Many women suffer from a miscarriage before knowing about their pregnancies, which can be devastating for parents trying for ages. There are many reasons why miscarriages can happen, and we found 5 major causes of miscarriages.
- Genetic Abnormalities:
Accept it or not, but genes play a vital role in our bodies, not only in transferring the hereditary characters, but also in causing chaos inside the human body.
Causing disorders like Thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, Marfan Syndrome is usual. However, the problem starts when it causes a disturbance in embryonic life.
Embryos are supposed to get half number of chromosomes from each parent (that is 23). But what happens if there is even a tiny hitch in the division process?
It results in the chromosomal abnormality in the baby’s chromosomes due to which the baby’s embryonic features fail to develop accurately. According to Greater Baltimore Medical Center website publication, approximately half of all first trimester miscarriage happens due to chromosome abnormality in the fetus.
In an article titled, “Miscarriage – Prenatal Genetics”, any extra or missing chromosome is a recipe for miscarriage or even if the pregnancy comes to term, then special need fetus.
Either the baby is born with malformations such as trisomy 21, turners syndrome, cystic fibrosis, or it can cause problems like anembryonic pregnancy, molar pregnancy that leads the woman to lose her baby. There is no method proposed to prevent chromosomal disorders, and no pills to improve the aftermath of the conditions.
- Hormonal Imbalance:
Losing a child is never easy and is devastating. It does not matter if the child is born or unborn. Many problems lead towards miscarriages, and one of the major ones is Hormonal Imbalance. Hormones are chemical messengers produced by our body, secreted in the bloodstream. The main pregnancy hormones are Progesterone and Estrogen; Progesterone helps to inline the uterine walls or Endometrium and prepare the uterus for pregnancy while estrogen improves vascularization.
When any of the hormones misbalance, whether an increase or decrease in hormones, it causes issues inside the body. When the level of progesterone decrease for some reason, the body fails to produce the hormone? Endometrium does not develop accurately due to which the person could not carry the fetus or placenta rightly, which leads to recurrent miscarriages. However, to ignore the misfortune, you can always make sure to track your hormones balances and took prescribed medication for the imbalance.
- Uses of Narcotics and Alcohols:
You might have always heard people talking about how alcohol and drugs are too harmful to the human body even when the person is not pregnant or is male. However, when a woman is pregnant, they should avoid all kinds of alcohol and drug usage. Because when a woman drinks alcohol or anything, it passes down to her baby through the umbilical cord that could lead to stillbirth, lifetime physical, behavioral, mental problems (The problems are known as Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders), and Miscarriage too.
There is no safe amount and time for alcohol or drug consumption. If you do not know about pregnancy but trying to get pregnant, you should try to avoid it as it can cause problems for the embryo and its development. Certain drugs also can cause miscarriages, so make sure to check with your doctor twice a month if you’re having Narcotics or alcohol issues.
- Physical Complications
Many factors lead women to lose their child, not only medical or genetic disorders are necessary to let this misfortune to occur. Many physical factors continue to increase the chances of miscarriages.
The chances of physical complications are less common but still affect many women. The physical condition includes age factor as age is important.
Younger woman tend to conceive easily than older people (age more than 35) because there is a high risk of miscarriages as the age increase.
According to a Centre of Disease Control and Prevention report, sub title “What Increases Women Risks to Infertility”, mentions that women around 35 years are advanced in maternal cycle.
Women over 40 years are likely to experience zero spontaneous pregnancy. Meaning that they can’t become pregnant without fertilization assistance.
Even if miscarriages could happens at any age, the main cause of miscarriage is poor chromosomal problems in the embryo. But egg quality deteriorates past 35 years, accelerating this situation.
Women who have dealt with previous miscarriages are more likely at risk. Many problems arise with the abnormal development of the placenta.
Conditions like Placenta previa can be life-threatening if not treated at the right time. Weight also plays an important role; being underweight or overweight increases the chances of losing your baby.
Another thing to keep in mind is to ignore alcohol, drugs, and even caffeine and make sure to keep your diet as healthy as possible.
- Medical Conditions:
Aside from complications that occur from the age, weight, genetic abnormalities, usage of narcotics, and alcohols, Medical conditions also play a role in causing miscarriages. Conditions like Uterine fibroids, septum, and blood clotting disorders often become the cause of miscarriages. Sometimes the reason behind the miscarriage remains unknown. However, if you have a medical or genetic history of the disease or complications, then it’s more likely to happen to you too.
