However, those pregnancies that are confirmed and then end in miscarriage, are known as early miscarriages; those which take place between conception and the 13th week of pregnancy, or within the first trimester.

Most early miscarriages or pregnancy losses are impossible to prevent and sometimes they are simply nature’s way of correcting an error.

And though the causes of some miscarriages are simply not understood, there are several reasons why early miscarriages do take place.

Age of the mother: There is a definite causal link between a woman’s advanced age and her increased chances of having a miscarriage. Women above the age of 35 are known to have increased chances of suffering a miscarriage.

According to some experts, about half of the pregnancies of women over 40 end in miscarriage.

Chromosomal or Genetic Abnormalities: Chromosomes are what determine our genetic characteristics and when there are abnormalities detected in the chromosomes of a fetus such as in terms of number or structure, this results in a miscarriage.

This is the most common among the reasons for early miscarriage, since more than half the number of early miscarriages takes place due to these chromosomal or genetic abnormalities.

Very often these abnormalities are not passed on from either of the parents, nor do they owe themselves to the parent’s health or their habits; however they do occur, rather like nature’s errors which a miscarriage may be a way of correcting.

Infections & Diseases: some infections and diseases may contribute to rather than become the sole cause of an early miscarriage. Viral infections like cytomegalovirus, bacterial infections like Chlamydia, mycoplasma, ureaplasma, and streptococcus, and even in some cases parasitic infection such as toxoplasmosis may be contributing causes of early miscarriage.

Stress and other disorders: Sometimes a woman, who is under excessive amounts of pressure and stress, may suffer an early miscarriage or pregnancy loss due to stress, and sometimes it could be undetected medical conditions that cause such loss such as diabetes that a woman may not realize she has etc.

Environmental Factors and substance abuse: Substance abuse can cause serious abnormalities in a baby that is carried to term as well as be the cause of early miscarriage.

Similarly women exposed to toxins in other ways or those that have been working in hazardous environments may also find that their chances of suffering miscarriage are increased.

When you talk of ways to induce a miscarriage, the term includes over the counter medication, other ‘herbal ways to induce miscarriage’ and even the other less recognized methods of doing so which are outside the purview of medical practice.

Many of the ways to induce a miscarriage can be actually dangerous because these are the ways adopted by a woman herself, without medical supervision.

Many of these methods of inducing miscarriage are actually illegal and should therefore be approached with a great degree of caution. It is important to remember that some methods of inducing miscarriage or abortion may be actually unsuccessful and the fetus may survive however to its and the mother’s detriment.

When ways to induce abortion have been unsuccessfully used, it has been seen that at times the child is born with birth defects or that the mother suffers the ill effects of such ill advised practices.

Some of the more primitive tribes in India are known to induce miscarriage by eating of certain foods such as carrot seeds soup or mutton marrow soup or by swallowing dried henna powder.

In western countries as well, there are several ways of inducing miscarriage that are still performed, such as ingesting excessive amounts of vitamin C, Black Cohosh and Pennyroyal which are thought to increase the chances of miscarrying a pregnancy.

Lifting of heavy weights and certain types of vigorous abdominal massage is also among the ways employed by these tribal people to induce miscarriage.

Abdominal massage to bring about a miscarriage is also practiced in several other counties such as Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Even in more developed countries dangerous ways to induce miscarriage are not unheard of: the insertion of implements such as coat hangers and knitting needles into the uterus via the cervix are some of the dangerous methods that have and still are employed to get rid of an unwanted fetus.

Actually undergoing physical harm such as receiving injuries to the abdomen or sustaining deliberate falls are also some of the methods that are employed as ways to induce a miscarriage which, needless to say can be extremely harmful to the woman and her internal organs.

Also very dangerous is inducing a miscarriage by taking strong medications prescribed for other ailments and many of the ways to induce a miscarriage can actually end in loss of life or other very serious consequences.

However, it is very common for a woman to want to conceive immediately after a miscarriage [Pregnancy after miscarriage].

