Misconceptions about miscarriages

Miscarriage: can it be avoided by abstaining from playing sports or carrying heavy loads?

It is indeed advisable not to do not force too much when you are pregnant. But be careful, unless your doctor advises you, you are not prohibited from carrying a water pack on the pretext of pregnancy. But there’s no need to move your apartment either. So we avoid things that are too heavy. And when it comes to sport, an Anglo-Saxon study has shown that women who practice more than 7 hours of sport per week are almost four times more likely to have a miscarriage than those who do not exercise.

You can have a miscarriage without realizing it

It all depends on the stage of pregnancy. Sometimes a week late for your period hides the onset of pregnancy that does not continue. Beyond that, it’s hard to ignore miscarriage: signs of pregnancy disappear overnight (nausea, swollen breasts, etc.), contractions (pains identical to those of menstruation), bleeding more or less profuse.

Stress and miscarriage: dangerous relationships?

Is there a link between the stress of expectant mothers and the risk of miscarriage? A study * has shown that stress increases cortisol levels (substance present and measurable in the urine) of women. A surge of this substance would be responsible for spontaneous abortions. The body interprets this increase as a deterioration in living conditions. But overall, even though small studies sometimes show the opposite, a miscarriage only sheds one non-viable egg. Thus other factors than stress are surely taken into account in triggering a miscarriage.

* Study conducted on 31 women followed for one year by the team of Prof. Pablo Nepomnaschy, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2006.

Can sex cause a miscarriage?

No ! Rest assured, you have every right (especially if you want to) to have sex during your pregnancy. Of course, except medical contraindication (opening of the cervix, crack in the water bag, attack of genital herpes or other STDs, placenta previa), you are not at risk of miscarriage.

Miscarriage does not occur until the first trimester

Yes and no. A miscarriage happens most of the time in early pregnancy, before the first three months. However, there may also be a late miscarriage from the fourth or fifth month. In any case, know that this evacuation is synonymous with a good functioning of the body and its fertility. Since the egg is not viable, it terminates the pregnancy.

Blood loss during pregnancy: necessarily a miscarriage?

Slight losses intermittent blood can be physiological and therefore quite normal. Nevertheless they must be in any case reported to your doctor.

When you’ve already had a miscarriage, you risk having more

Repeated miscarriages (from 3 and 2 if you are over 38) are infrequent. The doctor will then proceed to a real medical investigation to find out the reasons : screening for diabetes, establishment of the parental karyotype (study of chromosomes) or even carrying out an infectious assessment.

After a miscarriage, can you have a new baby right away?

A miscarriage does not compromise, in any case, the success of a subsequent pregnancy. If you want to have a new baby, medically nothing is against it, you can start your tests again. Your period will normally return a month later. The decision is up to everyone. Waiting two to three cycles to think about conceiving a new child is sometimes the time to mourn the loss of the unborn baby.

Risk of miscarriage increases as father turns 40

We already know that mother’s age may influence : Miscarriages are twice as frequent at 40 than at 20. And a study * also showed that the age of the father may matter. The risk increases by about 30% (but overall it’s still a little) when the future father is over 35 years old, compared to couples where the man is less than 35 years old.

* Franco-American study carried out by the team of Rémy Slama and Jean Bouyer, American Journal of Epidemiology, 2005.

Is it necessary to systematically perform curettage after a miscarriage?

Not at all. There may be a spontaneous and complete expulsion. The follow-up ultrasound will prove it. In this case, there will be no medical intervention and you will be able to go home. On the other hand, if the expulsion is incomplete, you will take tablets (hormones) to get rid of the rest. After a check-up, if necessary, the doctor will have recourse to an aspiration (to empty the uterus) or to curettage (to scrape the mucous membrane) under general anesthesia.