MISCARRIAGE

A woman who can conceive but can not carry a pregnancy to the full term is called pregnancy failure or miscarriage. This is an extended definition of infertility. The medical term for a miscarriage is an abortion. A medical definition of an abortion is the loss of a pregnancy before the fetus is viable, that is before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Perhaps 20-30% of all women spot bleed or suffer cramps during the first twelve weeks of their pregnancy. It, however, a patient has suffered two or more miscarriages consecutively this is called, "repeated or habitual abortion". Repeated miscarriage can occur because of any of the following:

; Life style of the woman

; Polycystic ovarian syndrome

; Physical illness

; Immunity problems

; Anti phospholipid anti bodies

; Problems in the uterus

; Harmone imbalance

; Chromosomal abnormalities

; Initial stages of diabetes.

Occupational hazards cause miscarriage. If the woman is regularly exposed to toxic fumes & chemicals those who work in chemical factories or nurses & anesthetists in hospital operating rooms, these could damage the developing fetus, which is very sensitive to poison and causes miscarriage. Those women, who indulge in smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse experience miscarriages. Men exposed to environmental toxins can cause their partner to miscarry a fetus, because the toxin damages their sperm. Polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS is considered a cause of miscarriage. In PCOS, the ovaries produce a large amount of the LH hormone. This hormone has a detrimental effect on the egg, so that, at the time of ovulation, the egg releases is over ripe and unhealthy if such an eggs is fertilized, the embryo is also likely to be unhealthy and is consequently rejected by the body after 6-8 weeks as a miscarriage. Physical illness or health problems that can cause recurrent miscarriages are:

; Diabetes

; Thyroid ailments

; Endometriosis

; Severe heart, liver or kidney ailments

; An illness in which the woman produces anti bodies against her own body tissues i.e. systemic lupus erythematosus

; Infections caused be S.T.D

In appropriate activation of the mother's immune system may cause miscarriages. The body immune system plays an important protective role in maintaining health through out one's life by defending against infection. It rejects the outside invaders like bacteria, virus etc. during normal pregnancy, the fetus, which carries father's foreign genes nevertheless, can survive in the mother's uterus, because of a special protection from the mother's immune system. But actually what happens that in normal course of events, the fertilized egg some how stimulates a protective maternal immune response which allows implantation & growth. For certain couples, this protective response does not occur, and the maternal immune system rejects the foreign genes in the fetus, resulting in miscarriage.

ome women produce antibodies against circulating substances that causes blood clotting and these antibodies are called lupus anti coagulant or anti cardiolipin or anti phospholipid anti bodies. They severely inhabit fetal development by blocking off the blood supply to the fetus by causing clots in the maternal fatal circulation and cause miscarriage. Blood tests can reveal these anti bodies.

; A congenital abnormality of the uterus, which the woman is born with, but which does not cause any problems, until a pregnancy is attempted. Such a uterus can not grow normally to hold and retain the pregnancy and the fetus is consequently expelled.

; Incompetent Os, in which the cervix is weakened when the growing fetus presses on it cervix opens, leading to expulsion of such a fetus. This condition may be congenital; or may result because of a cervical tear of injury during previous pregnancy or miscarriage; or could be a result of over enthusiastic surgical dilation of the cervix during previous surgery.

; Fibroids, which are growths of smooth muscles tissue inside the uterus. While most fibroids will not mar a pregnancy, if the fibroid is very close to the lining of the uterus, it will interfere with the implantation of the embryo in the uterus, and will cause its expulsion.

; Intrauterine adhesions are uncommon, and are fibrous bands of scar tissue in the uterus, which interfere with the implantation of the embryo. They may be formed after a uterine curettage (after an abortion) and can be diagnosed by hysteroscopy.Our society still tends to dismiss miscarriage in insignificant manner; it is a subject, which is rarely discussed. For most people a fetus is a non-person and a miscarriage is a non-event. But for the would be parents this is a sense of loss, tinged with pain, anger, isolation and depression, can be profound, especially when such a loss occurs after a long period of infertility.

If you have experienced repeated miscarriages, you may feel hopeless & confused regarding a positive pregnancy out come. You should keep in mind that miscarriages are not an uncommon event. May be modern medical systems have limited knowledge of this problem, and no obvious cause has been detected in up to 50% of couples with repeated miscarriages. This can be very frustrating aspect for both the patient & doctor. The encouraging mews is that age-old unani medical system successfully treated & still treating numerous cases of pregnancy loses.

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