How to Prevent Miscarriage in the First Trimester
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is something every woman is afraid of during pregnancy. Some have also gone through this difficult time. According to an estimation, about 10-15% of women lose their unborn to spontaneous abortion.
Although this percentage is far less than the actual number, many miscarriages go unnoticed because mothers miscarry before even knowing about their pregnancy.
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What is Miscarriage?
Miscarriage is caused when an embryo or fetus cannot survive and dies within the early weeks or months of the pregnancy. Medically known as spontaneous abortion, it is not rare. Indeed, many women have to bear a pregnancy loss every year.
Women who have gone through miscarriages know that it is not easy to face the aftermath. Self-blame, distress, and feeling of loss are common after pregnancy loss.
What are the Causes of Miscarriage?
Many women, during their pregnancies, have the same question: How to prevent miscarriage? Or, if you already have suffered from the spontaneous abortion, you probably, are blaming yourself. You are asking yourself again and again what wrong did you do?
Let us tell you, and there are strong chances that it wasn’t you; genetics are to be blamed for your loss. Most natural abortions are due to genetic abnormalities, and you cannot do anything about them.
Naturally, when sperm fertilizes the egg, the resulting zygote gets accurate pairs of chromosomes from both parents, and the baby develops normally. There is no danger of miscarriage in that case.
However, sometimes, due to a process known as nondisjunction, chromosomes are not distributed evenly. This uneven distribution of chromosomes causes problems that lead to miscarriage.
Other causes of miscarriage include unhealthy lifestyle, alcoholism, drug addiction, specific diseases, and radiation.
How to Prevent Miscarriage?
It is impossible to prevent a miscarriage if the cause is genetic abnormalities or illness because it is unavoidable. However, you can take some essential preventive measures to shun pregnancy loss. There are the following steps you can take to avoid the drastic situation:
- Take folic acid.
- Prevent Infections During Pregnancy
- Quit smoking.
- Avoid obesity.
- Safe intercourse.
- Eat healthy food.
- Manage chronic diseases.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Reduce anxiety.
- Have regular checkups.
By taking these measures, you can dramatically reduce the risk of miscarriage.
Take Folic Acid
Folic acid, sometimes called folate, is a member of the vitamin B family. It is known for its importance during your baby’s development and growth. Furthermore, it reduces the risk of birth abnormalities like NTDs in your baby.
However, many women do not know that folate helps avoid miscarriage. According to Sweden’s Karolinska Institute research, folic acid deficiency is a leading cause of pregnancy loss in the early months.
Therefore, you must manage an optimum blood folate level to decrease the chances of miscarriage.
CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 400 micrograms of folate intake daily to avoid problems, including miscarriage.
Prevent Infections During Pregnancy Â
Many bacterial and viral infections may cause pregnancy loss. Several studies conducted over the years have shown a strong link between bacterial or viral infection and spontaneous abortion.
Common bacterial infections that may lead to miscarriage include bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, and toxoplasmosis. In comparison, viral infections that may cause pregnancy loss are herpes, HIV, hepatitis, and chickenpox.
Therefore, it is vital to take preventive measures like proper hand hygiene and to take shots for flu and pneumonia. Consult your healthcare provider to keep these infectious agents away.
Quit Smoking
You probably have heard a lot about health hazards related to smoking. While smoking is bad for everyone, for pregnant women, it is potentially damaging. It not only harms your unborn baby but may also make you suffer from pregnancy loss.
Smoking is one of the major causes of miscarriage and stillbirth (pregnancy lost at or after the 20th week. Smoking does so in many ways. Some are:
- Tobacco smoke contains carbon monoxide that can deprive your baby of enough oxygen.
- Many chemicals in tobacco smoke harm the developing baby in various ways.
- Smoking damages your baby’s brain and lungs.
- Tobacco smoke may also cause placental defects.
All the factors mentioned above are potential causes of miscarriage.
Therefore, if you are a smoker, you must quit avoiding this mishap.
