Doctors cannot determine the cause of miscarriage with 100% assurance, so they look out for risk factors.
Risk factors indicate that there is a chance of miscarriage. However, miscarriage is a complicated topic to be discussed, but we have listed a few potential risk factors which can lead to a miscarriage. If these miscarriages occur consequently or if you have had three consecutive miscarriages, consult a New York recurrent miscarriage specialist.
It is obbserved that some women don’t have any of the risk factors mentioned below but have a miscarriage. Some women who report a few risk factors and are at high risk of miscarriage have a normal full-term pregnancy.
Risk factors include:
Medical condition of baby: miscarriages can be a result of abnormal chromosomes. Trisomy 16 has been reported in most miscarriages. ( usually, a person has two copies of every autosomal chromosome, but in this case, there is a 3rd copy of the 16th chromosome)
Medical condition of mother: these include many factors.
Potential risk factors include:
- Age of the mother: Females over 35 have 20% chances of miscarriage, and those with age above 40 have 40% chances.
- Infertility: an infertile woman has difficulties conceiving, and if they opt for an IVF, because of the abnormal hormonal production, their chances of miscarriages are highly increased.
- Sexually transmitted diseases: STDs highly increase the chances of miscarriages.
- Obesity: being obese can be a big reason for a miscarriage.
- Infections: if a mother is infected with viral or bacterial infections during the pregnancy, this infection can lead to a miscarriage.
- Uterine malformations: If the female’s uterus is abnormally shaped or is unsuitable for pregnancy, this may lead to recurrent miscarriages, and surgery may be required to treat this condition.
Lifestyle factors: what a female does and how she takes care of herself while following her daily routine is essential for determining the fate of the pregnancy. Some factors have been mentioned below:
- Alcohol consumption increases the risk of miscarriage by 19%.
- Smoking 1 cigarette increases the risk of miscarriage by 1%, while passive smoking increases the chances of miscarriage by 11%.
- Medications have been reported to cause miscarriage in some instances.
- Stress and anxiety have been reported in 10-20% of miscarriages.
- Strenuous exercises like weightlifting can lead to a miscarriage.
- High caffeine intake (more than 200mg per day) elevates the chances of a pregnancy.
To have a healthy pregnancy, try to avoid the above-mentioned potential lifestyle risk factors and keep consulting your doctor if he can rule out most of the risk factors.
