How Common are Miscarriages?

A miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy during the first 23 weeks. Miscarriages are much more common than most people realize and can happen before a person even knows they are pregnant. It is estimated that about 1 in 8 pregnancies will end up as a miscarriage of those that know they are pregnant. Having 3 or more miscarriages in a row (recurrent miscarriages) is uncommon and only affects around 1 in 100 women.

A homeopathic remedy is selected according to the symptoms you are experiencing during a miscarriage. If a homeopathic remedy is taken in time, it may reduce the chance of a miscarriage. The selected 30c homeopathic remedy will be administered every hour to every 2-3 hours depending on the intensity of the symptoms.

How to Prevent Miscarriage

Ways to lower your risk of miscarriage include:

• No smoking
• Eating a clean health diet of fruits, vegetables, protein and healthy (good) fats
• Avoid infections during the pregnancy (i.e., rubella or syphilis)
• Avoid certain foods (i.e., certain seafood, hot dogs and luncheon meats), which could make you ill or harm your baby
• Being a healthy weight before getting pregnant

A homeopathic remedy can effectively help you while you are going through the miscarriage process, and balance out your hormonal levels after a miscarriage. In doing so, homeopathy addresses why the miscarriage took place and restores your health for further conception.

Case Examples:

Homeopathy Helps Woman 6 Months Pregnant That Has Been Prescribed Bedrest for the

Duration of Pregnancy

My client who is 6 months pregnant calls up telling me she has been having very slight cramping in her uterus. Her doctor put her on complete bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy, because her cervix is starting to open (cervical incompetence). She asked me if homeopathy can help her to be able to carry her baby full term. Yes, I replied, there are homeopathic remedies for cervical incompetence. My client went on to tell me along with the slight cramping she is feeling in her uterus, she also feels pressure in her pelvic area, as if something will come out vaginally. Her back is hurting, especially in her left hip. I selected the homeopathic remedy Sepia 6c for her to take every night at bedtime according to the symptoms my client was experiencing. Someone needing Sepia can sometimes have their left hip catch when walking. Sepia will help balance out her hormones, so her uterus will know when it’s time to deliver the baby. In doing so, the cervix will tone up and close now. After taking Sepia for 1 ½ months my client’s doctor said she can go on light activity, her cervix is closing up so well. By her 8^th month, my client was able to drive and was able to anything that did not involve any lifting. My client continued taking Sepia every night and was able to carry the baby full term.

Cinnamomum Tea Helps Women 3 Months Pregnant with Bleeding

My client calls me on a Saturday evening very emotional, telling me she is spotting bright red blood. She’s 3 months pregnant. She went on to tell me she was hanging her husband’s heavy work clothes out on the clothes line that morning. “I didn’t think anything of it,” she said. The homeopathic remedy she needed is Cinnamomum Verum 30c for bleeding bright red blood from straining during pregnancy. Since it was 6:30-7:00 pm and she did not live close to me, I had her add a pinch of cinnamon she had in her kitchen to a cup of hot water. Which she sipped every 15-20 minutes until the bleeding started to slow down. Then, she sipped on the hot cinnamon water every 1-2 hours until she went to bed. The next morning, she reported her bleeding is now a spotting of a more brownish color blood. Her husband picked up Cinnamomum 30c from my office, and my client took the homeopathic remedy 3 times a day. By Tuesday her bleeding had stopped. Six months later she had her baby boy, who at a few months old was diagnosed with Cystic fibrosis (CF) and is still living a healthy life at age 35. If Cinnamomum 30c did not help my client’s bleeding, I would have had her take Rhus Toxicodendron 30c for threatening miscarriage from straining while hanging up clothes on a clothes line.

What Can Cause a Miscarriage?

In many cases miscarriages are not caused by anything you have done and sometimes the cause of the miscarriage is not known.

First Trimester Possible Causes of a Miscarriage:

A miscarriage happening during the first 3 months (first trimester of pregnancy), is usually caused by problems with the unborn baby (fetus) or it may occur from an underlying health condition the mother. About 3 in every 4 miscarriages happen during this period.

