Miscarriage is undoubtedly the last thing a pregnant woman wants to face. You have that big and sweet dream of having your baby in your lap and are ready to do anything for that precious moment. But pregnancy can sometimes unpleasantly surprise you, and miscarriage is one of those bad moments.
According to the Mayo clinic, the possibility of experiencing miscarriage while pregnant is between %10-%20. It may happen while this is your first pregnancy or any subsequent one. But generally, the probability of miscarriage if a woman has already experienced miscarriages in a row.
Losing your baby before a full-term pregnancy is over will harm you emotionally and physically. Therefore, knowing how to manage this period and prepare for your subsequent pregnancy is essential.
Technically, miscarriage refers to an early pregnancy loss of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy or in the first pregnancy trimester. It is called stillbirth if the pregnancy is missed after this time (in the second or third trimester). The main concern of women in this situation is how soon after a miscarriage can they get pregnant and have healthy babies?
Pregnancy after Miscarriage
In many cases of miscarriage, most conceived women do not even know they are pregnant. Pregnancy tests do not show the correct results when they are not taken a few weeks after pregnancy. As a result, when a miscarriage occurs, it is usually mistaken for a regular period. The only difference is you may have more bleeding.
First, you should know that miscarriage will not affect your fertility. Statistics show that 85% of women who lose their baby in the first trimester of pregnancy will conceive successfully again and have a healthy pregnancy.
Months after a miscarriage, you need to pay attention to some points to get strong again physically. Moreover, you should care about your emotional status and make yourself emotionally ready for a successful pregnancy. The third most important thing is observing the right timing for baby-making sex. Let's read about all of them:
Physical effects of miscarriage
Depending on when you have experienced a miscarriage in your pregnancy, its physical health side effects are different. Suppose this happens between 23 and 20 weeks of pregnancy. In that case, you should know that half of the miscarriages are due to chromosomal abnormalities in the baby.
After the miscarriage, you may have bleeding for up to a week and see blood clots. You can expect your menstrual cycle to normalize between a month and a half later (4 to 6 weeks).
Before trying to get pregnant, another issue is the removal of all of the tissues remaining inside the uterus. It happens naturally, and your body knows what to do. But to minimize the risk of infection, it is better not to do a few things until the end of the bleeding caused by the miscarriage:
- Not using a tampon and replacing it with a sanitary pad
- Not having sex
- Refusing to have baths and hot tubs
Also, to ensure the complete removal of tissues before getting pregnant, visit obstetrics gynecology and get examined by her. Medical intervention such as dilation and curettage (D&C procedure) may be needed in some cases.
Finally, take folic acid and prenatal vitamins to restore your physical ability.
Emotional issues of mothers after miscarriage
During this period, you may experience different emotions such as anger, regret, frustration, anxiety, and stress. Many mothers who lose their babies in the first trimester of pregnancy are worried about whether they will get pregnant again. And how likely is it to miscarry again if they do get pregnant?
In the meantime, your partner may be equally affected, and both need comfort.
So the best advice is never to get pregnant immediately and only to replace the lost baby. Allow the natural period of mourning to pass. But if you get too caught up in your emotions and damage your self-esteem, you may need medical intervention.
In this case, talk to your doctor or health care provider. Some women have a fear of pregnancy loss due to repeated miscarriages.
Now, you should have a schedule for baby-making sex which we explain below.
How Soon After Miscarriage Can You Get Pregnant?
You can have sex with your partner after the end of the bleeding caused by miscarriage; this takes between one and two weeks. If you had D&C surgery, wait more weeks.
But to get pregnant, it is good to wait at least two months. During this time, the uterus has enough time to return to its normal state and receive a newly fertilized embryo.
This is because your body will have enough time to restore its normal complete menstrual cycle. Although a women's body can resume ovulation even two weeks later after miscarriage (under 13-20 weeks of pregnancy), regulating menstruation usually takes two months.
The purpose of this waiting time is for the pregnancy hormone hCG level to reach its lowest level so that your pregnancy test does not give a false positive. You can request a blood test to confirm this. If the abortion occurs in the second or third month of pregnancy, the time you have to wait for the mentioned blood test will be more than six weeks.
In general, as before, plan to have sex as close as possible to the time of ovulation and maintain the same routine every other day during the days leading up to ovulation. In addition, be sure to have a healthy diet and take prenatal vitamins regularly.
Signs of Pregnancy after Miscarriage
Suppose your efforts are successful and you get pregnant. In that case, you can know the success of your pregnancy through pregnancy symptoms after miscarriage. The surest sign of pregnancy is a missed period. But except for changes in mood and body, such as morning sickness, sore breast, food carvings, and so on, you can use a pregnancy test to know the result.
Conclusion
Miscarriage is one of the events that can happen during pregnancy. Technically, miscarriage refers to losing a baby between 20 and 13 weeks of gestation, or generally in the first trimester of pregnancy. Pregnant women often overlook a miscarriage because its symptoms are like a regular period.
Miscarriage can leave its own physical and emotional effects on you, which require time and, in some cases, medical intervention to resolve them.
You can be sure that this issue will not affect your future pregnancy. By following some tips (like knowing how long after a miscarriage can you get pregnant?), you can try to have a baby again.