Recurrent Miscarriage & Infertility

How to Prevent Pregnancy Loss and Recurrent Miscarriages

Part Three: Natural Ways to Increase Your Chances Of Having A Healthy Pregnancy

In Parts I and II of the series, we discussed the causes of repeated miscarriage. We reviewed standard testing for pregnancy loss, as well as using a more comprehensive approach referred to as a Functional Medicine Evaluation to understanding why a miscarriage occurs. This deeper investigation through Functional Medicine looks to uncover the underlying causes of disease that create imbalances in your body. Once identified, your practitioner can reverse these imbalances. In this article, we are going to discuss how understanding and eventually reversing these imbalances by sustaining healthy habits will not only optimize your health and but also improve your chances of having a successful pregnancy.

What Happens After My Doctor Tells Me That She Doesn’t Know Why I Miscarried?

For those patients who are seemingly healthy and lead a healthful lifestyle, either their pregnancy loss or miscarriage was the result of “bad luck” (a random chance event leading to loss) and the only thing to do is to try to conceive again or the miscarriage or loss is a warning sign that there are imbalances in their body possibly increasing their risk of pregnancy loss. If you are experiencing chronic symptoms (such as bloating, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, heartburn, chronic constipation, anxiety, depression, premenstrual syndrome or PMS, heavy periods, endometriosis, irregular cycles, thyroid disorders, pre-diabetes, etc) and standard evaluations come back normal, I recommend you consider using a Functional Medicine Approach to identify other underlying causes of infertility. It is not normal to have repeated, ongoing symptoms of bloating, heartburn, constipation, severe PMS or mood symptoms. This likely means that there is something not right in your system and those nagging symptoms may be related to why you have a higher probability of pregnancy loss.

What is a Functional Medicine Approach?

The Functional Medicine Approach identifies the underlying cause of imbalance WITHIN your physiology that could lead to infertility and pregnancy loss. For those patients with “warning signs” of imbalances, a Functional Medicine Evaluation is a crucial step toward preventing future pregnancy loss.

As discussed in Part II of this series, there are 6 mechanisms of imbalance that could affect fertility, pregnancy loss and miscarriage:

1. Hormone Imbalance
2. Gut Health Imbalance
3. Immune Imbalance and Inflammation
4. Nutrient Imbalance
5. Toxic Exposures or Impaired Detoxification
6. Lifestyle and Psychosocial Stressors

Functional Medicine can identify the causes or imbalances that need to be addressed to prevent future pregnancy loss. Such imbalances are often the result of lifestyle factors such as nutrition, stress, weight, exercise and environmental toxic exposures. When patients lead less than healthy lifestyles, their health is less than optimal, i.e. they are not in a state of complete physical and mental well-being. Less than optimal health means less than optimal fertility and possible risk of pregnancy loss. The good news is that the lifestyle factors that lead to optimal health or less than optimal health are not permanent. The most difficult step in changing less than healthy habits, is to first identify what they are and how they are affecting your health. With a little guidance, this can be achieved prior to working with a trained practitioner. In this section, we will discuss how to begin this healing process.

How to Optimize your Fertility and Prevent Pregnancy Loss: FIRST Optimize Your Health!

Optimal health is the result of leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Since pregnancy is a condition of the body, it makes sense that a healthy body means a healthy pregnancy. In fact, scientific literature confirms that addressing lifestyle factors such as nutrition, stress, weight, exercise and environmental toxic exposures can reduce infertility and pregnancy loss.

You can make changes to your habits that will promote optimal health and accordingly, a healthy pregnancy. Identifying the bad habits that could impact your health and fertility is the first step to getting yourself started on the road to optimal health and a successful pregnancy.