• Chromosomes of the Fetus – Receives too much or not enough chromosomes, and cause a miscarriage to occur in the first trimester
• Ectopic Pregnancy – Pregnancy develops outside the womb, usually within the fallopian tubes
• Muscles of Cervix are Weakened (cervical incompetence) causing the cervix to open prematurely

Second Trimester Possible Causes of a Miscarriage:

• Womb Structure – Problems and abnormalities with your womb (i.e., fibroids and abnormally shaped womb)
• Placenta – Not developing properly

Case Example:

Cimicifuga Racemosa is considered for women who are having a miscarriage with the health condition rheumatic diathesis (Rheumatic disease affecting your joints tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles).

What Can Increase Your Risk of a Miscarriage?

Anemic and Frail with a Constant Threat of Miscarriage

Case Example:

You are anemic and frail with a constant threat of a miscarriage during the 3^rd month of pregnancy with labor like pains. The pain is so intense, it forces you to bear or bend down at any time of the day and night. The homeopathic remedy needed here is Secale 30c. Secale also has frequent labor-like pains with copious (profuse) black or very dark blood.

• An early miscarriage may happen by chance. However, there are several things known to increase your risk of a miscarriage happening, especially in the second trimester, including smoking, alcohol use and drinking lots of caffeine
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• Long Term Health Conditions – Diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, kidney disease, thyroid, antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)
• Recreational Drugs and Medications (i.e., misoprostol, retinoids, methotrexate and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Infections (i.e., bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, syphilis cytomegalovirus, malaria)
• Food Poisoning (i.e., listeriosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella)
• Obesity

Tendency to have a Miscarriage During the 5^th or 6^th Month of Pregnancy

Case Example:

You had persistent morning sickness every day since the beginning of your pregnancy. You find any movement from the developing fetus intolerable and extremely uncomfortable in your 6^th month of your pregnancy. The fetus may feel like a ball in the uterus that feels like you need to bear or bend over with the pain. You feel better when you lie down during the miscarriage. You may feel very weary and worn out from fatigue, depressed and want to be left alone. An extreme, severe itching sensation in the vulva can trigger a miscarriage. The homeopathic remedy Sepia 30c is what is needed here. The key symptoms for selecting Sepia are the need to bear down from the ball-like sensation in the uterus. Sepia is also for women that have had children and have a miscarriage in their 5^th or 6^th month of pregnancy from the uterus being weak.

What Happens if You Think You’re Having a Miscarriage?

Case Example:

You are having spasmodic pains in your back that are coming around to your lower abdomen and go into the thighs. Your doctor tells you that you are having a miscarriage. The homeopathic remedy you need is Viburnum Opulus 30c. Viburnum Opulus has been known to stop the spasmodic pains commonly seen in early miscarriages.

• Contact your doctor or midwife to be checked out
• There are tests that can be done to confirm if you are miscarrying
• If a miscarriage is confirmed, your doctor or midwife will talk about your options

In many cases miscarriages are not caused by anything you have done and sometimes the cause of the miscarriage is not known.

Other Symptoms a Miscarriage is Happening:

• Discharge of fluid from your vagina
• Discharge of clots or tissue from your vagina
• You no longer are experiencing symptoms of being pregnant, such as morning sickness and breast tenderness

Case Examples:

Heavy Bleeding with Clots During a Miscarriage

You are experiencing pain from your sacrum to the pubic bone in your 3^rd month of pregnancy. You are passing clots with the heavy bleeding. You feel better in cool fresh air. The slightest movement causes more bleeding, especially with clotting. The homeopathic remedy needed in this case is Sabina Officinalis 30c for the heavy bleeding with passing clots from the slightest movement. Sabina Officinalis 30c will slow down the bleeding and the passing of clots.

Miscarriage Pains Go Across Your Abdomen and Radiate Down Your Thighs

You are having a miscarriage in your 3^rd month of pregnancy with intense pains that go across your abdomen from side to side, that radiate left to right, or down to the thighs, causing you to double up. The pains are so intense it feels like you are going into labor and insane from the pain. You may also have nausea and fainting spells or dizziness, along with a backache. Here in this case scenario, you will need the homeopathic remedy Cimicifuga Racemosa 30c. After a couple of hourly doses of Cimicifuga Racemosa your intense pains will start to decrease, making the pain more bearable. You will repeat Cimicifuga Racemosa when the pains become more intense again. Cimicifuga Racemosa is considered for women who are having a miscarriage with the health condition rheumatic diathesis (Rheumatic disease affecting your joints tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles).

