Miscarriage Care

Miscarriages affect 1 in 5 clinical pregnancies – they are very common. Most women who successfully have a baby will also experience one or more miscarriages in their reproductive lifetime. Miscarriage is a subject that is seldom spoken about – many women going through a miscarriage can feel very isolated.

In most cases, having a miscarriage is not associated with any underlying reproductive disorder. A spontaneous and uncorrectable “mistake” in early fetal development, (commonly an uneven number of fetal chromosomes) is responsible.

Recurrent Miscarriage

3 or more consecutive miscarriages may indicate an underlying problem.

Potential causes include:

• Inherited chromosome imbalance in one or both parents
• Abnormalities of the uterus
• Autoimmune conditions such as Lupus
• Thyroid disease
• Blood coagulation disorders

Management of Miscarriage

When a miscarriage has been confirmed, a woman can be cared for in a variety of ways. From a medical perspective, these options are of equivalent benefit. The strategy chosen is based on a patient’s preference for her care. Options include supporting a woman through a natural miscarriage or interventions to achieve resolution of her symptoms more rapidly (such as Misoprostol/Mifepristone or surgical Dilatation & Curettage).

Women with a Rhesus factor “negative” blood group are advised to have an injection of Anti-D following a miscarriage.