Conceiving After Miscarriage Tips
The current article primarily seeks to offer relevant tips for conceiving after miscarriage by determining the possibilities of conception post-pregnancy loss. Additionally, it attempts to identify factors causing miscarriages and strives to analyze their physiology, while at the same time, adopting measures that will effectively prevent the future occurrence of such.
Miscarriage
The other name for spontaneous abortion, miscarriage, as specified above, is the unexpected loss of pregnancy before an expectant mother reaches her 20 weeks gestation, in turn, signifying that miscarriages mostly happen in the first trimester of pregnancy. Chromosomal problems are the likely cause of a miscarriage, which renders a pregnant woman the inability to control its occurrence. This statement, therefore, indicates that abortion and its likely causes cannot, and should not be attributed to the fault from the expectant mother’s side. It may also be that the fetus has stopped growing within the womb and shows no expected signs of development on routine ultrasound checks, where an abortion becomes imminent.
In addition to the previous statement that chromosomal issues primarily lead to miscarriages, it’s worth mentioning that about 50% of these miscarriages are due to either excess or missed chromosomes.
Understanding The Physiology of Miscarriage
To reiterate, chromosomal abnormalities are among the widely recognized causes of miscarriage. Further explanation reveals that these abnormal chromosomal presentations lead to the development of a blighted (infected) ovum, which in turn hampers the formation of an embryo. At other times, these can lead to intrauterine fetal demise, where though an embryo forms, eventually stops developing within the uterus. All these happen before manifesting as the actual symptoms of pregnancy loss-cum-abortion.
The other physiological reasons behind miscarriages have also included the presence of molar pregnancy and partial molar pregnancy. While the molar pregnancy results from both sets of chromosomes, where these come from the father, they tend to hold a significantly higher chance of causing placental growth abnormalities, thus explaining the lack of fetal development. On the other hand, partial molar pregnancy happens when a mother’s chromosomes remain with the two sets of chromosomes derived from the father. This as well results in placental abnormalities, in turn, affecting fetal growth within the womb.
Because of these respective specifications of both molar and partial molar pregnancies, these render them to be highly nonviable, and can also lead to cancerous changes in the placenta.
Risk Factors of Miscarriages
Researchers have identified maternal health conditions as one of the likely causes of miscarriages, including gestational (and uncontrolled) diabetes, underlying infections (uterine or other), hormonal issues/imbalances, problems of the uterus or cervix, and endocrine problems.
Gestational Diabetes
The fact that uncontrolled blood sugar levels retards fetal growth cannot be denied, and when this happens in the early pregnancy period, say before 13 weeks, is likely to result in fetal birth defects, thereby increasing the risk for miscarriages and diabetes-linked complications later on.
Infections
Septic miscarriage, as these can be otherwise referred to, is potential enough to lead to abortions. Of note, fever, chills, smelly vaginal discharges, and lower abdominal tenderness are the signs of infections.
Hormonal Issues/Imbalance
There are cases where the uterine lining does not develop the way it should be.Since it is mandatory for the appropriate implantation and nourishment of the fertilized egg, all these can happen when the reproductive hormone called Prolactin is produced in excess in the pituitary gland to impact the proper development of the uterine lining and fetal growth
Uterus and Cervix Issues
The size and shape of the uterus and cervix can also risk miscarriage. Also, a congenital issue such as a double uterus or a uterine septum is likely to cause pregnancy loss. Regarding cervical issues, conditions like cervical polyps, fibroids, etc., are potential factors causing miscarriages.
Endocrine Problems
Specific endocrine problems, like those involving fluctuating thyroid hormone levels or any severe thyroid issue and abnormal insulin levels, tend to increase the risk of miscarriages.
