Losing a pregnancy is disheartening. Though you cannot prevent a miscarriage from happening, your doctor can help you improve your chances of carrying your pregnancy to term and delivering a healthy baby. Dr. Loy and his team of fertility experts have experience helping women who have gone through issues with miscarriage in Celebration. They will guide you on how to handle your loss and help you go through a successful pregnancy.
How do you define a miscarriage?
Miscarriages are common and happen to many women, mostly in their initial 13 weeks of pregnancy, or the first trimester. Many times, a woman who loses her baby this early in the pregnancy will not even know she is pregnant.
What are the signs that you could be having a miscarriage?
You are likely to confuse a miscarriage with your monthly menstrual flow because you will not even realize you were pregnant before it happened. You may also experience the following symptoms:
- Heavy bleeding
- Severe abdominal pain
- Pelvic pain
- Back pain
- Weakness
While you will also experience spotting, it is not always a sign of miscarriage. Many women spot early on during their pregnancies. Though it is not a call for alarm, you should immediately contact your doctor when spotting accompanies any of these symptoms during pregnancy.
What are the various types of miscarriages?
If you have just lost your pregnancy, your doctor will try to explain to you what happened. For instance:
- An incomplete miscarriage happens when you lose the embryo, but your body fails to expel your pregnancy tissues.
- Your doctor will term the loss a complete miscarriage when your body expels all the pregnancy tissues.
You can also experience a threatened miscarriage, which happens when you bleed during pregnancy, but there is no pain and your cervix is shut. In such a case, if your doctor finds your fetus intact with a heartbeat, he can help you save your child and carry the pregnancy to term.
What causes you to have a miscarriage?
Approximately 50% of miscarriages happen when an embryo has the incorrect number of chromosomes. If your egg or your partner’s sperm contains an irregularity in their chromosomes, the embryo also suffers the abnormality and this could result in a miscarriage. Other causes of miscarriages include:
- Abnormal hormone levels in a woman
- An incompetent cervix
- Medications
- Infections
- Uncontrolled diabetes
Additionally, some personal behaviors like smoking, illegal drugs, and alcohol could also make you lose your pregnancy.
Can you prevent a miscarriage?
No. You cannot prevent a miscarriage from happening. However, you can follow your doctor’s recommendations to increase your chances of carrying your pregnancy to term. These precautions include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Take your prenatal vitamins regularly
- Exercise regularly with an OK from your doctor
- Cut-off drugs, alcohol, and caffeine drinks
- Eat a proper diet with increased amounts of calcium and folic acid
Though you cannot prevent a miscarriage, there is so much you can do to proomte a healthy environment for a successfull pregnancy and safe deliver. There is hope, no matter how many miscarriages you go through. Contact your fertility doctor at Center for Reproductive Medicine to help bounce back on the route to being a parent.
