Miscarriage Causes, Prevention

Miscarriage: Causes, Prevention and Emotional Healing

Miscarriage is one of the misunderstood and emotionally stressful experiences which a woman or couple can experience.

Understanding what causes miscarriages, ways to lower the risks and how to handle the emotional impact can help you feel more supported.

What Is a Miscarriage?

A miscarriage is defined as pregnancy termination, up to the 20^th week. Most of the miscarriages happen during the first trimester even before a woman realises she is pregnant. In Medical terms, it simply means that the pregnancy was not safe and it ended on its own.

It’s important to remember that not all miscarriages are caused because of lifting heavy things, physical activity, work stress or sex. These misconceptions sometimes makes women feel guilty of themselves making their emotional healing difficult.

Causes of Miscarriages

The most difficult part about talking about miscarriages is that it has no specific reason and more often, ever the doctors cannot identify the reason.

These are few well known reasons:

Chromosomal Abnormalities: When a woman is pregnant the embryo must develop the correct number of chromosomes. In case of any abnormality, the pregnancy cannot be developed. That is why, many of the miscarriages happen before, 10 weeks.
Hormonal Imbalances: Stable hormone balance is very important to a pregnancy. Problems such as diabetes, thyroid disorders or progesterone can risk the early stages of pregnancy.
Uterine/ Cervical Conditions: These can affect how an embryo implants and grows. These include fibroids that change the shape of the uterus, a uterine septum or cervix opens too early. Certain infections can also raise the risk, such as urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis or viral infections.
Immunological Disorders: Conditions like antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) or thrombophilia can lead to blood clots in the placenta. These clots can block the flow of nutrients to the embryo, which may result in a miscarriage.
Lifestyle Factors: Miscarriage may be caused by smoking, high intake of alcohol, drugs and malnutrition. Regular physical activity or household chores do not cause miscarriage.
Maternal Age: As maternal age increases, especially after 35, the chances of chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo also increase, which can rise the risk of miscarriage.

But many women over 35 still have completely healthy pregnancies.

Is It Possible to Prevent Miscarriage?

We can’t prevent all miscarriages. Treating thyroid diseases, PCOS, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure is mandatory before planning for a pregnancy. Quit smoking and drugs. These substances lead to miscarriage. The problems can be reduced by treating the UTIs, STDs or any other chronic infection. Eat well and do moderate exercise.

If miscarriage happens more than three times, a gynecologist might recommend hormones level, uterine structure, clotting disorders and hereditary disorder tests.

After a Miscarriage

The healing is determined by the level of pregnancy. Others will also find themselves bleeding like during menstruation and others might have to remove the remaining tissues.

As a rule, these medications will be prescribed by your doctor:

Rest during several days
No activities like sex during 2-3 weeks
Pay attention to fever or foul discharge signs
Additional ultrasounds can be done

The menstrual cycles are normally started 4-6 weeks after. Even though some women take long time before they are emotionally ready to have another child, they can conceive.

Consult a gynecologist on a follow up to ensure that the uterine healing process is done and to discuss future plans.

Get in Touch

If you are Planning for a pregnancy and c trusted maternity care, you can consult Dr. Sarada Mamilla at Yashoda Hospitals, one of the best gynaecologists in Hyderabad for expert guidance.