5 Steps To Decreasing the Chance of Recurrent Miscarriages
As someone who has experienced two early miscarriages, I can say having a miscarriage is really, really hard.
Not only did I have to deal with the feeling of loss, confusion, and sadness. But I also had to work through the resentment towards my pregnant friends that would “fall” pregnant every time they sneezed. It has gotten better over the years, but some days it can still be hard.
That is why I want to share with you five steps you can take (and have been shown through scientific studies) to decrease your chances of having another loss and preventing miscarriage by creating a healthy, baby friendly body. But before we dive into the therapies, let’s take a look at the causes of recurrent miscarriages…
Causes of Recurrent Miscarriages
The cause of a recurrent miscarriage (more than one) is not always known; some studies say up to 50% are unexplainable. But here are the most common causes:
Anatomical Causes
Recurrent miscarriages that fall under this area are unfortunately an area that natural therapies will most likely have no effect on. If something is different atomically causing a pregnancy to not continue, this is called an ‘anatomical cause’. This sometimes looks like a misshaped uterus, a weakened cervix, large fibroids, or dramatic scarring within the uterus.
Genetic Causes
Sometimes recurrent miscarriages are due to genetic defects in either the egg or the sperm. Women and men over 35 have a greater chance of this problem occurring as the eggs and sperm may not be as healthy as they were in their younger years. Most western doctors will say there is not much you can do about this, but we disagree. While we can not affect all genetic causes, we have seen changes in sperm and egg health of our clients after they changed to a healthier, nutrient dense, natural fertility lifestyle. This included specific supplements and therapies to help protect the egg and sperm DNA as well as provide the ingredients for a healthier reproductive system. We will cover all of this later in this article.
Blood Clotting
Blood that is overly thick or has a tendency to clot (like in the case of a blood clotting disorder) can cause a miscarriages.
As small blood clots begin to develop in the uterus, the placenta can be cut off; leaving the fetus void of the oxygen and nutrient supply it needs to survive. This can induce a spontaneous abortion, otherwise known as miscarriage. In the event your pregnancy develops past the 24th week before the clotting develops, a stillbirth or premature birth can result. With no tests available to check for these clots and no other warning signs offered by the body, the danger often remains unseen until it is too late.
There are some tests that can be done to determine if this is the case. There are natural therapies that have been shown to be helpful with this type of imbalance. We will discuss those below.
High Homocysteine levels
If you have suffered at least one miscarriage, or your doctor has indicated that you are at a higher risk for miscarriage than most women, you may want to find out what your Homocysteine levels are to thwart a devastating result to your pregnancy.
Homocysteine is a common sulfar-containing amino acid found in the body. While it is not harmful in normal levels, when those levels get too high (especially during pregnancy), it can cause a condition called hypercoagulability. What does this mean? In general, your blood clots much more easily than it should. Not only can it put you at a higher risk for a heart attack and stroke, but it can put your baby in danger as well.
Researchers in Bergen/Osb Norway studied several thousand patients and reported that Homocysteine levels higher than 10-10.7 increased a woman’s chance of a miscarriage by a whopping 38% . You can read more about the homocysteine and the miscarriage connection here…
Immunological Disorders
For reasons unknown to doctors and scientists the body sometimes will attack the fetus or sperm; sometimes caused by elevated natural killer cells or HLA incompatibility. This is called a immunological disorder or immune system based miscarriage. In the past the only options available for this were the same treatments and medications organ transplant patients receive (which most doctors won’t even perform), but thank goodness there are natural therapies that offer some hope in this area that have been shown to be successful through human studies.
Hormonal Imbalance
There are many links between hormonal imbalances and recurrent miscarriages. The hormonal system is an intricate orchestra of hormones that run on a very specific schedule. If one of these hormones is out of balance, it can affect the rest of the cycle, possibly impacting early pregnancy. Some of these imbalances may be:
Low progesterone
Progesterone is necessary for pregnancy for many reasons, but one of the main ones it that it preserves the uterine lining so the new embryo can attach and be nourished while the placenta is being formed. If progesterone is low the lining will shed, causing menstruation to begin.
High estrogen
If estrogen levels in the body are high, this can cause many issues but specifically it can cause low progesterone.
