Early Pregnancy Miscarriage

Pregnancy is a remarkable stage in any woman's life who wants to be a mother and have her own babies. However, many women do not realize that many life threatening dangers are looming over her and her baby during the beginning months of pregnancy. A normal pregnancy duration is of 36-40 weeks however, when the pregnancy loss takes place before the 20th week, it is termed as early pregnancy loss or early pregnancy miscarriage. The other term, that is mostly used by doctors, for early pregnancy miscarriage is spontaneous abortion. One should be sure about the abortion facts before forming any conclusions of their own.

Reasons for Early Pregnancy Miscarriage

Chromosomal Abnormality
Any kind of defect in the chromosomes of the baby can lead to a miscarriage. This is a common reason for the first trimester miscarriages that can happen to any woman irrespective of her health. Age of the mother can be another reason for this kind of miscarriage. With the increase in the age of the mother, the possibilities of miscarriage increases. Generally, if the age of the woman is above 35, the chances of miscarriage due to age is high. Also, any external toxicants can be responsible for abnormality of chromosomes. Some doctors believe that abnormal cell division can result in chromosomal abnormality of the baby leading to miscarriage. Women who miscarry for the first time due to chromosomal abnormality may have a healthy baby later. However, parents who have genetic problems may face recurrent miscarriages. In such cases, the exact reason for the problem has to be found and treatment should be taken accordingly. It may be one of the reasons for miscarriage due to blighted ovum. Blighted ovum is the condition wherein the normal signs of pregnancy are observed, but the embryo sac remains empty as the embryo may fail to develop.

Hormonal/Chronic Problems and Immune System
When a woman becomes pregnant, her immune system alters to accept the the fetus and allow it to grow. When these alterations fail to occur or occur inadequately, it may result in an early pregnancy miscarriage. Few chronic conditions like diabetes, kidney diseases or celiac disease may become an obstacle in normal pregnancy and lead to miscarriage. Hormonal imbalance like low levels of follicle stimulating hormone or very high levels of lutenizing hormone can be another cause for the mishap. Also, a rare disorder like Lupus or Antiphospholipid Syndrome can cause clots in blood obstructing the blood flow to the placenta, thus resulting in miscarriage.

Uterine Abnormalities
Incompetent cervix is one of the main structural reasons for early pregnancy miscarriage. The cervix, which normally dilates only when the baby is ready to be born after around 40 weeks, opens up before time if it is unable to hold the weight of the fetus during the third or forth month. This leads to miscarriage or the baby can be born prematurely. Other uterine abnormalities can be bicornuate uterus, septate uterus, unicornuate uterus and uterine fibroids.

Infections
Several infections like Chlamydia, Cytomegalovirus(CMV), Genital herpes, Rubella, Syphilis and Toxoplasmosis can cause early pregnancy miscarriage. Out of these, chlamydia, genital herpes and syphilis are sexually transmitted infections.

Hazardous Habits
Use of illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, etc., or unspecified drugs like painkillers as well as chewing tobacco, alcohol addiction or smoking should be strictly avoided by a pregnant woman to avoid any chances of miscarriage.

The miscarriage signs of early pregnancy include bleeding, cramping, passing tissue, etc. If any of the above are observed in a pregnant woman, contact your gynecologist immediately. Do not panic in such situations, as some times the signs may be just false alarms. Once sorted out medically, the pregnancy continues without any further complications. Early pregnancy miscarriages are growing at a troubling rate however, it can be controlled if women take all necessary precautions throughout the pregnancy.