If you’ve ever experienced a pregnancy loss, you know how hard it can be to search for answers about why the loss happened. Some women might be able to find out why a loss occurred, from medical conditions to genetic issues with the embryo, but other women may never get the answers that they hope for.
I have had two back-to-back miscarriages and unfortunately, I have no idea why they happened. According to my midwife, there was nothing that was obviously wrong with either pregnancy, so the miscarriages were simply something that happened as “one of those things.” On one hand, I find some small comfort in knowing that nothing was majorly wrong at first glance. But on the other hand, part of me wishes I had more concrete answers.
Photo by Jenn Evelyn-Ann on Unsplash
A lot of women who have recurrent miscarriages, unfortunately, are in the same boat as I am: Without answers. In fact, one study found that although only 1% of women experience recurrent miscarriages, which is defined as having 3 or more miscarriages, 50% of those women do not have answers about why those miscarriages occur.
One theory that has gained more attention is that recurrent miscarriages may actually be caused by a woman’s own body. The theory is that the woman’s autoimmune system literally rejects the pregnancy for some unknown reason. And while the theory can sound somewhat alarming – because what could be worse than thinking that it’s your own body that’s the cause for the miscarriage? – it also comes with a sort of game plan. Because once doctors know what the cause behind a miscarriage is, they can help to find a solution to try to prevent it from happening.
Which is exactly what a new study sought to do. And the answer to possibly preventing pregnancy loss is a lot more simple and a lot more surprising than you might think. The answer?
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