How Common Is Miscarriage
Pregnancy is a time of excitement, but it can also be a time of worry, particularly about the possibility of a miscarriage during the early weeks.
It's natural to worry about miscarriage during pregnancy. Here we provide some facts about miscarriage to help you manage any anxiety you may have.
The reasons for miscarriage are not always clear, but miscarriage is rarely caused by something a person did or did not do.
Early miscarriages are unfortunately common, affecting 1 in 4 pregnancies within the first 3 months. After this, the risk of miscarriage decreases.
Late miscarriages, between 12 weeks and 24 weeks, are far less common, happening in only 1-2% of pregnancies.
While nothing you do can absolutely guarantee that a pregnancy will be successful, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk:
Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke
Eat a healthy balanced diet
Aim to protect yourself against infections where you can
Ciut out alcohol and illegal drugs
Limit caffeine to 200mg a day (around 2 cups of instant coffee)
While taking the steps above can help to reduce risk, miscarriages are very rarely a direct result of anything you did or didn't do, so try not to blame yourself if it has happened to you.
If you've had a miscarriage in the past, you may worry about it happening again. However, it's important to remember that most people will only have 1 miscarriage.
Even if you've had 2 miscarriages or 3, your chance of a successful next pregnancy is likely to be high.
You are not alone in this journey and reaching out to your GP, midwife or specialist mental health maternity team can provide the support and guidance you need. You can see more support and information about pregnancy after miscarriage here.
If you ever need someone to talk to, you can speak to Tommy's Midwives who are available from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, on 0800 0147 800.