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Avoid ObesityÂ
According to research, obesity poses the same danger as smoking during pregnancy. Women who are obese or gain weight during pregnancy are more prone to miscarriage and recurring pregnancy loss.
How does obesity cause miscarriage? All the problems associated with obesity or higher BMI are linked with pregnancy loss. Some of which are:
- Certain types of cancer are caused due to obesity which may pose a danger to your unborn and cause miscarriage.
- Obese mothers-to-be are at a higher risk of preeclampsia associated with stillbirth.
- Higher BMI and heart diseases are interlinked. These heart problems can increase the risk of miscarriage.
- Obesity also causes gestational diabetes, and as per studies, women with gestational diabetes are at higher risk of spontaneous abortion.
Therefore, managing your weight during pregnancy is essential to reduce the possibility of miscarriage. However, if you are planning a weight loss program, it must be discussed with an expert first.
Safe Intercourse
Sex during pregnancy does not pose any danger to you or your baby. Rather it is considered a relaxing activity to avoid the anxiety associated with pregnancy. Moreover, sex is also suitable for stimulating labor.
However, unprotected sexual intercourse is potentially dangerous for you and your fetus, especially when you have multiple partners.
Sexual activity without contraceptives causes sexually transmitted diseases or STDs like human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. According to experts, these sexually transmitted infections potentially damage your baby’s health and can even cause fetal death.
Therefore, always use a condom while having sex during pregnancy to avoid a serious mishap like pregnancy loss.
Eat Healthy Foods
Eating healthful foods is good for everyone, but healthy and nutrient-rich food for pregnant women becomes vital.
The reason is that during pregnancy, you must be extremely careful about any nutritional deficiency or food-borne diseases to save yourself and your unborn from complications.
As reported by some studies, some nutritional deficiencies or food-borne illnesses are potentially linked with miscarriage. For example, lack of vitamin D or listeriosis (a type of food poisoning) is believed to help miscarriage.
To avoid food-borne diseases, you should abstain from eating unprocessed foods or undercooked meats. Additionally, you also have to consume wholesome foods to prevent malnutrition.
Manage Chronic DiseasesÂ
A long-lasting disease that worsens over time if not taken care of is called chronic. Many chronic illnesses are strongly associated with pregnancy loss.
Chronic diseases like hypertension, endometriosis, epilepsy, thyroid problems, and diabetes increase the chances of miscarriage. According to studies, a woman suffering from chronic illness is at higher risk of pregnancy-related complications and spontaneous abortion.
Therefore, managing chronic problems properly is vital to avoid fetal death or miscarriage. Talk to your healthcare provider for further instructions.
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Avoid AlcoholÂ
Like smoking, drinking during pregnancy also harms you and your child.
No amount or type of alcohol is considered safe during pregnancy, and it is still dangerous even if you are drinking too little.
How does alcohol cause miscarriage? According to experts, it is not only you who is drinking alcohol. Rather, when you drink, a considerable amount of alcohol reaches your baby through the placenta.
The baby, who is still developing, cannot process the alcohol. Consequently, it seriously damages the developing process of your fetus and even leads to pregnancy loss.
Hence, avoiding alcohol is vital to prevent miscarriage, even if you are a heavy drinker.
Reduce Anxiety
There is no doubt that you have to face many physical and mental changes during pregnancy. These changes are difficult to digest, and you might be mentally stressed.
According to researchers, excessive anxiety can cause some serious complications during pregnancy. Some even believe that such stress can even cause miscarriage.
However, till now, there is no strong scientific evidence to support the latter statement. But still, you must keep your stress level as low as possible to rule out the possibility of pregnancy loss.
Talk to your physician to manage your stress and anxiety during pregnancy.
Have Regular Checkups
Regular checkups are essential during pregnancy, even if you are not afraid of miscarriage. Women who have regular checkups during pregnancy are less likely to face miscarriage or other complications.
It is because regular prenatal care helps your doctor to evaluate your condition and care for any serious concerns beforehand.
For that reason, visit your healthcare provider regularly to avoid miscarriage.
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