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Expert Q&A

	By Michael D Benson, MD Attending Physician, Highland Park Hospital, IL

What causes miscarriages?

Miscarriages almost always result from some problem with the developing embryo. The problem is typically a deformity severe enough that the future baby would not be able to survive outside the womb even if the miscarriage did not take place. Paradoxically, it is this fact that friends and relatives will use in an effort to comfort the patient with the expression, "the miscarriage was a blessing in disguise." My experience is that this comment, however true it may be, seems to fail in its intended purpose – to reduce the distress of the experience. It is worth emphasizing that miscarriages reflect embryonic malformations and rarely result from some problem with the mother's health. This fact is reflected in the statistics that show that women who have had one miscarriage do not have a significantly increased chance of miscarrying again. Even those with two or three consecutive miscarriages are more likely than not to have a successful pregnancy the very next time. Medication almost never causes miscarriages. Similarly, maternal activity such as exercise and sexual intercourse is not a factor. Women can no more shake a healthy embryo loose from its attachment to the uterus than they can tear their own kidneys or intestines from their blood supply or attachments.

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