Elevated prolactin
Prolactin is a hormone in the body that is abundant during lactation. But beyond promoting milk flow for the new mother, it also may repress ovulation.
Insulin resistance (PCOS)
Insulin resistance causes a hormonal imbalance because the body is always in fight-or-flight causing the hormones to become out of balance. High estrogen, elevated testosterone and low progesterone. It is also has been found that women who are insulin resistant are also 4-5 times more likely to have a miscarriage. Imbalanced insulin levels due to PCOS make it difficult for the embryo to attach properly to the uterus.
Thyroid disorders
Thyroid disorders can be the drop in the bucket that causes a cascade of hormonal issues.
Luteal Phase Defect
The luteal phase is the time period after ovulation in which the embryo is making its way down the fallopian tubes and implanting itself into the uterine lining. If this phase is too short for the embryo to implant and attach properly, a miscarriage could occur. Many women will not know this is happening unless they are fertility charting and can tell how long their luteal phase is.
Now on to the 5 Step to Decreasing the Chance of Recurrent Miscarriages…
1. Prepare for Conception
Preparing ahead of time for your pregnancy is the key to decreasing the chances of a miscarriage. There are steps you can take to reduce the chances of another pregnancy loss, but they must be begun months before you become pregnant again. The first step is to prepare your body with a Fertility Cleanse. Fertility cleansing helps to cleanse the liver of old toxins and excess hormones, rid the uterus of any “old” contents, and cleansing the blood.
2. Eat a Nutrient Dense Fertility Diet
The next step is to nourish and build up your body to be a healthy, baby-friendly body. This can easily be done through eating a nutrient dense Fertility Diet. What you eat has an impact on:
* The health of your eggs
* Your hormonal balance
* Creates a healthy placenta
* Decreases chances of a miscarriage
* Builds nutrient storage for baby
* Creates healthy reproductive system
You will want to make sure you are eating a fertility diet consistently for at least 90 days before you begin trying to conceive for your best chances of creating a healthy pregnancy. You can learn how to eat a nutrient dense fertility diet here.
3. Build a Healthy Foundation
One of the major foundational steps to increasing your changes of having a healthy pregnancy is to take some basic vitamins, minerals, and EFA’s. There are specific vitamins and minerals that are necessary for a healthy reproductive system, hormonal balance, and ovulation.
Building a healthy foundation is a two punch step. You will want to be taking a multivitamin and omega 3 supplements. But the key here is not to just take any multivitamin. The best multivitamin to take for fertility and pregnancy is a prenatal multivitamin. But be careful when you are choosing which one to take. NOT ALL SUPPLEMENTS ARE CREATED EQUAL. Make sure you are taking a whole food prenatal multivitamin. You also need to make sure your prenatal vitamin contains B6, B12 and folic acid (folate). This combination has been shown to help prevent miscarriages due to high homocysteine levels.
Essential fatty acids are also extremely important for miscarriage prevention through creating a healthy body. EFA’s, specifically omega 3’s, are responsible for many fertility actions. But specifically for aiding in possibly preventing miscarriage – they help to reduce inflammation, aid in hormone balance, and are essential for healthy eggs, just to name a few.
4. Apply Self Fertility Massage
Another important element of promoting a healthy conception is to increase the circulation to the uterus. From our daily lifestyles of not exercising enough, exercising too much, sitting at a desk all day, pretty much life… can decrease the circulation to the uterus. You see the left leg and the uterus share the same major artery with most of the blood going to the legs, especially when we live in a stressful state of fight or flight ( our bodies sends all the blood to the muscles and brain in preparation for running away or fighting), the circulation to the uterus will be compromised.
Through applying a simple massage method called Self Fertility Massage you are able to increase the circulation to the uterus, clear adhesions, clear congestion (if you have endometriosis, PCOS, clotty and dark periods, and heavy cramps during your period, I am talking to you). You will want to use this technique to your program.
5. Follow a Supplement and Herbal Program
*Note: These are traditional therapies for miscarriage. There are no guarantees being made that they will stop a miscarriage. Most miscarriages are meant to happen due to issues with the fetus. These herbs will not stop a miscarriage that is meant to happen. They are helpful with miscarriages that are caused from stress, poor diet, trauma, weak uterine muscles, or low progesterone levels. Herbs help to provide extra nourishment and strength needed to nourish a depleted body. If you think you are having a miscarriage consult your doctor right away.
General tips for preventing miscarriage…
If your recurrent miscarriages are due to any of these three reasons, there are natural remedies that have been shown to help decrease the chances recurrent miscarriages.
* Immunological
* Hormonal ( low progesterone)
* Chromosomal (you could have some impact, it matters if it is the egg)
The supplements are:
* These products work best when taken for a minimum of 3 months in preparation before conception.
Vitex
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Vitex (Chaste Tree berry) Has been traditionally used by midwives and herbalist to prevent miscarriage associated with low progesterone. It can be used in conjunction with progesterone creams.
Is it safe to take vitex during pregnancy?
Aviva Romm states in her wonderful book Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health…
In placebo controlled studies for teratogenicity and mutagenicity were conducted in rats, and even with the animals ere administered 74 times the dosage typically consumed by humans, no toxicity nor aberations in fetal development were seen. In addition the Botanical Safety Handbook provided no contraindications to use during pregnancy.
Yet in contrast another study was done in 2005 that showed when mice were injected in the abdomen with human level doses of vitex extract there were negative effects to the mice embryos.
While Vitex can be used to help a miscarriage that is acute, for safety reasons it is best to use at least 3 months prior to conception and another progesterone therapy such as progesterone cream to maintain stable progesterone levels once pregnancy has occurred. Working with a health practitioner once you are pregnant to help you keep your progesterone levels up is the wisest option at that point.
Maca
Maca is a nourishing food for the endocrine system, aiding both the pituitary, adrenal, and thyroid glands (all involved in hormonal balance.) Maca has the ability to affect key hormones in both women and men without containing hormones itself.
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Maca helps to stimulate and nourish the pituitary gland, acting as a tonic for the hormone system. When the pituitary gland functions optimally, the entire endocrine system becomes balanced, because the pituitary gland controls the hormone output of the other three glands.
In women maca works by controlling estrogen in the body. Estrogen levels that are high or low at the wrong time can keep a woman from becoming pregnant or keep her from carrying to term. Excess estrogen levels also cause progesterone levels to become too low. Taking maca may help to increase the progesterone levels which are essential to carrying a healthy pregnancy.
Progesterone
Low progesterone during pregnancy may be a leading cause of recurrent miscarriages. Progesterone is responsible for creating a healthy environment in the womb by creating and maintaining a healthy uterine lining. It also may reduce the chances of blood clots and immune system responses to the fetus as a foreign substance. It is the pregnancy hormone.
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Progesterone Cream
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If you feel this might be your situation try to get your hormone levels tested before using the progesterone, than get tested again to make sure your levels are high enough.
There has been great success from people I personally have worked with and have heard of many midwives swearing by natural progesterone. Progesterone cream is used from right after ovulation until your menstrual cycle, or if you get pregnant continue use and contact your health care provider.
Make sure to have at least two bottles on hand, because running out could cause a big drop in progesterone which may cause the menstrual cycle to begin.
Fertility Enzyme Therapy
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Enzyme Therapy
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For recurrent pregnancy losses caused from either immunological response or blood clotting, Fertility Enzyme Therapy may be an affective option. In a five year study women who had experienced a recurrent miscarriage due to immunological response (more than 30% of miscarriages) were put on a systemic enzyme supplement before and during there pregnancies(6). 79% of the women carried out their pregnancies to term and gave birth to healthy babies. This is an amazing discovery. The only options available before this study were anti-immunological agents similar to the type used in transplant patients, but most doctors will not use them due to there toxicity during pregnancy. Fertility Enzyme Therapy is a major part of a miscarriage prevention support program.
Aviva Romm’s Habitual Miscarriage Prevention Formula
It is suggested that this formula should be started 3 months prior to conception and continued until at least 2 weeks past the latest weeks’ gestation of previous miscarriage ( if the previous miscarriage occurred at 8 weeks, continue the formula until at least 10 weeks). You will need to work with an herbalist or naturopath so they can monitor your herbal program as some of these herbs have not been shown to be safe during pregnancy through studies.
Aviva suggested to combine the following tinctures together (1 oz = 30ml)
Vitex: 50ml
Cramp Bark: 30ml
Partridge Berry: 20ml
Suggested usage:5ml twice a day
Cramp Bark
If there is uterine cramping without cervical dilation, cramp bark has been traditionally used to help stop uterine spasm and contractions. It has been used for hundreds of years as miscarriage prevention.
Partridge Berry
Is a uterine tonic traditionally used to help strengthen a weak uterus.
Questions and Support
If you have any questions or would like to get support and meet other women who have gone through recurrent miscarriages, make sure to join our Recurrent Miscarriage Support Group in the Natural Fertility Community; membership is free. There you will find others who have gone through something similar to you and can get support, advice and have all your questions answered.
References:
1. Weed, Susan. Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Years. 1986.
2. Chris Serafini, D.C. Systemic Enzymes, Lignans and Uterine Health. PDF
3. Lee, John, M.D. Hormone Balance Made Simple. 2006
4. Lee, John, M.D. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause. 1999
5. Glueck, CJ et al, Polycystic ovary syndrome, infertility, familial thrombophilia, familial hypofibrinolysis, recurrent loss of in vitro fertilized embryos, and miscarriage, Fertil Steril, 2000, 74(2):394-7
6. Dittmar, F-W.; Enzyme therapy – a method of immune therapy for women with a history of immunologically – induced habitual abortion. Foum Medizin Verlagsgesellschaft, Forum Immunologie 3/2000.
7. George, L et al, Plasma folate levels and risk of spontaneous abortion, JAMA, 2002, 288(15):1867-73
LaTasha, B et al, Increased prevalence of insulin resistance in women with a history of recurrent pregnancy loss, Fertil Steril, 2002, 78:487-90
8. Lehmann, P.V., Forsthuber, T., Muller, A., Scrcarz, E., E.; Spreading of T cell autoimmunity to cryptic determinants of an autoantigen. Nature 1992; 358 155-157.
9. Oakeshott, P et al, Association between bacterial vaginosis or chlamydial infection and miscarriage before 16 weeks’ gestation: prospective community based cohort study, BMJ, 2002, 325(7376):1334
10. Thatcher, SS, “PCOS: The Hidden Epidemic”, 2000, Perspective Press Crinnion, WJ, Environmental medicine, part 1: the human burden of environmental toxins and their common health effects, 2000, 5(1):52-63
11. Leoni V, et al, PCB and other organochlorine compounds in blood of women with or without miscarriage: a hypothesis of correlation, Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 1989, 17:1-11.
12. Nouza, K., Kinsky, R., Dimitriov, D.; Immunology and immunopathology of reproduction. Folia Biologica 38, Prag. 1992.
13. Westergarrd, L et al, Suppressed LH in IVF cycles related to miscarriage, Human Reproduction, 2000, 15:1003-8
14. Shoham, Z et al, Luteinizing hormone: it’s role, mechanism of action, and detrimental effects when hypersecreted during the follicular phase, Fertil Steril, 1993, 59(6):1153-61
15. Tulppala, M et al, Polycystic ovaries and levels of gonadotrophins and androgens in recurrent miscarriage, Br J Obst Gyn, 1993, 100(4):348-52
16. Bussen, S et al, Endocrine abnormalities during the follicular phase in women with recurrent spontaneous abortions, 1999, Human Reproduction, 14(1):18-20
17. Ostrowski-Meissner H., Kapczynski W., Mscisz A. et al. An Attempt to Use Maca (Lepidium peruvianum) in Post Menopausal Women. Advances in Phytotherapy. 2003; IV: 19.
18. Muller V. Maca in Hormone Replacement Therapy. Whole World Botanicals Report. 1997; 1-7
19. Muller V. South American Herb Maca as Alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy. Whole World Botanicals Report, 2002; 11.
20. Walker M. Effect of Peruvian Maca on Hormonal Functions. Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. 1998; 11: 18.
21. Romm, Aviva. Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health. 2009.
22. M. Azarnia, S. Ejtemaei-Mehr, A. Shakoor and A. Ansari. Effects of Vitex Agnus Castus on Mice Fetus Development. journals.tums.ac.ir/upload_files/pdf/4033.pdf
