What are the Causes of Early Miscarriage?
Early miscarriages are very common and about 30 percent of the women experience it even before they realize that they are pregnant. The cause of early miscarriage is hard to determine. Even if not impossible, it is very difficult to determine the cause of miscarriage. In most of the cases the cause of miscarriage is unknown.
Most of the early miscarriages are caused due to the development of an unhealthy fetus or due to some genetic abnormalities in the fetus. Such a fetus has a very little chance of survival. Also, in many cases the pregnant women does nothing wrong that can cause an early miscarriage.
A woman can have a successful pregnancy even if she has one or two early miscarriages. But if she has three consecutive early miscarriages, it becomes necessary to determine the cause of early miscarriage. There are several causes of early miscarriage that are identified which include:
Chromosomal Abnormalities
Nearly 50-60 percent of all the early miscarriages are caused to chromosomal abnormalities. They may be caused either by too many or too little number of chromosomes in the fetus. And about 50 percent of these cases are caused due to Down's syndrome (Trisomy 21).
Mother's Age
Miscarriage also depends upon the mother's age. The risk of early miscarriage increases as the age of the mother increases because the quality of eggs deteriorates with the age. A woman who is over 35 has an increased risk of miscarriage. About 50 percent of such cases end in a miscarriage.
Low Levels of Progesterone
Having normal levels of progesterone is important for a woman in her reproductive years to maintain a healthy pregnancy. The hormone progesterone influences the growth and development of the fetus. Therefore having low levels of progesterone may cause early miscarriage.
Autoimmune Diseases and Infections
The presence of complex antibodies like anticardiolipin and anticoagulant in a woman may cause early miscarriages. Bacterial infections like ureaplasma, chlamydia, streptococcus and mycoplasma can cause early miscarriages. Viral infections like cytomegalic virus or parasitic infection like toxoplasmosis may also be the cause of early miscarriages.
Other Possible Causes of Early Miscarriages
The other possible causes of early miscarriages include:
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Chronic illnesses like undiagnosed diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney problems, systemic lupus or thyroid abnormalities
- Collagen vascular diseases like are systemic lupus erythematosus, and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
- Uterine structural abnormalities like intrauterine adhesions, a misshapen uterus, fibroids and cervical impotence
- Excessive use of alcohol, caffeine, drugs and tobacco
- Environmental toxins like certain metals or high doses of toxins like chemotherapy and X-irradiation
- Working with chemicals like solvents, dyes, metals or chemical production plants
- Extreme stress. Stress often doesn't cause early miscarriages but can be one of the possibilities
Some researches show that fever may be a cause of early miscarriage as most of the miscarriages are reported during flu epidemics.
Knowing all the possible causes of early miscarriage is very much important for a women, especially for a woman who had previous miscarriages. This will help her in avoiding the things that can cause early miscarriages during the pregnancy period.