Miscarriage Spasms that Occur in All Directions of the Body

You are in your 4^th month of pregnancy and you start to experience severe uterine spasms that occur in in all directions all over your body. You are thinking that you may be in the process of miscarrying. Your doctor confirms you are having a miscarriage from weak uterine tissue. The homeopathic remedy you need is Caulophyllum 30c. The key symptom for selecting Caulophyllum is the uterine spasms that occur in all directions of your body.

Miscarriage Pains Go Across Your Abdomen and Radiate Down Your Thighs

You are having a miscarriage in your 3^rd month of pregnancy with intense pains that go across your abdomen from side to side, that radiate left to right, or down to the thighs, causing you to double up. The pains are so intense it feels like you are going into labor and insane from the pain. You may also have nausea and fainting spells or dizziness, along with a backache. Here in this case scenario, you will need the homeopathic remedy Cimicifuga Racemosa 30c. After a couple of hourly doses of Cimicifuga Racemosa your intense pains will start to decrease, making the pain more bearable. You will repeat Cimicifuga Racemosa when the pains become more intense again. Cimicifuga Racemosa is considered for women who are having a miscarriage with the health condition rheumatic diathesis (Rheumatic disease affecting your joints tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles).

Tests to Confirm if You are Having a Miscarriage

There are tests that can confirm if you are having a miscarriage, still have some pregnancy tissue left in your womb (an incomplete or delayed miscarriage) or if all of the pregnancy tissue has been passed out of your womb (a complete miscarriage).

• Ultrasound – Checking the development of the baby and look for a heartbeat
• Blood tests – Checking your hormones connected with pregnancy. Usually, 2 blood tests are done 48 hours apart to see if your hormone levels go up or down

How is the Miscarriage Process Managed?

Incomplete Miscarriage

Case Example:

My client calls telling me she is 8 weeks pregnant and the doctor says he doesn’t hear a heartbeat, even though the blood test shows she’s pregnant. She has been bleeding for the past 2 ½ weeks since the doctor gave her Cytotec to bring on the miscarriage. She called her doctor to let him know that she has been having body aches and a slight fever this past week. The doctor told her the fever and body aches are from her not passing all of the pregnancy tissue from the womb. He said that if she did not pass all of the pregnancy tissue within the next couple of days, she would have to have a surgical procedure to clean out any of the remaining tissue (also known as D & C). My client asked me if there are any homeopathic remedies to help her.

I had her take a dose each of 2 homeopathic remedies Aconite 30c and Gelsemium 200c for the effects of bad news. Sometimes in cases like this, the mental and emotions get in the way for the body to do what it needs to do. I also had her take the homeopathic remedy Secale 30c 2 times a day to help pass the remaining pregnancy tissue. Two days later, my client called to tell me she no longer has a fever or body aches and her bleeding seems to be slowing down. She had a doctor’s appointment the next day. After her appointment, my client called back to tell me her doctor said everything has passed from the uterus. I asked how she was doing emotionally. She stated that she for the last couple of days has been feeling sad and is crying very easily. She also stated that she feels she had abandoned the baby by doing medicine, even though she knows there was no heartbeat and that is why she had to do what she did. I had her take a dose of the homeopathic remedy Pulsatilla 200c to help her with the sad and abandonment feeling. If you miscarry early, there is a good possibility all of the pregnancy tissue will naturally pass out of the womb. However, when tests confirm there still is pregnancy tissue in the womb there is are 3 ways a miscarriage is management to continue the process. If there’s no pregnancy tissue left in your womb, no treatment is required.

• Expectant Management – Wait 7 to 14 days for the tissue to pass out of your womb naturally
• Medical Management – Take medicine that causes the tissue to pass out of your womb
• Surgical Management – Have the tissue surgically removed

Other Common Homeopathic Remedies for Miscarriages

• Arnica Montana – Selected for having a miscarriage from a fall, lifting weights, or violent concussion (head, brain injury).
• Belladonna – Miscarriage with profuse hot bleeding, along with a backache and headache that is worse from the least jarring of the body.
• Crocus Sativa – Selected for a miscarriage happening in the 1^st or 2^nd month with heavy bleeding that is dark and stringy.
• Ignatia Amara – Threatened miscarriage after an emotional upset, fright or grief.
• Ipecacuanha – Has threatened miscarriage with a sharp or pinching pain around the umbilicus, along with profuse bright red bleeding (hemorrhage).
• Kali Carbonicum – Bleeding with back pain that radiates down the hips and thighs that feels better leaning forward, on hands and knees or must lie down form weakness. Tendency to miscarry at 5 months.