Conceiving after a miscarriage brings out a lot of emotions, develops fear of another miscarriage, as well as the anxiety of not conceiving after miscarriage for the first few trials.

Conceiving after miscarriage provokes various questions like:

• How much longer should I bleed after a miscarriage?
• How do I prevent a miscarriage after conceiving again?
• When should I attempt to conceive after miscarriage?

Bleeding after miscarriage: Most people are not sure about the period for bleeding after miscarriage. Usually, bleeding lasts for 4-5 days to two weeks. Experiencing a miscarriage during the third trimester can cause bleeding for six weeks. During this period, don’t put anything in your vagina.

Prevent the fear of another miscarriage: It is natural for a woman to fear having another miscarriage. Be honest with your partner and loved ones because no-one is equipped to understand the feeling of this fear.

Period to conceive after a miscarriage: Most women want to attempt pregnancy immediately after miscarriage. Conceiving after miscarriage depends entirely on how you cope with your miscarriage. If you feel that you are ready to attempt, then don’t hesitate to try.

Conceiving after miscarriage tips:

• Allow your body to heal and cope with the loss you had.
• If you have no desire for sex, communicate with your partner and make him understand the situation.
• Give yourself time to cope with the loss and organize your mind and body to try pregnancy again. It is advisable to wait until you have at least one normal menstruation cycle.
• Don’t plan immediately after a miscarriage.
• Have sex between 10-18 days of your cycle.

Dealing with pain and grief of a pregnancy loss makes conceiving again as an impossible and sometimes a disagreeable condition for some couples, but some others want to become pregnant immediately.

However, you should wait to conceive until you become both physically and emotionally ready. Still most of you get a doubt that when can you try for another pregnancy.

Right time for planning pregnancy after miscarriage:

Frankly speaking, there is no specific amount of time you need to wait for conceiving again. But, most of the health professionals suggest you to wait for few months in order to strengthen the odds of a healthy pregnancy.

If your body is not prepared to support for a pregnancy at the time you conceive again, then you need to face a higher risk of recurrent miscarriage. Some time is necessary for recovery of the uterus and strengthening of the endometrial lining.

Medically, the safe period for conception is after 2-3 menstrual cycles. Some other practitioners suggest you to wait for six months to one year before trying for another pregnancy.

Are there any chances of having miscarriage again?

Most of the couples who had undergone a miscarriage (miscarriage symptoms) worry that it will occur again. About 85% of pregnancies who experienced one loss can have successful pregnancy for the next time and 75% of pregnancies can have successful pregnancies that experienced two or three losses.

You should consult your practitioner before you conceive again. This is essential if you have experienced 2-3 losses, have fertility problems, have problems that affect your pregnancy like diabetes (diabetes and pregnancy)and are above the age of 30.

Deciding when to attempt again:

The decision of attempting again is dependent on you couple. Becoming pregnant again never substitute the lost pregnancy, but it will help you in refocusing your attention. If the previous miscarriage is due to any complications, then you should discuss with your practitioner regarding the plans of conceiving again.

Don’t blame yourself for the loss. Often women feel that they are responsible for the miscarriage. The most common cause of miscarriage appears to be a chromosomal abnormality in your developing embryo. It is highly unlikely that anything you did contributed to the loss.

PhD candidate Kaeleen Dingle found young women who lost a pregnancy were more susceptible to depression, anxiety, alcohol dependency and illicit substance abuse than women who had never been pregnant.

Ms Dingle said her study expanded on recent evidence that suggested abortions were associated with later psychiatric disorders, by finding miscarriage held the same risks.

“Our findings suggest that this increased risk of psychiatric problems in some women after an abortion may be associated with pregnancy loss rather than caused by the experience of having an induced abortion,” she said.

“We found that young women having a miscarriage or an abortion were three times more likely to experience a drug or alcohol problem during their lifetime.”

Ms Dingle said the study had implications for caregivers, who may need to give more counselling and support to women who have lost a pregnancy.

