Wednesday 13 January 2016

Study shows you are 71% more likely to conceive when you try within 3 months after a miscarriage

Picture for illustration


For couples who endure the heartache of a miscarriage knowing when to try again is a very personal decision. Medical experts can offer their opinions into the mix, but ultimately it is up to the individuals to decide when they are ready. Now, a team of scientists has suggested couples who try to conceive again within three months, have a greater chance of becoming pregnant. Their findings revealed that those couples are 71 per cent more likely to conceive again. The study doesn’t prove that trying for a baby again after miscarriage will cause the next pregnancy to happen sooner or result in a healthy baby nine months later. But, it does suggest that some women don’t need to follow the traditional advice of holding off trying again for three months after early pregnancy loss.
Senior researcher Dr Enrique Schisterman, of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said: 'Couples often seek counseling on how long they should wait until attempting to conceive again.
'Our data suggest that women who try for a new pregnancy within three months can conceive as quickly, if not quicker, than women who wait for three months or more.'  
Researchers followed nearly 1,000 couples after an early pregnancy miscarriage. Of the 1,000 couples in the study, 765 couples tried to get pregnant again within three months. Within that group, 77 per cent eventually gave birth to a live baby. In contrast, 23 per cent of the 233 couples who waited longer to start trying had another baby. The scientists sought to explore how timing of conception efforts might impact pregnancy outcomes after loss. The team examined data on women with one or two prior losses. Most of the women in the study were 29 years old, while their partners were close to 30. Half of the women in the study lost a baby during weeks eight to 13 of pregnancy. An additional 44 per cent experienced a loss before eight weeks. Each of these losses occurred within the first trimester – the most common time for miscarriage. During the first six menstrual cycles after the miscarriage, 644 couples in the study got pregnant again. Of that group, 491 had babies. Most of the babies were full-term, though 22 arrived early.
Dr Karen Schliep, added: 'While we found no physiological reason for delaying attempts at conception following a pregnancy loss, couples may need time to heal emotionally before they try again. For those who are ready, our findings suggest that conventional recommendations for waiting at least three months after a loss may be unwarranted.' 
Past studies have linked short intervals between pregnancy with higher risks of complications, including blood pressure, low birth weight, membranes breaking too early and preterm delivery, wrote Dr William Hurt of Duke University School of Medicine in an editorial. Many women may be able to conceive again without delay after a miscarriage, but they should consider these risks when deciding the right time for a baby, Dr Hurd told Reuters.
Dr Hurd said: ‘After every miscarriage, but particularly recurrent miscarriage, most clinicians recommend that a woman and her husband should both make sure they are emotionally ready to deal with another possible loss prior to attempting to get pregnant again.’
The study was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

Source: DailyMail

1 comment: