As a young woman, I fear the prospect of one day losing a potential child to miscarriage. However, what’s put things into perspective is thinking about what I learned in high school biology – that miscarriages are common and that they have a lot to do with nature and biology.
I think that when people usually envision miscarriages they picture a scene with a lot of stress and tragedy. However, this does not quite capture the entire picture. While the modern-day woman’s schedule is often hectic and stressful, the idea that stress leads to a miscarriage is an old wives’ tale. Miscarriages have more to do with the genetic development of the baby and reproductive abnormalities than stress. As for the assumption that miscarriages are often followed by devastation and tragedy, most women do not even know that they might have suffered a miscarriage. Thus, while not taking away from the very real pain women experience when suffering through a miscarriage, I want to shed a little light onto what really happens when your body spontaneously aborts an embryo.
First, let’s establish the facts. A miscarriage occurs when the pregnant body undergoes a spontaneous abortion before the 24th week of pregnancy. If the miscarriage occurs before 12 weeks, it is defined as an early miscarriage – if the miscarriage occurs after the 12th week of pregnancy, it is called a late miscarriage. Early pregnancy miscarriages are a very common thing. So common in fact, that it is estimated that about 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. This is accounting for the fact that many women either have yet to even realize that they’re pregnant, or because they have yet to miss a period.
Early miscarriages have a lot to do with genetic or chromosomal abnormalities. If the body spontaneously aborts a fetus before 12 weeks, something likely went wrong during the embryo’s development. Scientists speculate this is connected to something being wrong with the embryo’s chromosome pairs. Humans have 23 chromosome pairs – half paternal, half maternal. If during the embryo development process something abnormal occurs with the pairing of these chromosomes (an extra chromosome is added, or the structure of the chromosomes is altered), the embryo cannot continue to develop. As a result, a spontaneous abortion occurs. Sometimes these embryos are unable to even attach to the mother’s uterine wall.
Thus, chances are, if you suffer an early miscarriage, it is nature and biology’s way of telling you that your embryo would not have developed into a healthy baby (and eventually adult).
Other common speculated causes of miscarriages include abnormalities of the uterus, immune system responses, infections caused by bacteria, and even medical conditions in the mother such as diabetes. If you fear consecutive miscarriages or are curious about your miscarriage risks and prospects, contact your doctor today for more information. What helps is speaking to a professional and having a good support system. The more information you have, the better you will feel.
Women who undergo miscarriages often do not need to worry. It is important to remember that miscarriages are common, and the chances are high that a woman who experiences a miscarriage will eventually become pregnant again and deliver a healthy baby. No matter how devastating at the onset, miscarriages are a common, natural occurrence, and remember that you are not alone. Sometimes it’s just nature and biology doing its thing.