Something isn't right.

[athalyah]

I'm a medical student currently working as a doctor's assistant at an obgyn clinic. I work with some of the patients just simply filling out their charts & taking vitals. I am also 32 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. A woman had come in for her first appointment saying that she had already had 2 miscarriages which she believed was caused by bleeding after sex in both cases. I put it down on her chart. The minute the doctor saw what I wrote he told the woman that sex can not cause miscarriages. But bleeding happens because the cervix becomes irritated during sex. That sounded very fishy to me. The woman ended up miscarring this child also... after sex. I feel so bad :( I feel like I was a part of giving her the "okay" to have sex. But it has not been medically proven that sex causes miscarriages. But I have not been able to sleep. & I have been doing my own research on the topic just to see if similar cases have happened to other women. I read on here a lot that you ladies experience bleeding after sex. I also have read on other forums that women believe they miscarried after sex. Can you ladies please help me by sharing any of your experiences with me. Have you ever had a miscarriage that you believe was related to sex? Or have you ever bled after sex during pregnancy?

[addysmama04]

If the patient was concerned that sex was the cause of the miscarriages, why would she continue? Regardless of what a doc says, I would stick with my gut. I've never had a miscarriage nor bleeding after sex.

[pourmycoffee]

I've had 2 past miscarriages. We were told sex Can Not cause them that its a genetic this with the baby that "something wasn't right" Both my miscarriages came after massive cramping and light spotting after sex then a full mid carriage a few days after. Both times the second I felt the cramps I knew the baby was gone. Miscarriages were a few years apart.

[ariflowers]

This isn't any advice from a doctor or anything but it's so weird that at the beginning of my friends & I pregnancy my mom told us not to have sex so much till after our first trimester so the baby can be safe & "stuck" inside you good .... it's crazy

[athalyah]

I've seen many women set aside their personal beliefs because a certified person in the medical feild tells them to go the other route. I bet there are many things your doctor gives you the okay to do but in the end it isn't really right or safe. For example, do you take prenatals? I bet those prenatals you are taking contain folic acid which is an synthetic form of folate. Folic acid is highly linked to breast cancer, decreased milk supply, & prostate cancer in men. But the minute doctors prescribe them to pregnant women they go running head first to the pharmacy to get their prenatals with folic acid. Because we look at doctors as miracle workers and as if whatever they say is accurate. So I don't blame this woman. I blame myself because I feel like I could have pulled her to the side and said if she feels that sex is the problem, then have faith in her personal opinion. Hearing it from me probably would've reassured her about her beliefs. Because in her eyes it was my job to protect her baby. & it was. That's why I feel so guilty.

[parry19]

Usually we on can have sex during prwgancy but if stuff like that happens usually drs tells them to not have sex during their pregancy... I never bled or misscarriaged during my pregancy and I am 23 weeks 4 days pregnant and I did miss carriage once but im sure it wasn't from having sex during that pregancy...

[athalyah]

I am very very sorry to hear that. When both these miscarriages occured, did you inform your doctor that both times the bleeding began after sex? If so, what did they tell you? I'm just curious to know if this is so common, why aren't any doctors looking into it or warning women that there MAY be side effects from having sex while pregnant.

[athalyah]

@ariflowers I remember my grandmother telling me the exact thing when I was pregnant with my first child. But I told her that was just an old wives tale. But now I believe that maybe those old wives were on to something with this theory.

[athalyah]

@parry19 I'm sorry for your loss. Yes doctors are suppose to tell their patients to restrain from doing something if it could be linked to miscarriages. But this doctor told the woman that her miscarriages had nothing to do with sex and that it was something else since sex doesn't cause miscarriages. So he gave her the okay to keep having sex and told her he would monitor her pregnancy closely for the real issue. But this woman and her pregnancy were in perfect health. The only link I see is sex.

[wayfunmommy]

Sex doesn't cause them. The process is usually already happening. The reason you notice after Sex is because orgasm causes contractions. Baby has usually already passed away way before then and the contractions start the release.

[pourmycoffee]

I was always told no sex can not cause this and it would have nothing to do with it. And told of I have a 3rd miscarriage I will need to go for testing because I may just be genetically prone to them (they probably worded it so it didn't sound so weird)

[Kristylm]

I agree with wayfunmommy. Sex does not cause miscarriages. Anyways, if this lady TRULY believed that was what was causing her miscarriages, then she shouldn't have had sex again.

[athalyah]

@wayfunmommy I'm not sure if ths woman was having orgasms each time she had sex to prove that to be true or not. Also as today there is evidence showing that orgasms do not cause labor or contractions. However, male semen can thin the lining of the cervix which can trigger contractions. But orgasms themselves play no part in the process of labor.

[athalyah]

@Kristylm Well I can assure you that this lady TRULY believed that sex caused her miscarriage as well as other mothers from boards I've been asking the same question to. Like I mentioned earlier, the doctor told her there was no way her miscarriages were being triggered by sex and that he would closely monitor her pregnancy for the real cause. If professionals were constantly looking at her like she was crazy and telling her that she was wrong I think she began to doubt her beliefs. Thats why I want to hear from other women who have experienced something similar.

[knufrio]

Sex doesn't cause a miscarriage. Yes sex can irritate the cervix and cause some bleeding and maybe minor discomfort, however it will not terminate a healthy pregnancy. Miscarriages are mostly caused because there is an issue with the embryo that is incompatible with life. If you are going to miscarry, sex may help to speed the process up so to speak but its not the reason you miscarry. Correlation does not imply causation.

