Miscarriages Why Do They Happen?

Daily health: Why do miscarriages happen?

Welcome to Daily health check with Dr Gabby. Today we begin a new topic, one that is quite sensitive and serious and causes a lot of distress to couples looking for children, it is a topic a lot of people will rather not talk about but one which is more common than we think. We will talk about early pregnancy loss or #miscarriage.

Some people have told all their friends and family that they are pregnant only to turn around a few months later, to say they lost it, because of this some couples decide not to tell anyone they are pregnant for fear the story might change in a few weeks.

We will talk about the causes, effects, treatment and prevention of miscarriage. Ask your friends and family to subscribe to this service.

 What is a miscarriage?

A miscarriage occurs when a pregnancy is lost before 20 weeks, this corresponds to a little short of 5 months. Any pregnancy lost within this period is said to have miscarried or as doctors would put it spontaneously aborted. It would interest you to know that about 8 to 20% of pregnancies that have been confirmed spontaneously abort and most occur in the first trimester. As the weeks progress, the risk of miscarriage decreases. Have you ever had a miscarriage? Do you know what caused it?

 What are the causes of miscariage?

There are many causes of miscarriage but by far the most common is due to genetic problems in the embryo. The embryo is simply the baby in its early stages of formation. It may have problems that make it incompatible with life such as heart, sensory or reproductive problems, the body recognises these problems and spontaneously rejects or aborts the baby.

This accounts for about 50 to 65% of miscarriages.

Have you had a miscarriage before? Do you know if it was a genetic problem? Join me tomorrow as we discuss why this happens and other causes.