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Expert Q&A

	By Robert Jansen Fertility Expert

How long should I wait to conceive after having a miscarriage at 15 weeks and what could be the risks involved in future pregnancies? (The miscarriage was a second pregnancy, I have a 2-year-old son).

There is no good information on whether the outcome for a next pregnancy is better if you conceive very quickly or whether it is better to wait a month or two. Because most of us (meaning we doctors) tend to err on the side of caution, we counsel waiting for two periods to have occurred.

On the other hand, Nature can most probably cope with making the decision for you. In other words, once the bleeding has stopped from the miscarriage and you feel comfortable enough, you can start having sex again without using contraception. It's unlikely that you will conceive before your physiology is back to normal, so you might as well go ahead and try.

The second part of your question is more difficult to judge. Miscarriages at 15 weeks are what we call "midtrimester (or second trimester) miscarriages" and they are a lot less common than "first trimester miscarriages." Specifically, you should discuss with your doctor whether there could be "cervical incompetence" present (this can be treated with a cervical ligature), or whether there could be an abnormality of the shape of the uterus, or a chronic infection within the uterus.

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