Some Top Reasons For Miscarriages

Miscarriage or loss of pregnancy that is preceded by heavy bleeding and cramping occurs before the 20th week of pregnancy; occurring in every 1 out of 5 pregnancies, about 4 out of 5 miscarriages occur in the first 3 months of pregnancy. Miscarriage could be a devastating with long lasting emotional repercussions like depression, guilt, fear, anger.

Some top reasons for miscarriages:

• The first most prominent reason for miscarriage is chromosomal problems; usually during fertilization the egg and the sperm, a minor glitch can create this abnormality. Some of these abnormalities are compatible with life, while others are not and the embryo will simply not grow. The risk of this problem increases with age.

• The next reason for miscarriages is hormonal imbalances; contributing to about 15% of the miscarriage it is caused by the insufficient progesterone level that prevents the   fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. Diagnosed by an endometrial biopsy, the treatment includes fertility drugs that improve the quality of egg development and hormone production.

• Miscarriages are also caused by various uterine problems; one of the most common being uterine fibroids that grow inside the uterus and interfere with implantation or blood supply to the fetus. Also some women could be born with septum, which a tissue wall that divides the uterine cavity. The next, though uncommon uterine problem is bands of tissue within the uterus caused by scarring from surgery or second-term abortions that keep the egg from being implanted properly and also hamper blood supply to the placenta; this is treated after being determined by specialized X-rays.

• Chronic illnesses like autoimmune disorders, heart disease, kidney and liver disease, diabetes can cause miscarriages; they account for about 6 out of 100 recurrent miscarriages and can only be treated by an obstetrician experienced in caring for women with this condition. Though it is complicated to understand the exact role of immunologic factors in miscarriage, we could just say that the body just doesn't accept the pregnancy.

• Both hypothyroidism as well as hyperthyroidism can lead to infertility and recurrent miscarriages. Hypothyroidism will make the woman’s body compensate by producing hormones that actually suppress ovulation, while hyperthyroidism will produce too many hormones that will interfere with the estrogen’s ability to work and make the uterus unfavorable for implantation.   

• Again it is significant to know that high fever especially during the first six weeks of pregnancy could lead to miscarriages; though healthy, if you develop a core body temperature of 102 degree or more it could be a risk factor for miscarriage as a high core body temperature could be damaging to the embryo before 6 weeks.

• Lastly miscarriage early on or later during pregnancy could be caused by self destructive lifestyle habits like alcohol use, smoking and drug abuse.

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