Emotional Support After a Miscarriage

A miscarriage can be an emotionally and physically draining experience on you, your partner, and family. You may be feeling emotional (i.e., shock quilt and anger) soon after the miscarriage, or several weeks later.

Some of the Emotions You May Be Feel During or After a Miscarriage:

• Anxiety
• Shock
• Sadness
• Anger
• Depression
• A sense of Guilt
• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite
• Difficulty sleeping

Sometimes you may have emotional feelings (i.e., anger) toward your partner, family member, or at friends who have had successful pregnancies. Homeopathic remedies are great help at time like this. The selected remedy will help shift the emotional and physical feelings you are experiencing as you go through the process of what has just happened. In most cases you will only need to take 1 dose of the selected homeopathic remedy (at bedtime) to address your emotional feelings. After taking a homeopathic remedy, the feelings you are experiencing will lessen by the next morning from what you were feeling the day before. You will not repeat the selected homeopathic remedy unless your emotional feelings become more intense than the day before. Meaning you will still feel some sadness the next day, but it will be less intense than the day before. You will repeat the remedy if your sadness becomes more intense again.

Case Examples:

Feeling Anxious from the Effects of Bad News

You just found out that you are having a miscarriage and is feeling anxious from the effects of the bad news. You may be lethargic (laying around), your eyes may be droopy and feeling tired. There is a possibility that you may feeling panicky from the news. There are 2 homeopathic remedies you are needing at this time from the bad news Aconite 30c and Gelsemium 200c. You will take 1 dose (1-3 pellets on tongue) of each remedy. These 2 homeopathic remedies will address the effects of the bad news. How will you know the remedies are working? You will be feeling less tired, your eyes will not be as droopy and you will not be as anxious. The remedies will work with in a few minutes after taking the 1 dose. However, it may take you 1-3 hours for you to realize these remedies are helping. You can take these 2 remedies at any time of the day when you are feeling anxiety, whether it is from bad news or not. Don’t forget to give Aconite and Gelsemium to your partner, if they are feeling any of these symptoms.

Taking Pulsatilla for Feeling Sad

Once you have gotten through the initial effects of knowing you are having a miscarriage, you may be feeling sadness. You may be crying very easily, feeling lonely, abandoned, and eating food to comfort the loss. The homeopathic remedy you need is Pulsatilla 200c for the sadness. You will take 1 dose (1-3 pellets on tongue) at bedtime. I recommend you take emotional homeopathic remedies at bedtime. This way the remedy can do what it needs to do to help address the emotion you are taking the remedy for while sleeping, and when you wake up you will feel the shift in how you are feeling. In this case, taking Pulsatilla the next day, you will be feeling less sadness, less abandoned, and crying less than you were the day before. Pulsatilla will not take away the memory of the miscarriage. It will help you to be in a better place emotionally for you to be able to move forward. You may be feeling the sadness in the beginning of the miscarriage, while you are going through the process or for several weeks afterwards. Whenever you are feeling the sadness about the miscarriage, you will take 1 dose of Pulsatilla 200c and will not repeat Pulsatilla again unless your sadness becomes more intense again.

It Was a Shock

As you are moving through the emotional trauma, you may find yourself in a state of shock. In most cases Aconite 30c and Gelsemium 200c will address the initial shock. The shock feeling, I am talking about here is more of a reality check. You had the pregnancy all planned out how it will be, how it will be when you bring the baby home and now you realize the plan is not going to take place as you previously had thought. The homeopathic remedy to address the shock of you realizing your plan will not take place as plan is Ignatia Amara 30c. You will take 1 dose by placing 1-3 pellets on your tongue at bedtime. The next day the shock feeling will not be as raw as it was the day before. You will be able to move forward one day at a time, whatever that may mean for you.

