Miscarriages...What really causes them?

[athena2134]

It's very to sad to hear about miscarriages...esp older women who are ready to have a family and want children.

However, I have very little knowledge on this subject and want to learn more...like, are there real obvious reasons why miscarriages happen? I guess severe trauma like car accidents and falls are obvious reasons. I'm not talking about those.

But is there another reason? Miscarriages happen at any age, I know that...but is there a real reason...stress? Lack of proper nutrition? Lack of prenatal care? A woman's age? Any insight is appreciated.

[NatFox]

For me age was nothing to do with it... I had 3 miscarriages between the age of 23 and 25. I was fit and healthy.... It was just a bad luck as doctor said to me :(

[keriwelli]

I do BBT charting as I would never be able to get pregnant without knowing exactly when I ovulate.... People see me as very healthy with 2 healthy girls, but I am trying since May 2012 and I miscarried once....

[keriwelli]

The healthier you are in term of weight and nutrition (e.g., avoid processed food as industry puts a lot of additives that are not helping), the better.... However, if you are above 35 or above 40 (i.e., I am 39 yrs old), then there is so much you can do. Your eggs start to be of lesser quality and if your husband is the same age the same happens to his sperm... So, your fertility goes down whether or not you are healthy... For example, you may not ovulate evry month, or your eggs quality may be lesser so when fertilised you miscarry more often... It doenst mean necessarly that you cant get pregnant, but it means that usually it takes longer because you miscarry more often or simply dont ovulate more often !

[athena2134]

Than you both for the information. Just curious, does a woman's fertility play a role? For obvious reasons, as mentioned above, age has quite a bit to do with it. So in this case, if a woman is looking out for her fertility and maintaining a health body, will that help avoid a miscarriage? And why is it that I read a woman is more fertile after a miscarriage? I know some people miscarried in their twenties.

[keriwelli]

The best predictor is age.... For the rest, it is a little bit unclear... It depends if it is at the begining or not.... Before 6 weels and heart beat it is 25% of the pregnancies that end up in miscarriages (30% after 35 yrs old).... After 12 weeks it is even more 5%..... It is unclear what are the real reasons.... They say generally it is just some problems with the genetic material....

[lisas9]

The cause of miscarriage is usually unknown however it is usually due to a severe defect or problem with the fetus. It is your bodys way of expelling a pregnancy which isn't viable and most likely wouldn't make it to being full term. The older you are, the higher the risk of birth defects which is why miscarriage is also a much higher risk. Other things can cause miscarriage too such as stress, abnormalities with the uterus, drink and alcohol abuse,trauma, the list goes on but they are less common causes.