Unfortunately there is very little that can be done to prevent a miscarriage from occurring. Up to 70% of miscarriages occur due to unavoidable chromosonal abnormalities, which cannot be forseen or prevented. Once this chromosonal abnormality has occurred, there is nothing that can be done to save the pregnancy, as the abnormality will prevent it from developing properly. The sad news is that once you start to experience early miscarriage symptoms such as heavy cramping and heavy bleeding, the baby has already passed away. Even when you are experiencing very early symmptoms such as spotting or light bleeding, the truth is that there is little to nothing that you or your health care provider can do to prevent the miscarriage from happening.
There are however, several things that you can do to give yourself the best chances of having a successful pregnancy from the very start. These are not a guarantee, but simple guidelines for a healthy pregnancy:
- avoid tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs in the months leading up to and during when you are trying to conceive.
- take prenatal vitamins while you are trying to conceive to ensure that you have healthy levels of folic acid in your system
- excercise moderately and try to get to your healthy weight before trying to conceive
- get a physical and discuss any health concerns and your family history
If you have experienced two or more miscarriages in a row, please consult with your health care provider on what tests and screening that can be done to try and determine the cause.
(Kimberly's note: After having a placental abruption with my daughter, and premature placental aging and death that almost resulted in the death of my son, I went through many screening tests with my next pregnancy. It was determined that I had a clotting disorder of pregnancy that was causing the placenta to form clots and cut off blood supply to my babies - essentially starving them by killing my placentas. I was placed on baby aspirin for my entire pregnancy and had a healthy baby boy with a healthy placenta!)
