First Trimester

[DC905210]

There is a lot of talk on the Internet about how in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy has the highest risk of miscarriage and the chance is 1 in 6.

Is it correct to assume though that healthy people are less than a 1 in 6 chance? And unhealthy people who drink, smoke, don't excersise and are fat etc are more than 1 in 6?

Or is the 1 in 6 chance based on "if you are healthy"?

[hufflebottom]

No it's not correct to assume.

There could be underlying reasons as why a healthy person could miscarry

[DC905210]

So everyone is a 1 in 6? Regardless of lifestyle?

[batfish]

A friend who is healthy - doesn't smoke, exercises, eats healthily - had 3 miscarriages so I don't think it necessarily means that. Of course it is good to look after yourself when TTC and when pregnant but I don't think being healthy means less risk, there are many reasons that miscarriages happen and the vast majority of them are totally unrelated to how the person looks after themselves.

[IfYouWereARiverIdLearnToFloat]

Miscarriages happen for a variety of reasons & are a lot more complicated than being healthy or not healthy. Often the reason is completely out with a persons control. It's also a sliding scale - the further along in your pregnancy you get the lower your chance of miscarriage.

I don't smoke, I'm not overweight, I eat well, exercise & drink in moderation and I miscarried last year.

I'd consider myself a healthy person but I have a health condition which puts me at a 7 times higher risk of miscarriage. In spite of this I'm now 14 weeks pregnant. You'll go crazy if you think about the stats too much - don't do it to yourself.

[thesmallbear]

Most miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities i.e. something you have no control over. To blame a person for their miscarriage is highly offensive tbh.

Loads of women drink before they find out they are pregnant and go on to have healthy pregnancies. Then there are people like me who stop drinking when TTC, take all the right vitamins, look after themselves etc & still suffer a loss.

[thesmallbear]

Oh and it's more like 1 in 4 or 5.

www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/about-us/media-queries/background-information/

[DC905210]

I didn't realise it was as high as 1 in 4-5. I always heard 1 in 6.

Either way, I get it now that is for everyone.

Smoking then for example must make it even worse than that.

[DC905210]

For example this from the Guardian.

If the 1 in 4-5 is a sample of ALL pregnancies and some of "all people" are overweight then the overweight should statistically have a higher chance than 1 in 4-5 and none-overweight people less.

www.theguardian.com/science/2008/nov/13/miscarriage-overweight-obese-baby

[Brummiegirl15]

The miscarriage risk is about 1 in 4. Some women may not even realise they've miscarried if it happens early enough.

I've had 3 miscarriages in a row in the last 13 months and I've had every single test there is to find out why and I have passed with flying colours.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with me. And my 2nd baby was tested and it was all genetically ok, so not even a chromosome problem.

Sadly miscarriage is so common which is why midwives won't see you until about 8 weeks.

But, even a 1 in 4 chance still leaves a 75% chance of having a successful pregnancy. As common as miscarriage is, 75% is still good.

I fall into 1% of couples. Recurrent miscarriage (3 successive mc's) is very rare

[slightlyconfused85]

I'm under 30, healthy weight, largely healthy lifestyle and I've had 2 first trimester miscarriages. That is the wrong assumption in your op. Most people miscarry because of chromosomal abnormalities that have nothing to do with health.

[Foggymist]

Miscarriage is usually caused by a problem with the embryo that means it wouldn't have developed properly, rarely to do with health/lifestyle. To be blunt if they were the key factors drug addicts/alcoholics would never have babies would they.

[thesmallbear]

204 women is not a particularly big sample is it.

I'm a size 10 and a normal BMI and I still lost my baby.

[thesmallbear]

The thing is when you miscarry you blame yourself and try and look for a reason. Perpetuating these myths that it is somehow the woman's fault is really not helpful.

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/11599816/Miscarriage-Sex-wine-or-stress-How-I-mistakenly-blamed-myself.html

[DC905210]

Can I say also to those of you who have shared that you have had miscarriages, thank you for sharing and I wish you all the best.

[Junosmum]

It's as high as 1 in 4, it drops to 1 in 6 once you've had a BFP and is an average- all people, lifestyle unknown most of the time and across all ages. Miscarriages are lower in younger people (1 in 6) and higher in the 40+ (1 in 2)

Once you have a BFP you can reduce your mc risk by cutting out caffeine, alcohol and tabacco however if you have a blighted ovum or chromosomal abnormality in the embryo there is nothing you can do about that and that equals about 70 - 80% of known miscarriage causes (the vast majority are unknown however). Other causes include cervical incompetence and misaligned uterus.

People who have had one miscarriage are no more likely to have another but if you've had 2 you are slightly more likely to have a third and a third, more likely a 4th. By 4 mc you are very likely to have 5 or more (research suggests that you are more likely to mc than have a pregnancy by that point, but people of course do!).

[TheOddity]

Wow I am 10 weeks pregnant and so wish I hadn't clicked on this thread!

[Brummiegirl15]

Juno is right. I'm pregnant for the 4th time (no dcs) and my chances are 50/50 - it's a statistic I have to live with if I want to have my baby