Miscarriage: An Avoidable Heartbreak

Written by Jane Brown

Miscarriage can be a heartbreaking trial for expectant parents, especially if it's happened more than once. Although it happens more often than we would like, medical science is offering hope to women who have trouble carrying babies to term as treatments to prevent miscarriage are becoming more successful.

Miscarriage is the spontaneous abortion of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy. Because of the political implications surrounding the term "abortion," many health care officials use the term "miscarriage" instead of "spontaneous abortion" to refer to the loss of any pregnancy prior to the 20 week mark. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, nearly 15 to 25 percent of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage. The vast majority of miscarriages happen before the 13th week of pregnancy. Most miscarriages are caused by chromsomal abnormalities in the developing fetus, usually caused by a faulty sperm or egg. The abnormalities cause the fetus to become non-viable, and the mother's body responds by expelling it.

Many miscarriages go unnoticed, because they happen before the pregnancy is even recognized by the mother. Chemical pregnancies, essentially very early miscarriages, account for more than half of all miscarriages. A chemical pregnancy happens when a pregnancy ends shortly after the implantation stage. It generally results in heavier than normal bleeding that happens at about the expected time of the mother's period. Unless the mother has taken a pregnancy test, chances are that she didn't even know she was pregnant.

As mentioned before, the great majority of miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus. Other common causes of a first trimester miscarriage include hormonal problems in the mother, collagen vascular disease, diabetes and problems with the mother's uterus.

Hormonal problems that can cause a miscarriage include a lack of progesterone. Progesterone prepare the uterine lining for pregnancy.

Collagen vascular diseases are illnesses which cause the body to attack it's own organs. In pregnancy, if a mother's immune system attacks the unborn child, this can result in a miscarriage.

Some women have abnormalities in their uterus which can cause miscarriage. For example, some women develop a uterine septum which divides the uterus into sections. Unfortunately, the uterine septum has very poor blood flow, and if a fetus implants upon it, there's a very good chance it won't receive the development it needs, with miscarriage being the result.

Certain risk factors and lifestyle habits can also contribute to a miscarriage. For example, women who smoke or drink are more likely to have a miscarriage. Also, older women are also more likely to miscarry than younger women. Women in their 20s have a 15 percent miscarriage risk, women in their late 30s have a 25 percent miscarriage risk. Women in their 40s can have up to a 50 percent chance of miscarriage. Caffeine overuse and poor nutrition are also contributing factors to miscarriage.

A miscarriage can be devastating for a woman, especially one who is trying very hard to carry a child. Emotional counseling may be necessary after a miscarriage to work through these feelings before another attempt at having a child is made.

To prevent a miscarriage, women should get as healthy as possible prior to getting pregnant. This means cutting out cigarettes and alcohol, exercising regularly, eating nutritious food and reducing stress. Once becoming pregnant, women should be careful to keep their abdomens safe, continue to avoid cigarettes, alcohol and illegal drugs, avoid strenuous sports, radiation, x-rays and infection and take folic acid supplements.

Sometimes women undergo what is called a threatened abortion, or signs of a pending miscarriage. This is characterized by cramping and vaginal bleeding. If you feel you are having these symptoms you should seek medical help immediately. Most miscarriages are not preventable once symptoms begin, but if the fetus is viable sometimes they can be headed off.

If you've had a miscarriage, it's very important that you see your doctor. Although in most miscarriages, the women will expel all fetal tissue, in some cases it may be necessary for a doctor to remove remaining tissue. If this is not done, it can pose a very significant threat to the health of the woman.

Treatment for women who have had multiple miscarriages include surgery to correct potential physical problems with the uterus or cervix which may be contributing to the miscarriage. Also some women are given progesterone supplements if their ability to produce this hormone is low. Other women may be ordered to abstain from physical activity and given a regimen of bed rest.

The good news is that once a fetal heartbeat is established, the chance of a miscarriage is reduced to about 5 percent. Also, in cases of an isolated miscarriage, about 90 percent of mothers go on to be able to carry a child to term later.