Can’t Let It Go, It’s Affecting Your Sleep

Not everyone has to go through the reality shock. You may be feeling more depressed, wanting to be alone, staying in bed or just lying on the couch, just vegging out. You don’t want to socialize with family or friends. Most of your day is consumed with the same reoccurring thoughts (dwelling), usually on the past and on what led up to the miscarriage and any other past negative events. The dwelling thoughts are not just during the day, they also continue as chatter in your head when you are trying to go to sleep. You may be craving salty foods (i.e., chips, olives) or food is now tasting too salty for you. Maybe you are upset that you found out a friend of yours is now pregnant and it brings up the memories of your miscarriage. Or every time you see a baby, you start to cry. You may feel guilty that the miscarriage happened, thinking it was your fault. The homeopathic remedy that describes these emotional symptoms is Natrum Muriaticum. You will take a dose (1-3 pellets) of Natrum Muriaticum 200c at bedtime to help decrease the chatter going on in your head while trying to go to sleep and address the depressed state you are feeling since the miscarriage. You will now be able to fall asleep a little sooner than you have been and the next day you will have fewer dwelling thoughts throughout the day. From the next night on if it is taking you longer to fall asleep than the night before, you will repeat a dose of Natrum Muriaticum 200c. You will know when to repeat Natrum Muriaticum by how long it takes you to fall asleep to determine when to repeat Natrum Muriaticum. Natrum Muriaticum will also help you let go of the past negative events. A homeopathic remedy will not make you forget about the event, it will help you move on in your life.

You Are Shutting Your Emotions Down

You don’t feel well emotionally or physically ever since the miscarriage. It was very traumatic experience for you. You may have lost a lot of blood during the miscarriage, feeling tired and worn out. You are now having problems with your menstrual period (i.e., too early, late, or scanty bleeding). You are feeling symptoms in your back, especially your left hip now or you may be having a heavy, dragging feeling in your uterus as if everything will escape through your vagina. It’s 7 months since the miscarriage and you still are not interested in being intimate with your partner. You have shut down your emotions and not able to feel love towards your partner, and family members. You are very irritable and depressed and you just don’t feel well since the miscarriage. This is all from your hormonal levels being off. The homeopathic remedy you need is Sepia for never well since the miscarriage, with feeling shut down emotionally. You will take Sepia 30c daily at bedtime (1-3 pellets on your tongue) for 3-7 days until you feel a shift emotionally or energy starts to pick up. You may need to take a Sepia 6c daily to go deeper, if your emotions or your energy starts to become worse again after a week or so. If that is the case, I recommend you work with a homeopath that knows how to manage chronic case taking using a 6c remedy. Your partner may also be affected by the loss of the pregnancy, and fit some of the descriptions above. He too, can take any of the homeopathic remedies described here to help him at a time like this. Sometimes the emotional feelings after miscarriage can lead to relationship problems.

Recurrent Miscarriages

There are 3 homeopathic remedies taken for a history of having 1 or more miscarriages. The homeopathic remedy is selected according to who you are and why you are having reoccurring miscarriages. Sometimes a homeopathic remedy is selected according to what month you are miscarrying. A 6c homeopathic remedy is taken once a day (bedtime) for several months to address the balance out the female hormones and for why they are having recurrent miscarriages. You may want to work with a homeopath to help manage your case using a 6c homeopathic remedy.

1. The homeopathic remedy Caulophyllum is one of the commonly used remedies to address recurrent miscarriages from weak uterus and uterine atony (the uterus does not contract sufficiently during and after childbirth) that can occur during the 4^th month of pregnancy. Caulophyllum is selected for habitual miscarriages from all kinds of bleeding from the uterus and a heaviness feeling in the abdominal area when pregnant.

2. The homeopathic remedy Helonias Dioica is selected for reoccurring miscarriages from the uterus being weak with a feeling of a weight and soreness in the womb. You will have a dragging feeling in the pelvic area. Helonias Dioica has dark foul blood when miscarries.

3. When your uterus feels weak with lax tissue and a sense of a weight in the anus is the reason the homeopathic remedy Sepia is selected. It is a hormonal imbalance that cause you to have the lax uterine tissue, which in turn causes you to have the reoccurring miscarriages from the lack of uterine tone that can occur between the 4^th and 7^th month of pregnancy. Sepia has been selected for women that have had children and can have miscarriages.

About 1 in 100 women experience recurrent miscarriages (3 or more in a row) and many of these women go on to have a successful pregnancy. When you’ve had 3 or more miscarriages in a row, your doctor or midwife will have you take tests to check for any underlying cause. In half of the cases, they will not find any cause as to why the miscarriages are happening.

Karyotyping – Is a type of test your doctor or midwife may recommend after a third miscarriage has occurred to check for any fetus abnormalities in the chromosomes (blocks of DNA).

“There is a unique pain that comes from preparing a place in your heart for a child that never comes.” —David Platt