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Last reviewed: July 2016
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A miscarriage is the loss of a baby, usually during the first three months or "first trimester" of pregnancy.
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Many parents we spoke to experienced miscarriage. Some had a single miscarriage, while others experienced two or more (multiple miscarriage).
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Sands Australia: Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Newborn Death
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Unfortunately, nothing can prevent a miscarriage from happening once it has started. How it is treated will depend on the type of miscarriage.
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Causes of miscarriage: Miscarriages are devastating and there are a number of possible reasons that a miscarriage may occur.
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There are several types of miscarriage – threatened, inevitable, complete, incomplete or missed.
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A miscarriage can be a time of great sadness for the father as well as the mother.
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Find out what the signs of miscarriage are and advice on what you should do.
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Miscarriage is a pregnancy that ends spontaneously before 20 weeks. Miscarriage is very common and usually occurs in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
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A miscarriage is the unintended ending of a pregnancy
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We could not find any evidence from randomized controlled trials that progestogen beginning in the first trimester of pregnancy can generally prevent miscarriage.
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Recurrent miscarriage is three or more consecutive early miscarriages. One theory is that for some women, this might be caused by an immune system response to the embryo or fetus. Therapies that try to immunize the woman against the 'foreign' cells of a future pregnancy have been tried. Immunotherapies have included white blood cells (leukocytes) from the woman's partner or a donor, products derived from early embryos (trophoblast membranes), or antibodies derived from blood (immunoglobulin).
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Recurrent miscarriage has been defined as two, three, or more consecutive spontaneous miscarriages in early pregnancy, and affects a small number (1% to 3%) of women of reproductive age. Many pregnant women may not recognise a miscarriage until they experience uterine bleeding and cramping after the 10th week of pregnancy. There are risks of repeat miscarriages after the first pregnancy loss and the chance of having a successful pregnancy varies. Some recurrent miscarriages have underlying causes, including both maternal and fetal factors; specific treatments targeting these causes are effective. However, the underlying causes may not be identified and most recurrent miscarriage are unexplained. There is no universal recommendation for the treatment of unexplained recurrent miscarriage. Chinese herbal medicines have been widely used in Asian countries for centuries and have become a popular alternative therapy in Western countries in recent years. Many clinical studies have reported that Chinese herbal medicines can improve pregnancy and live birth rates by preventing miscarriage and promoting the continuation of pregnancy.
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Miscarriage is the loss of a baby before 23 weeks of pregnancy and this can cause much distress for parents. The most common treatment used to prevent it is probably bed rest. The review of two trials, involving 84 women, found that there was not enough evidence from good quality studies to be able to say whether bed rest helps to prevent miscarriage or not. Care for women at increased risk of miscarriage needs to be offered according to their individual needs.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the loss of a pregnancy without medical or mechanical means before completion of the 20th week of gestation. The fetus is not sufficiently developed to have been able to survive outside the mothers womb. Threatened miscarriage is a very common in early pregnancy. Most threatened miscarriages occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and become evident as vaginal bleeding, abdominal and low back pain that persist for days or weeks. So far, therapies have limited effectiveness in preventing early pregnancy loss due to threatened miscarriage. Chinese herbal medicines are a part of Traditional Chinese Medicines and are made up of products from plants and some animal and mineral substances. They have become very popular and are commonly used as an alternative treatment for threatened miscarriage.
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Threatened miscarriage is a term used when a woman who is less than 24 weeks pregnant with a live baby experiences bleeding. The mother has vaginal bleeding, with or without abdominal pain and cramps, but the cervix is closed. Miscarriage is a source of great physical and psychological distress and is very common. Causes include chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus, when the mother is older, has uterine or endocrine abnormalities or has polycystic ovarian syndrome. Human chorionic gonadotrophin (also called hCG) is a hormone produced by the placenta and is known to help maintain the pregnancy. Hence there has been much interest in the use of hCG for treating threatened miscarriage with the aim of preserving the pregnancy.This review of three trials (including 312 participants), one of which was of poor quality, found no evidence that hCG can be used as effective treatment for threatened miscarriage. There was no report on adverse effects of hCG on the mother or baby. More good-quality research is needed to study the impact of hCG on miscarriage.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Not enough evidence to say if drugs that relax the muscles of the uterus can prevent threatened miscarriage.
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Aspirin and/or heparin for women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage with or without inherited thrombophilia
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Sands Australia: Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Newborn Death
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Miscarriage can be very distressing for parents and their families. Miscarriage is sometimes associated with substances in the mother blood called 'antiphospholipid antibodies' or 'lupus anticoagulant'. These antibodies are associated with clotting and so it is suggested that anticlotting drugs may be helpful. The review found the quality of the included trials was quite variable, and that prednisone appears to have adverse effects so it has no role in the treatment of recurrent miscarriage. However, a combination of unfractionated heparin with aspirin may be helpful but there are potential side-effects for mothers. More research is needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
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