Healthy Pregnancy Centre

Archive for September 13th, 2009

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Coping with miscarriage can be very difficult. Oftentimes, it comes with raging emotions associated with depression, fear, guilt and sadness. More often than not, couples or women in particular, who have just had a miscarriage find it difficult to go see their friends, go back to work and go on with their daily activities. Some also worry about their future satisfaction in issues of reproduction .– Can I be a good mother? What is my worth as a wife? In this article, we will give you a simple guide on coping with miscarriage.

Dealing with your emotions. The most important part in coping with miscarriage is by engaging yourself in the  different emotions that you are naturall bound to feel. Wallow and feel the loss and the pains of losing a child. Do this openly and sincerely. Most women experience shock especially during the first few days of the miscarriage, especially if the event was unforeseen. After shock, grief comes in. When you grieve, let yourself lose. Scream if you want to. Cry if you want to. The important thing is that you let everything out. Anger and guilt may also be common. Some women even get bitter and find themselves irritated when they see a happy pregnant woman pass by. These are absolutely normal.

Grieve – As already mentioned, grieving is an important step in coping with miscarriage. You can take a break from your daily activities so you can give yourself the chance to remember and reflect on the loss of your child. Other couples also choose to commemorate their loss by simple activities like planting a tree in the backyard, making a donation in his memory, holding a memorial ceremony or adopting a puppy. Another modern of way of coping with miscarriage is by making a website dedicated to your lost child and sharing your experiences to  moms from all throughout the world. Doing so will make you realize that so many women share the same sentiments that you have.

Share your grief to your partner – It’s not only you who lost a child. Your partner is also grieving over the loss of a loved one. During this hard time, you need to support one another. Stay close and connected. Take this period as the perfect time for the both of you to reaffirm your relationship and bond with each other. Set a quiet time for the two of you to reflect on your loss. You can take a walk, watch a movie or even just cuddle with each other.

Talk to a therapist – For some women, having a counselor helps a lot. You may also talk with your doctor or midwife. They will not only be there to listen to you. They may also be able to give you tips on how you can ensure a healthy pregnancy in the future.

Write – Just like your grade school, being true with your feelings and writing everything that you feel in a piece of paper can be very therapeutic.

While coping with miscarriage may be very difficult, the good news is that more often than not conception after miscarriage oftentimes lead to healthy and  full-term pregnancies.

Many pregnant women want to know about their chances of having a miscarriage. Statistics of miscarriage in early pregnancy posts it that every pregnant woman has a 15-20% chance of having a miscarriage on the first trimester of her pregnancy. Early miscarriage may be very devastating to most couples causing depression and trauma to the woman, in particular. Given this, it is very important that you keep yourself aware about how you can prevent self-termination of your pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby at full term instead.

The early miscarriage symptoms

It is said that one out of five women in miscarriage. In some cases, it can even occur before a woman finds out that she has conceived. Be aware of these early miscarriage symptoms and see your doctor if you experience any of these within the duration of your pregnancy.

• Vaginal bleeding is one of the most common signs of an early miscarriage. The bleeding usually occurs heavier than your normal period. At first, it may appear to be reddish-brown in color and turns into bright red during the later part of your pregnancy. Oftentimes, the bleeding occurs during the same time that your menstrual period is expected. You will be able to tell that the bleeding is caused by miscarriage because it increases not only in volume but also in frequency. The bleeding may also contain clots. Consuming one pad per hour to address bleeding should be enough cue for you to call your doctor.
• Cramps like what you feel during your period and tingling twitches. The cramps continue to worsen as the days go by.
• A heavy feeling in either in your stomach or in your pelvis during the first three months of your pregnancy
• In understanding the early miscarriage symtoms above, it is important to keep in mind that in some cases, a certain symptom may not necessarily indicate a miscarriage. For instance, bleeding is common during pregnancy. To ensure safety, be sensitive and critical about the symptoms that you experience. If you can, see your doctor right away.

To date, the causes of an early miscarriage remain unknown. However, some medical practitioners believe that babies who are born with a serious developmental or physical abnormality were more likely miscarried. Miscarriage is also associated to an egg which failed to develop correctly. A high fever during pregnancy may also increase your chances of having a miscarriage because more cases of miscarriage are reported during times of flu epidemic.

To prevent an early miscarriage, it is very important that you keep yourself healthy throughout your pregnancy. Eat only health food – fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating a balanced diet will also be a big help. More than just that, make it a habit to see your doctor regularly. Your doctors can give you further medication if he thinks that the baby is prone to being miscarried. Quit your vices. Smoking, taking prohibited drugs, drinking too much coffee and excessive alcohol drinking also increase one’s chances of having a miscarriage.

Before they event start trying, many couples want to find out about their chances of having a miscarriage. Miscarriage can be a very depressing circumstance. Nevertheless, it is we have to accept the fact that a miscarriage is a very natural event. Given this, it is very  important for every future parents to understand how exactly does a miscarriage happens and what may be done to prevent this from happening. In this article, we will share with you the most common miscarriage causes.

Generally, miscarriage is most common to women who get pregnant beyond 35 years old. It is also common among pregnancies with more than one fetus – twins, triplets and more. Do chances of miscarriage drop? Yes it does, after your first trimester.

Chromosomal abnormalities – Among the most common miscarriage causes are chromosomal abnormalities which may be characterized by problems in the chromosomes of the embryo. This factor is most likely to occur during the first 13 weeks of the pregnancy. This event eliminates around 95% of fertilized eggs with genetic abnoormalities – maybe to address the incapability of the fetus to survive for  a long time. A lot of chromosomal problems happen by chance. Nevertheless, most of which, are associated directly to the parent’s genes especially if the mother has had a serious medical condition prior to her pregnancy. The risks may even double if the woman has had repeated miscarriage in the past or if either of the parents have relatives with birth defects. This problem may be identified by conducting a genetic analysis and testing.

Illnesses – The chances of miscarriage drop by the third semester.  This rare circumstances are attributed to maternal factors like illnesses of the mother. For instance, women who have diabetes are at high risks to having a miscarriage. The good news is that if diabetes is controlled before conception and during and after the pregnancy, the chances of miscarriage are lessened. Other diseases which may be linked to miscarriage cases include high blood pressure, infections like herpes simplex, German measles and chlamydia. If you have any of the mentioned illnesses, make sure that you treat or control the problem even before you try to conceive.

Hormonal imbalance – Hormones may also be a major cause for a miscarriage to occur. Some women cannot make enough progesterone. Progesterone is the hormone which prepares the lining of the uterus to nourish a fertilized egg. This may be corrected by taking progesterone supplements. The supplements may be given through vaginal suppositories or through injection. You may know if you are producing enough progesterone through blood test or through biopsy which examines a small amount of tissue taken from the uterine lining.

Cervix and uterus abnormalities – If something is physically wrong with the woman’s cervix or uterus, the chances of miscarriage levels up. Growth of fibroids made possible by uterine muscle tissues may also be considered a major cause. The same way that a weak cervix, which widens early on during the pregnancy,  increases the risks as well.

Know your chances. Keep these miscarriage causes in mind and  do everything you can to help prevent this unfortunate event from happening to you.