“Also, health professionals involved in the care of young women with mental health problems need to take good pregnancy histories, as young women can have complex pregnancy (pregnancy complications) histories involving births, miscarriages and abortions,” she said.

Ms Dingle’s PhD project is examining common mental health outcomes of young people who enter adulthood earlier than their peers through circumstances such as early parenting, early live-in parenting and early independent living.

Her research uses data from a long running Brisbane-based birth cohort study, which started in 1981 and followed a group of mothers and their children over 21 years.

Source: Medical News Today

It often brings feeling about guilt, depression, sadness and also fear.

The most beneficial way to cope with pregnancy loss is to deal with these emotions and handle them in a more effective way.

There are a number of ways to handle your emotions after miscarriage. Some of the best ways include:

Avoid blaming yourself: Realize that it’s not your fault and miscarriage or   pregnancy complications and it can happen to anyone.

Talk openly about your feelings and how it is affecting you with your partner to lift the burden from your mind.

Consult therapists: Meet with therapists individually and talk to them about your miscarriage. This can be a huge help to allow you to grieve over your loss together.

They can also help give you effective techniques that will enable you to understand what has happened to you.

Take a break from work: If you feel incapable of continuing your regular work routine, don’t force yourself. Taking a break from your regular routine can help you to acknowledge and examine all that you are going through.

Don’t close yourself off from people: Even though it may seem painful to discuss or share your story of pregnancy loss with another, it usually is more helpful if you share with other persons, particularly those who are close to your heart.

If you feel you are extremely depressed, accept the necessary advice from your doctor. Try not to be pessimistic and don’t stop to have another baby unless your doctor advises against it.

Progesterone is most important hormone of pregnancy and menstrual cycle.

Level of progesterone rises every month and prepares your uterine lining for pregnancy.

As progesterone is linked with pregnancy and miscarriage, some doctors believe that low levels of progesterone during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage.

Is it really true?

Even though low levels of progesterone can lead to miscarriage, but it is not progesterone that is entirely responsible for miscarriage.

Unfortunately, many women believe that low level of progesterone is main cause behind their miscarriage and undergo treatments for low levels of progesterone. As a result, they are experiencing recurrent miscarriage.

So, it is very important for you to realize that low progesterone levels are not the only reason for miscarriage. There are many other factors including low progesterone level that causes miscarriage.

What are those other factors?

Most miscarriages take place due to abnormal development of fetus. Even the genes or chromosomes of the fetus play a vital role in miscarriage.

However, in very few cases, diabetes, thyroid and uterus problems and even hormonal imbalances like low estrogen level in mothers are responsible for miscarriage. So, be aware of all these conditions and avoid recurrent miscarriage.

They recommended counselling should be given to pregnant women who are obese to help them understand the benefit that weight loss may have on pregnancy outcome, but other experts urge caution because there are also risks associated with losing weight during pregnancy.

The links between miscarriage and maternal obesity have been well studied and established, but this is the first study to look at recurrent miscarriages for which there is no explanation, said the authors.

For the study, clinical nurse specialist at the hospital, Winnie Lo, and colleagues, examined 398 women who had been attending the hospital with their partners for unexplained miscarriages between 1996 and 2006.

They then followed them on their next pregnancy and also put them into four groups depending on their Body Mass Index (BMI).

When they analysed the data they adjusted the results for potential confounders like age, a well know risk factor for miscarriage.

Read more at Medical News Today

If at all this is the case, then you can feel a bit confused and depressed with the condition.

This particular condition of miscarriage is commonly known as blighted ovum and it can mainly happen when a fertilized egg attaches itself to uterine walls.

A blighted ovum usually takes place in your first trimester, before you know that you are pregnant. It is the most common cause for early pregnancy loss in women.

Blighted ovum possibly takes place when a full fertilized egg, which has already developed placenta and membrane, sticks to the walls of your uterus and hence there will not be any growth of embryo in your womb.

This kind of miscarriage usually takes place in those women who normally experience chromosomal abnormalities with their fertilized egg.

What can happen when you have blighted ovum?

