Getting pregnant wit 2nd child during winter?

[Winniehere]

Hi all, just wondering how many of you got pregnant with your second, especially for the first three months, during winter months?

I recently miscarried with my second and found out about this on Christmas eve. The fetus stopped at 8+4 when I found out on 11+4 days.

Looking retrospectively, I was feeling a bit poorly the week before the fetus stopped and it was due to my 3 year old being poorly from nursery bug who passed the bug to me. Although I didn't have any temperature and only had a sore throat, a blocked nose and some coughing, I can't help thinking whether it was this bug that lead to the miscarriage.

This also makes me think whether it's a good idea to get pregnant again during winter months, due to the rise of colds and bugs everywhere especially in nursery. In last November alone my little girl was ill twice and she was ill again with HSV during Christmas.

If I try to conceive again, I'm planning to avoid winter months so I don't spend my first trimester during the cold and flu season. But at the same time, there are loads of mums who got pregnant with their second during winter, so not sure if I am being over worried ( I am a worrier and I worry about lots of things).

I would be very grateful for your thoughts!

Very sorry for your loss 💐

I think the busiest month for births is September so lots of babies must be conceived in winter!

I'm sorry for your loss. I think you are worrying too much, but obviously it's your choice to not try and conceive during the winter.

It's very unlikely that the bug caused your miscarriage. It's much more likely to have been a chromosomal issue and completely out of your control.

I've been through two first trimesters in the winter months and just made sure I washed my hands a lot and didn't share spoons/cups with my toddler.

Thanks, I just Googled about it and you are right!

Millions of babies have been successfully conceived in winter since the dawn of time.

I think you are looking for a “reason” for your loss when sadly sometimes there just isn’t one.

Unfortunately some embryos do not form properly, it’s sad because that pregnancy was wanted but it simply wasn’t to be. We didn’t realise just how common it was until reliable cheap pregnancy tests existed. The time of year doesn’t matter, but it is wise to take a pregnancy supplement to keep yourself healthy as you can. Hopefully you will get pregnant soon

I'm so sorry for your loss ❤️

A nursery bug or cold wouldn't cause a miscarriage, so please don't worry about that. Sometimes they just very sadly happen. Look after yourself as best you can and I wish you all the best in TTC in future.

I’m sorry for your loss. I conceived one DC in December, the other in February, with constant exposure to children and winter bugs. Try not to worry and put it out of your mind.

A cold doesn’t cause a miscarriage. Unfortunately, these things just happen. One in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Only times when an infection may play a part are serious infections like chickenpox or measles or listeria.

You just unfortunately had a miscarriage. A baby that stops developing rather than a spontaneous miscarriage of a healthy baby is often because of genetic abnormalities that are incompatible with life. I had one too around the same gestation. It was devastating at the time, but just one of those things.

I would much rather be in early pregnancy in the winter months than late pregnancy/giving birth because of risks of flu, whooping cough, COVID to a new baby.

Sorry for your loss, but you are overthinking this. The vast majority of miscarriages are caused by genetic issues with the embryo. I got pregnant in June and had a miscarriage at 11 weeks, then got pregnant in January with my daughter. Please consider some counselling if the worrying is too much - I had counselling after my miscarriage and it helped a lot.

Very kindly, you’re massively overthinking this. I understand why, I thought because I’d had a bath quite hot that I’d caused a miscarriage, but it’s usually just to do with genetic flaws which means the embryo - foetus stops growing. Colds and viruses don’t make any difference (unless it’s Zika or such bugs) but common or garden UK sniffles type viruses are fine.
i had my first in September and second in March , it was more difficult with the second as it was a really snowy year, loads of ice and I was terrified I’d fall !
Very sorry for your loss, just try to relax and don’t think too much about why, remember that at least one in four pregnancies miscarry, but that means 3 in 4 are viable - good luck 🤞🏼

i had a missed miscarriage and found out in a scan about 2 weeks after it probably stopped growing. Around that time I had a migraine and vomiting and felt really unwell. I often think if that caused the miscarriage or the other way round but I don’t dwell on it and either way I’ll never know and wouldn’t try to plan around winter viruses. You can get sick anytime and you can get exposed to viruses often and not get sick. There’s so many variables you can’t plan it.

I had a sept baby, suffered extreme HG the whole pregnancy and spent loads of time in hospital. The only thing I struggled with was being heavily pregnant in the summer as I was way too hot. Already couldn't sleep well as I was uncomfortable but with the heat it was even worse

As everyone else has said, a nursery bug wouldn’t have cause a miscarriage. My miscarriage was the same gestation but happened in September, so happened over summer. There will always be pros and cons to whatever time you get pregnant and have the baby, but generally a normal winter bug isn’t going to cause any issues with your pregnancy.
I’m very sorry for your loss and wish you all the best with TTC in future.

Kindly OP, you are overthinking it. I have one summer baby and one winter baby. Having had both, if I was going to do any sort of planning at all (which I probably wouldn’t!) I’d probably agree with a PP that having a summer newborn at least lets them get a bit bigger and more robust before the autumn/ winter bugs start at nursery. My July born second has been probably been ill more than he’s been well due to nursery bugs brought home by his sister, but thankfully his first 6 weeks were before it all started.

That said, I had norovirus when I was 6 weeks pregnant with him, and on top of HG, that was a lot!

Basically, I think a lot of it is luck and there are pros and cons year round and for their full childhood so I think you can definitely overthink it all.

And as PPs have said, the miscarriage won’t have been due to anything you did. I’m sorry for your loss.

So sorry, OP, especially with the timing,

Good question.

There are many reasons for miscarriages and I've certainly read that the most common cause is thought to be genetic abnormalities but it doesn't seem crazy to think that some viral infections can sometimes cause miscarriages. I wouldn't let it stop me trying to get pregnant in winter though. I think if this was known to be a common occurrence, the NHS , NCT and many other organizations would be all over this.

I am so sorry for your loss x

I have two children and with both got pregnant in Nov/ Dec so was pregnant over winter.

I have had 4 miscarriages, one in Nov, one in August, a loss of 1 twin, then my last mc when trying for no 2 was again in Nov. But I don't think that was due to flu season

I’ve been told by a consultant specialising in miscarriage that some bugs can definitely cause a miscarriage, especially in early pregnancy. Stomach bugs are particularly risky if you get very dehydrated. So you can’t say it’s definitely what caused it but it’s possible. Does your toddler have to go to nursery, can you be a SAHM for a bit until your family is complete?

To reassure you OP, I had very severe HG in both my pregnancies which left me so dehydrated I was hospitalised for IV fluids numerous times so while it may be theoretically possible, it’s also quite possible to get treatment to deal with dehydration caused by a bug. Please don’t let this overly worry you.

I’m very sorry for your loss OP. I conceived my first DC in January and didn’t have any issues. Second DC was born in January too.