Some miscarriages happen so early on in a pregnancy that they may occur before a woman has actually even realized that she is pregnant.
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.