With this condition of blighted ovum, you can miss a period and can also have a positive result in your pregnancy test. This is mainly due to the reason that the placenta developed by the fertilized egg typically secretes a pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG).

When your placenta starts secreting the HCG, you can eventually experience certain symptoms of pregnancy such as breast tenderness or fatigue. But, as soon as the placenta stops its growth, then the hormone levels get reduced and your pregnancy symptoms tend to subside. At this stage you can experience minor abdominal cramps and bleeding or even you can notice light spotting from your vagina.

When can you try for a pregnancy again?

After having the early pregnancy failure, with in 4 to 6 weeks, your menstrual cycle starts as usual. Some of the most experienced researchers recommend that you can start trying to conceive again after completing this particular menstrual cycle.

Even though you are ready physically to conceive again, you might feel disturbed or depressed emotionally. Every one of you can usually cope up with the grief of blighted ovum in your own way. But in some women it can take months to get mentally stubborn and they can take some time to develop an interest for another pregnancy.

Is there any possibility to experience blighted ovum again?

No! If you have experienced the condition of blighted ovum once in your life, never try to be in the misconception that it can happen to you again. However, it is quite common for you to get anxious about your miscarriage. It has been told by many fertility experts that even you shouldn’t consider a single pregnancy loss as sign, which can indicate that there’s some thing wrong with your partner.

Being aware of all these conditions and taking proper care during your pregnancy period can help you a lot in leading a wonderful life.

In general, a miscarriage occurs when the fetus and the placenta stop developing.

A miscarriage that occurs naturally before the first 20 weeks of pregnancy is known as spontaneous abortion or pregnancy loss.

The possibility of having miscarriage increases as you age. Moreover, early miscarriages are so common that about 10-20% of all pregnancies lead to miscarriage within first twelve weeks of pregnancy.

The early miscarriage signs can differ from one woman to another. In some cases, you may develop early miscarriage signs and lose your pregnancy without knowing that you are pregnant.

Vaginal bleeding is the first early miscarriage sign. However, vaginal bleeding during pregnancy is so common that only 50% of all pregnancies lead to miscarriage.

If you have late period and experience a vaginal bleeding that is heavy with blood clots, then it is a sign of early miscarriage and need to inform your doctor right away about the condition.

Spotting doesn’t always indicate a sign of miscarriage. However, spotting in early stages of pregnancy is common but if it is moderate to heavy bleeding (brown or bright red) with or without pain, you can consider it as an early miscarriage sign.

Remember that your chances of continuing pregnancy are very low if you have heavy bleeding with pain.

Abdominal pain is another early miscarriage sign that usually starts once the bleeding occurs. The pain may be mild or severe. You may also experience a pain in your lower back and in the pelvic region.

Remember that the early miscarriage signs such as vaginal bleeding, pain, or spotting also signifies an ectopic pregnancy, where the fertilized egg develops outside the uterus.

If you are experiencing any of these early miscarriage signs, consult your doctor immediately. Your doctor will then perform an ultrasound test to identify the heartbeat of the fetus, size and shape of the uterus and placenta. A pelvic and cervical exam will also be performed to determine the condition of your pregnancy.

An ultrasound releases very high-frequency sound waves, which passes through the uterus to produce an image of the fetus position on a screen. [Pregnancy Ultrasound]

In case, if your doctor detects no heartbeat or image of the fetus or fetal tissue passing through the cervix that is dilated, then you have had a miscarriage. Dilation and Curettage (D & C) will be performed to scrape the remaining tissue from the uterus so that a fast recovery takes place.

However, if a fetal heartbeat or image is detected and the uterus is still enlarged then you still have chances of continuing pregnancy. In this case, your doctor will continue the treatment by prescribing a complete bed rest, medications to avoid uterine contractions. In some cases, cervix will be stitched to prevent dilation.

Remember that vaginal bleeding, an early miscarriage sign, continues for few weeks even after having a miscarriage. However, consult your doctor if bleeding continues more than few weeks.