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Getting Pregnant After a Miscarriage

By: Rachel Newcombe - Updated: 11 Feb 2011 | comments

When you’re trying for a baby, having a miscarriage can be devastating. With all the physical and emotional effects you’ve been through, how easy is to get pregnant after a miscarriage?

When you’ve been through the trauma of miscarriage, and lost the baby you were so keen to have, it may take a while before you can even think of trying again. Sometimes your body needs time to get over the stress and harsh effects of miscarriage, or you may be having medical investigations to see why it happened.

Everyone is different, and the circumstances surrounding miscarriage can be different, so go by how you feel, what your body is telling you and try again when you feel ready.

Although you can feel very alone when you have a miscarriage, sadly they are more common then you may realise. About one fifth of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage before 24 weeks. If you’ve had one miscarriage, then there is a slight risk that you may be prone to another, but many women do successfully go on to get pregnant.

How Soon Can You Try Again After a Miscarriage?

Until recently, the standard advice from the World Health Organisation was that women should wait at least six months after a miscarriage before trying to get pregnant again. This was partly due to health reasons, and partly so that normal periods could be re-established and get back into their usual cycle.

However, research published in the British Medical Journal in 2010 suggests that women who start trying to pregnant immediately after a miscarriage may have a better chance of conceiving than if they were to wait. In fact, the study, based on data from over 30,000 women, found that conceiving within six months of a first miscarriage could result in a healthy pregnancy with the lowest rates of complication.

The researchers say their findings suggest that it’s unnecessary for all women who have miscarriages to wait six months or more before trying for a baby again, unless there’s a medical reason or infection that stops them from doing so.

Preparing For Pregnancy After a Miscarriage

Not everyone will get pregnant again quickly after a miscarriage, but if you’re keen for your body to be in the best state of health, there are things you can do to help increase the chances of conception.

Preparing your body for pregnancy, perhaps in a similar way to how you may have prepared yourself before getting pregnant initially, is helpful. So you could aim to eat a healthy diet, take regular exercise, lower the amount of alcohol you drink and try and ensure your weight is kept at a healthy level.

You may also want to avoid taking any unnecessary medication and reduce your intake of caffeine, as well as start taking folic acid tablets again to help the development of your baby’s nervous system when you do get pregnant.

It’s understandable to be stressed and anxious after having a miscarriage, especially if you’re worried that it will happen again. But stress isn’t helpful for getting pregnant or for a baby when you do get pregnant, so try and do all you can to relax, put your worries to one side and stay calm. If you do feel that you could benefit from talking about your worries, then speak to your doctor or consider seeing a counsellor.