis and some forms of viral hepatitis, can make a woman more prone to having a miscarriage.
• Smoking or alcohol use: Studies proof an increased miscarriage risk compared with people who have never smoked. Studies have also shown that high levels of alcohol intake around the time of conception by both mom and dad can boost the chances of a miscarriage.

Tips to Cope With Miscarriages.

• Honor your baby in a special way that is meaningful to you.
• Keep a journal, writing somehow can help you to cope with the loss.
• Find a support group, either inside or outside your family and friends, talking about the loss will help you accept and move on.
• Take time off to do what you enjoy is always a great way to disconnect and recover faster from the loss.

Relationships and Miscarriages.

Pregnancy loss may bring partners closer together, or it may throw severe strain into the relationship.

Men and women frequently react differently to lose. Although men typically report similar grief initially. They might talk about their feelings less and move past the emotional part of the loss more quickly than women. Women may interpret this as men not caring about a miscarriage, and men sometimes respond by believing that women dwell too much on the pregnancy loss.

Couples need to share their feelings and lean on each other through the experience. Men should remember that women might feel the loss very deeply and might need more time and more talking to get past the grief. Women need to understand that even if men do not grieve as long or need to talk as much, men do care about and grieve miscarriages.

Final thoughts about miscarriages.

The good news is that most women who’ve had a miscarriage even more than once before eventually can have a healthy pregnancy. Although you may need to manage future pregnancies differently. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), even after four consecutive losses, about 65% of women will carry a normal pregnancy to full term.

This is the most useful information about miscarriages, I hope this post was helpful to you, any question feel free to leave a comment below.

Zadi, XO.