What are the causes of a miscarriage?

What are the causes of a miscarriage?

The common causes of miscariage include:

Chronic diseases

Transient illness

Chromosomal defects

Lifestyle factors

Chronic diseases that most commonly cause miscarriage include diabetes and thyroid problems.  Lupus and kidney disease are also culprits as is celiac disease.  If you know you have one of these conditions keeping it under control before and during pregnancy can greatly increase your chances of a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Some of the transient illnesses that can cause miscarriage include rubella (German measles), fifth disease and bacterial vaginosis.  If you have had rubella, or if you’ve had your MMR shot you aren’t at a great risk of getting this disease.  Also, if you’ve had fifth disease you should be immune, but if you have not you should use caution around groups of children and try to avoid exposure.  Bacterial vaginosis is often considered an STD, but it can be contracted in other ways, too.  If you have a miscarriage it is a good idea to ask your doctor to screen for this infection, as it often presents without any symptoms.

The majority of miscarriages are attributed to chromosomal abnormalities.  It is usually not routine to test for these types of abnormalities for woman who have had only one miscarriage.

Lifestyle factors that can attribute to miscarriage include smoking, drinking alcohol or large quantities of caffeine, exposure to chemicals or radiation and stress.  It is difficult to know if any one of these things has definitively caused a miscarriage, but there is statistical evidence that shows that these things are associated with an increased chance of miscarriage.  Decreasing your exposure to these factors could help lower your chance of miscarriage.

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