Certain immune disorders also contribute to a miscarriage, which means that the body does not accept the idea of pregnancy. You cannot control the immune disorders, but some treatments can help you to reduce the risk of miscarriages at the early onset of pregnancy.
Disorders like Diabetes and thyroid hugely affect pregnancy. The person with diabetes should keep in touch with her endocrinologist and keep her sugar level checked, so it won’t affect her pregnancy. Overactive and underactive thyroid levels can also be threatening for embryos.
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- Improper implantation of the egg
To get pregnant, sperm gets into the vagina and swims up through the cervix. The sperm and the uterus work in tandem to support the movement toward the fallopian tube.
At the same time, the mature egg drops down the fallopian tube to meet. Once the sperm breaks the egg membrane and enter, fertilization happens.
In some cases though, the egg may be misplaced within the uterine lining. The fertilized egg must be in the correct position for the embryo to start growing.
But sometimes, the fertilized egg is improperly placed, Thus preventing the multiplication of the cells of the fused egg and sperm.
This usually happens early in pregnancy. More than three-quarters of all miscarriages occur during the first trimester.
For the pregnancy to come to term, the uterus has to be firm and perfect. But some women experience uterine abnormality
Intrauterine adhesion and submucosal myomas distort the uterine cavity. They stifle nutrient delivery to the growing fetus, resulting in miscarriage.
- Chronic diseases
Severe kidney disease could cause extreme hypertension and anemia. Other conditions that trigger kidney disease include Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure
These conditions could cause glomerulonephritis – failure of kidney filters (glomeruli) to clear toxins from the system.
So, only a fraction of filtered blood flows to reach the embryo. But it’s during this phase that renal blood flow results in added glomerular filtration function by 50%.
So, inadequate blood and nutrition supplies to the fetus may cause death. An article titled “Miscarriage” states that poor lifestyle like smoking and heavy drinking could cause a strain in the liver function.
The Mayo Clinic publication further states that this situation makes it harder for the liver to excrete all the toxic elements from the blood, causing the fetus to coke under poisonous residuals.
Type 2 Diabetes, may also trigger preterm miscarriage. It affects the kidney, liver, and circulatory systems. Still, the fetus requires much more refined nutrients.
Diseases such as hypertension prevent speedy blood flow, thus core kidney function is compromised.
Thyroid disease is also a cause of preterm abortion. The thyroid has to work extra hard to supply the necessary hormones not only to the growing fetus, but also to cover for the increased metabolism of an expectant mother.
In conclusion, we have discussed five things that may cause a miscarriage in women. We hope that with this information, you can conclude whether any of these causes might be leading you to a miscarriage or not.
SIMILAR QUESTION
Why Do Most Miscarriages Happen At 7 Weeks?
Miscarriages are one of the most common pregnancy related occurrences, with as many as 1 in 4 pregnancies ending in a miscarriage. Of those miscarriages, the majority take place during the first trimester, with many occurring within the first seven weeks of gestation. While the exact cause of why most miscarriages occur at seven weeks is unknown, there are several potential contributing factors.
The most common cause of miscarriage at seven weeks is chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus. Chromosomal abnormalities are caused when the fetus does not develop properly, resulting in a lack of normal development or an abnormal number of chromosomes. These abnormalities cause the fetus to be unable to survive and it is typically unable to progress passed seven weeks of gestation. Chromosomal abnormalities are often caused by a poor quality of eggs or sperm, which can occur due to age, genetics, or other underlying health conditions.
In addition to chromosomal abnormalities, other potential causes of miscarriage at seven weeks include hormonal imbalances, infections, and structural issues with the uterus or cervix. Hormonal imbalances, such as progesterone deficiency, can prevent the uterus from being able to support the fetus. Infections, such as listeriosis, can be passed to the fetus and cause it to be unable to survive. Lastly, structural issues in the uterus or cervix can prevent the fetus from developing properly or can cause the uterus to be unable to support the fetus.
There is no single cause of miscarriage at seven weeks, and the exact reason why most miscarriages occur at this time is unknown. However, it is likely a combination of chromosomal abnormalities, hormonal imbalances, infections, and structural issues that contribute to the majority of miscarriages occurring at seven weeks. While there is no way to prevent miscarriages, understanding the potential causes can help provide insight into why miscarriages occur and how to best support those who are affected by them.