In addition to the above factors, researchers have linked pregnancy loss to issues related to luteal phase defects, which are disorders of the corpus luteum function caused by insufficient production of progesterone. One should note here that several other in-born diseases like age, congenital heart disease, kidney disease, improper implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterine lining, weak cervix muscles (cervix opening up early in pregnancy), lifestyle factors (smoking, tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drug abuse), radiation, medications (such as Accutane), and severe malnutrition are high-risk factors to cause miscarriages.
Symptoms of Miscarriage
The most common miscarriage symptoms have included intense vaginal bleeding with pain and cramps in the lower abdominal region, tissue discharge from the vagina, and no longer feeling pregnant, including symptoms such as morning sickness, breast tenderness, etc.
Possibility of Conception After Miscarriage
The possibility of conception after miscarriage depends on various health conditions affecting the reproductive organ, namely the uterus and its peripheral parts. Additionally, this mandates understanding the different types of miscarriages and how they affect the chances of conceiving after experiencing pregnancy loss. To this end, please refer to the below table representing the same.
| Types of Miscarriage | Description | Re-conception Chances | Possibility of Conception after miscarriage |
| Missed miscarriage | Unaware of the pregnancy loss that occurred because of the absence of any particular symptom. | One can indeed ovulate as soon as two weeks after the pregnancy loss. It all depends on the level of readiness or mental preparation one can take to conceive again. | High |
| Complete miscarriage | One can experience pregnancy loss if one has noticed or felt an emptied uterus. | A woman can become pregnant after her first (and complete) miscarriage, but this ought to be considered after three months of the occurrence because the uterus needs to get completely healed and return to its normal state of function. | High |
| Recurrent miscarriages | More than two consecutive miscarriages. | Since recurrent miscarriages affect about 1% of couples in the U.S., this likely places a significant amount of risk for them to experience abortion again, thus, lowering their chances of getting pregnant again. | Low to Medium |
| Threatened miscarriage | One may or may not experience a miscarriage upon noticing bleeding and pelvic cramps. Though the pregnancy continues, the threat of miscarriage looms large, however, with no particular issues faced. | Since the chances are 50-50, a healthcare provider will likely prescribe bed rest and close monitoring for the remainder of the pregnancy. | Medium |
| Inevitable miscarriage | There is bleeding and cramping with the dilation of the cervix and amniotic fluid leakage. | The inevitable miscarriage is unlike spontaneous abortion because there does not occur any expulsion of the products of conception. | Medium |
Tips for Conception After Miscarriage
Having acknowledged the different types of miscarriages and the possibility of conception after pregnancy loss in the first trimester, and with repeat miscarriages occurring to diminish the chances of a viable pregnancy, these have indeed raised concerns regarding the issues surrounding the inability of a couple to get pregnant, even after waiting for three months post the first occurrence of the miscarriage. This fact has significantly implied the need to suggest suitable measures which, besides enhancing the possibilities of repeat conception, will also help prevent further miscarriages by reducing the risk factors causing them.
As stated above, addressing potential risk factors, such as maternal health conditions, i.e., gestational uncontrolled diabetes, infection, uterine and cervix-related issues, underlying endocrine disorders, and hormonal imbalance should be the prime focus additionally, if a pregnant woman engages in unhealthy habits like smoking, tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drug abuse, offering the necessary counseling should help lower the risks of experiencing continued miscarriages. It is medically advisable to wait some three months post-first miscarriage before mentally and physically deciding to get pregnant again. Also, it would be in the best interest of the couples to seek medical assistance regarding the appropriate time of pregnancy after having experienced the miscarriage.
Conclusion
Couples (mainly the woman) find it challenging to cope with the emotional breakdown unless they actively seek practical assurance and guidance from family, spouse, or an experienced medical professional. Moreover, experiencing a series of pregnancy losses in a row makes it advisable not to depict this distressing experience of consecutive childbearing difficulties. A convenient (and effective) way to address this pertinent issue is to work extensively on potential risk factors with medical assistance and supervision, discussing the chances for possible future pregnancy after one or repeated pregnancy losses, not to exclude the consideration for making the necessary lifestyle changes in this regard
