If you’ve experienced a miscarriage, you understand how the joyfulness of being pregnant can quickly turn into heartbreak. Many women who have experienced one or more miscarriages may find themselves feeling hopeless and wondering if a full-term pregnancy is possible for them.

In the face of these feelings, it’s important to know that you’re not alone—miscarriages are relatively common and occur in about 15-20% of all pregnancies. Having one or even two miscarriages doesn’t necessarily translate into future infertility. More than half of women will have healthy pregnancies that they carry to full term, even after having miscarried twice.

At Fertility and Prenatal Acupuncture Center, the most important component in helping you carry a pregnancy to term is to understand what factors are contributing to your miscarriages. Our role is to play health detective as we carefully look through your health history, assess any blood work that you’ve had and order other lab tests necessary to help us determine the underlying source of why you have miscarried.

There are a number of possible reasons that this may be occurring. By far the most common cause of miscarriages is chromosomal irregularities that occur by chance. Chromosomal abnormalities are associated with one-time miscarriages that occur during the first trimester. In some cases, however, genetic chromosomal problems can be responsible for multiple miscarriages. For these couples, genetic testing paired with IVF may help increase your chances of carrying a pregnancy to full term.

Endocrine problems can also cause miscarriages. Conditions such as PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), diabetes, thyroid hormone imbalances or pituitary problems can all lead to pregnancy loss.

For women who miscarry later in their pregnancy, often the problem is a uterine abnormality. This is the case in about 15% of late-term miscarriages. Uterine issues include structural problems, uterine polyps or fibroids, scarring from a previous surgery, infection or inflammation. Fortunately, many of these issues can be alleviated before conception, often through surgical intervention.

How We Help Prevent Miscarriages

At Fertility and Prenatal Acupuncture, our goal is to help you become pregnant and stay pregnant. We understand the anguish associated with each and every miscarriage, and our goal is to help you in the following ways:

• We begin with a thorough health and reproductive evaluation. We will look at any medical or lab tests that you’ve had done, and if needed we will request additional testing or more information. Only when we have a clear understanding of what’s contributing to your pregnancy loss will we develop strategies for your care.

• Solutions often involve treating conditions that are known to be a factor in miscarriages, including hormonal imbalances, Thyroid disorders, PCOS, luteal phase defect and advanced age of the mother. We have extensive training in treating these conditions and bring years of clinical experience into play in helping each patient eliminate the issues that are causing miscarriage.

• We have a number of treatment options to help women with a history of pregnancy loss. This includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal therapy, cold laser therapy and the use of supplements. Researchers have found that acupuncture can help balance your hormones, boost the circulation to our reproductive organs and help to alleviate stress—all of which may be beneficial in the outcome of your pregnancy. In several clinical studies, researchers have also found that traditional Chinese herbal formulas helped improve live birth rates by decreasing pregnancy loss and supporting a healthy pregnancy. Depending on the underlying source of your miscarriages, cold laser therapy may also be used, as it can decrease uterine inflammation, improve pelvic circulation and soften uterine scar tissue.

At Fertility and Prenatal Acupuncture, we understand the physical and emotional toll that occurs when you miscarry. It’s our goal that the expertise, training and compassion we bring to your care translates into the answers you’ve been looking for. If you are experiencing recurring miscarriages, contact us today to see how we can help you.