Miscarriage occurs when a baby dies within the mother’s womb before the twentieth week of pregnancy. According to the House of Dimes, about ten to fifteen percent of pregnancies of women who know they are pregnant end in miscarriage.  As many as half of pregnancies may end early because many miscarriages happen before a woman even knows she is pregnant. The first trimester (thirteen weeks) is when most miscarriages happen. The second trimester miscarriages happen between weeks 13 and 19 in one to five percent of pregnancies. Sadly, miscarriage affects many women.

My Personal Story

I went to my first pregnancy appointment by myself.  I imagined my fourth child playing with a new sibling close to her age. When an ultrasound showed no heartbeat, it was a shock. I never expected I would have a miscarriage.

The Causes of Miscarriage

The known causes of miscarriage are:

• Fetal factors
• Maternal factors
• Age
• Environmental exposure
• Infection
• Physical and congenital abnormalities
• Endocrine disorders
• Immunologic factors
• Coagulation disorders
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Psychological factors
• Paternal factors

We will look at genetics, progesterone levels, and blood clotting disorder.

Genetics

Miscarriages with a very early demise might be from a genetic problem. Over half of the babies miscarried between six and eight weeks have a chromosomal abnormality. At the time of conception, a problem might occur in the crossover of genes between egg and sperm where genetic information is missing so the pregnancy cannot continue. This is a “chance event”, the timing of which occurs based on the lost information. The information simply was not there when it was needed, so the baby couldn’t develop and died. The pregnancy carries on normally until this happens and then a miscarriage begins. If the miscarriage doesn’t happen right away, it  is a “missed miscarriage” . The miscarriage might not be discovered until weeks later because the body tends to hang on to these pregnancies.

Low Progesterone

Miscarriage which happens between weeks five to eight of gestation is usually due to progesterone deficiency. Corpus lutem defect is when the corpus luteum does not produce enough progesterone. Progesterone has important jobs in the body so when there isn’t enough, the pregnancy cannot continue.

Blood Clotting

Blood clotting disorders are responsible for an estimated 55% of recurrent miscarriages, which is when a woman has had three or more consecutive miscarriages. Testing sometimes reveals an underlying blood clotting disorder as the cause in 55% of patients. A disorder known as thrombophilia is the most common disorder  related to early miscarriage and late-term fetal death. It is a tendency to develop blood clots and/or to under-produce the enzymes needed to dissolve the clots. People rarely know that they have the disorder unless they get a large blood clot in their body or have recurrent miscarriages. A genetic disorder does not mean a clotting emergency or large clot will happen; it just increases the risk that one might happen.

Miscarriage is often painful, both physically and emotionally. Taking time to grieve and learn about causes may lessen a woman’s emotional pain.

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. Please encourage others by writing in the comment section above.