[athalyah]

@knufrio So basically you just implied that sex can in fact play a role in a miscarriage. Which is what I'm trying to get to figure out exactly how. Since sex does irritate the cervix and cause bleeding I wonder why this isn't being paid more attention to. As a medical student I'm very educated in the role that the cervix plays during pregnancy and it is a mighty big role. So if something is able to irritate it to the point of bleeding, shouldn't there be some kind of study as to why doctors don't tell patients that sex may do this? I just feel like this is something that hasn't been studied enough. Because even in my studies I haven't been taught much on the idea of this. However, have been taught that the cervix has to be strong and healthy for a healthy pregnancy. If sex irritates that there has to be some link somewhere that someone isn't seeing.

[dee7m]

I found your comment on folic acid very interesting and would be interested in more info on that. Do you think the folic acid in pn vits is not good for helping to reduce neural tube defects.
Also I know of a number of women who have felt that sex contributed to their miscarriage. I think for most it will never be a problem, but it really may be for some. I don't think we can really prove one way or the other as they really don't know the actual cause of most miscarriages.
Also recently doctors have been told not to prescribe bed rest for pre term labor, but I know of women who have only been able to stop contractions by resting and have gone into labor as soon as they quit bed rest

[knufrio]

I didn't imply that it plays a role in miscarriage. What I was trying to say is that if you're going to miscarry, you're going to miscarry, whether you have sex or not. However if you are starting to miscarry having sex may help to move it along quicker than it would have progressed otherwise. In a healthy pregnancy the cervix is thick and fully closed with the mucous plus protecting everything. If you are going to miscarry your cervix will start to thin and efface in order to open enough to shed the contents of the uterus. Just because sex can irritate the cervix does not mean it will cause any harm to a healthy pregnancy. Irritation to a healthy cervix will not cause any issues, but because it's all so vascular is why you may see some minor bleeding and irritation.

[knufrio]

Its the same argument that people make saying the flu shot gives you the flu, no it doesn't. If you get sick within the few days after your flu shot it's because you were already previously exposed to an illness and the hit to your immune system made you more likely to become ill. You are most likely already starting to miscarry when you have sex, but that "hit to the cervix" so to speak just fuels the flame.

[athalyah]

@Dee7m In all honesty folic acid isn't good for anything. And what t claims to be good for hasn't been thoroughly studied to be proven fact. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate. So it's used for vitiman B but effects other parts of the body negatively. Folate is the simple answer and really what pregnant women should be getting. You can get enough folate in your body to have a healthy pregnancy simply from eating a spinach salad once a day or eating foods high in folate like turnip greens or any green foods. But folate is more expensive than folic acid. So it's cheaper to go with folic acid especially since now most women get their prenatals from their Medicaid plan. Dr. Fuhrman wrote a very easy to understand explanation to why it's no good on his website as well as the American clinical nutrition journal. You can read them online by typing in "Dr. Fuhrman folic acid" or "American Clinical Health Jounrnal folic acid".    

[athalyah]

@knufrio But once again you are implying that sex can help a miscarriage come about by helping the progress of it. If something is helping the progress of something move quicker, like smoking not only causes cancer but can worsen cancer in someone who already has lung cancer, then sex may be helping in that same way as you said. I think another thing you are overlooking is the importance the cervix plays on pregnancy. Especially during the early weeks. In fact before the 12th week mark all women are at the risk of miscarriage despite how healthy or strong their cervix is. This is because in those first few weeks there are a lot of changes the cervix goes through that are very crucial to how the baby implants properly as well as how the placenta begins to form. Even during labor, once again it's the cervix and uterus connecting with one another. The uterus sends the contractions down to the cervix causing it to dilate. And at the beginning of pregnancy the cervix sends nerve signals to the uterus telling it to begin expanding as well for the placenta. This is the "fluttering" feeling that many women feel at the beginning of pregnancy & question if its baby kicks. So once again, if something can irritate the cervix to the point of bleeding, I wonder why isn't there any thorough studies on how this may actually effect the pregnancy?

[wayfunmommy]

I've been pregnant 7 times. I've had two miscarriages. I've lost two babies. Every time I have sex and orgasm, it causes a contraction. I'd like to see the research showing it doesn't cause a contraction. At no pint did I say it causes labor, only a contraction. There have been multiple studies that show it does cause contractions (while pregnant and while fertile) to include video, sonogram and MRI evidence.
By the way, I started bleeding with one of my losses after orgasm. The sonogram I had during showed that at nine weeks, my baby only measured six weeks and had likely passed at least two weeks before I started bleeding.

[athalyah]

@Wayfunmommy I understood what you were saying. You said that these contractions start the "release". I'm guessing you mean the release of the embryo or fetish? But in order to do that these contractions have to be strong enough to cause the cervix to actually open up and dilate causing this release of the embryo which you are saying wouldn't have happened otherwise unless their was an orgasm to trigger it. That is very unfactual. Once a miscarriage begins, the body has to shut down the pregnancy. Which can take a few weeks for some women. This is why some women are prescribed medications so that the body can begin the process of removing the dead embryo or others choose to let it pass naturally. But an orgasm does not play any role in a contractions being strong enough to actually pass the baby down because they do not cause the cervix to open . That would technically be called labor and orgasms do not bring about labor.

[farhana127]

Hi. I'm not as knowledgeable as you in this matter. But my doctor forbade me to have sex in early pregnancy as I was pregnant through ivf and was a high risk patient. That time I also found by googling that contractions may be caused by orgasms. So i try to avoid orgasm during my entire pregnancy, I'm 34 weeks today. Is it really safe to have sex and orgasms during pregnancy for all?

[wayfunmommy]

No, what I'm saying is the orgasm  can cause enough of a contraction to cause the initial spotting. Which is when you notice the beginnings of the miscarriage. In my case and many of the women I've been associated with who have been through a loss, the spotting comes before any cramps. I had spotting for several days before the labor contractions to expel the fetus, which were just as intense as the contractions I had at full term deliveries.