Miscarriage, let’s talk about it…

I recently had a conversation with a patient who has a history of miscarriage. She was currently in a new pregnancy and spotting, the same symptom she experienced with her previous miscarriage. She told me that when she called her OBGYN’s office they said they would not test progesterone unless she had experienced three losses. For anyone who has experienced a miscarriage or knows someone who has, one loss is devastating, two is crippling and three is beyond imagination. With every miscarriage experienced, the joy of pregnancy becomes more and more stripped away from that mother.

Progesterone is a hormone that is critical for carrying a pregnancy to term and a simple blood test can tell you if there is cause for concern. This simple blood test could save a pregnancy, and it was denied to this woman. What kind of healthcare is this?When progesterone levels are low, it can cause the uterine lining to shed resulting in a pregnancy loss. However, the fix to the problem is simple — progesterone supplementation. It seems borderline cruel to deny this type of intervention.

If you’ve been struggling with miscarriage, you’re in good company. Miscarriage is not spoken about enough and is so common. Current research shows 10-20% of confirmed pregnancies end in a miscarriage and unfortunately, the support to prevent this in traditional obstetric care is often just not there. 

Although it’s not always preventable, the good news is there are a few things you can do to reduce your risk of miscarriage.

If you’ve been dealing with recurrent miscarriage, have your OB refer you to a specialist who can look for underlying causes (ex. blood clotting disorders, autoimmune disorders, MTHFR, septate uterus, poor egg quality, low progesterone etc.). If you identify the underlying cause, you can start working towards a solution.

In the meantime, here are a few practical steps you can get started with today…

Eat to support progesterone production.

If you’re eating a healthy and varied whole-foods diet, you should be consuming the nutrients that are important for progesterone production. These nutrients include B-vitamins (animal protein, eggs, salmon), magnesium (dark leafy greens, dark chocolate, nuts and seeds), zinc (oysters, beef, liver, chickpeas), Vitamin C (citrus fruit, brightly colored bell peppers, strawberries), healthy fats (avocado, fish, nuts and seeds, coconut oil) and adequate protein (eggs, meat, dairy).

Another important lifestyle factor in progesterone production is regulating your stress levels. Progesterone competes for building blocks with cortisol which means when stress levels are high, progesterone production can suffer. Do your best to keep stress levels down post-ovulation when progesterone production is at its peak.

Take a methylated prenatal.

One of the causes of recurrent miscarriage can sometimes be traced back to a gene mutation known as MTHFR. This mutation impacts about half of the population to varying degrees. If you have one or both of these gene variants, it can reduce your body’s ability to convert folic acid into folate, which is your body’s preferred form of this nutrient. Folate is essential for cell division and placental development. MTHFR can also cause homocysteine to build up in the body which can contribute to increased oxidative stress (damage to reproductive tissues, eggs etc.) and blood clotting (resulting in poor perfusion to the uterine lining and restriction of oxygen and nutrient delivery to the embryo).

One way to combat this is to take a prenatal vitamin that contains the active form of folate, called methylated folate. Many over-the-counter brands contain synthetic folic acid because it is less expensive. However, if you happen to be one of those individuals with a reduced ability to convert the synthetic form into the usable form, folate, it’s like pouring water into a bucket with a hole at the bottom…useless.

Eat to optimize egg quality

Chromosomal abnormalities are the cause of approximately 50% of miscarriages that occur during the first trimester. One way to reduce this risk is to work on optimizing egg quality 3-6 months prior to TTC. Foods to focus on include antioxidants (dark chocolate, brightly colored fruits and veggies), healthy fats (fish, nuts and seeds, avocado, olive oil, eggs), folate (dark leafy green veggies, animal protein), selenium (Brazil nuts) and zinc (oysters, beef, liver).

The recipes I post here on Fertile Intentions are intentionally designed to support your egg quality by incorporating these foods in easy and delicious ways.

Get your male partner on track

Did you know poor sperm quality is associated with delayed time to conception, lower pregnancy rates, higher rate of miscarriage, and lower live birth rates?? Improving sperm health is even more important when a female partner has poor egg quality. Eggs have mechanisms that can repair DNA damage, which allows the eggs to overcome some of the damaged sperm; however, poor quality or older eggs are less able to do this repair work.

If you are TTC or planning on it in the next 6 months, I recommend your male partner start doing all the things you are doing to enhance his sperm quality. In as little as 2-3 months, your man could have a completely new set of healthy swimmers.

As I previously mentioned, miscarriage is not always preventable. There is always a reason for it, but you can be doing everything “right” and still experience a loss. It is not your fault. All we can ask of ourselves is to set daily intentions to do our best.

If you follow these steps to identify the underlying cause, work on managing stress levels and increase the foods that support your progesterone and egg quality, your chances of getting pregnant, staying pregnant and carrying your baby to term are much higher. If you’re looking for even more support and guidance around eating and living to support your fertility, subscribe to my email list so you can stay up to date on all the exciting things I have planned in the New Year! Plus, if you subscribe, you’ll get access to my FREE 3-day meal guide with grocery list included to simplify the process of getting started.