Can a miscarriage be linked to working out?

Question

I am an advanced athlete, working out at least 2 hours a day etc and just had a miscarriage. I have read in so many places and seen with my own eyes so many women who excercise while pregnant and everything turned out okay. Just curious could this be a factor though to cause a miscarrige? I mean so many women don't even have a clue the first 3 weeks that they are pregnant.

Answer 1

Usually no, the general rule is that if you were excercising regularly before you got pregnant it's okay to continue just don't start any new or more stressful excercises. Your body is more protective of your unborn child than most people realize. For example when the movie Gone With the Wind came out and the charchter Scarlett O'Hara suffered a miscarriage after falling down the stairs many single unwed mothers at that time threw themselves downstairs thinking that this would preven their situation from becoming a stigma of the times. (unwed mothers weren't as common as they are today and abortions weren't legal) They then found themselves very bruised but still very pregnant.
Usually early miscarriages are because of something to do with the fetus's development. Talk with your doctor about your miscarriage, was it due to hormonal fluctations or perhaps a weak cervix? or was it just due to development problems with the fetus? Unless you have a weak cervix I would highly doubt excercise was the problem, after all even most women who regular horseback riding prior to pregnancy can continue without complications during pregnancy. This shows just how much your baby is protected by your body.

If you are genuinely concerned and aren't happy with the answers your doctor gives you consider going to a perinatologist. The specialize in high risk pregnancies and often are more aggressive and proactive when it comes to pregnancy after miscarriage. I would also stay on your prenatal vitamins for the folic acid, as this will also help ensure a healthy baby.

I miscarried twice, once with my son's twin and once in another pregnancy, it's hard not to second guess and wonder what went wrong and why. But often there aren't any answers and so it's better to spend the time acknowleding your loss, grieving for what might have been and then moving on. If you don't take the time to do this it will be harder when you do become pregnant again as those feelings will resurface at a time you need to be focusing on taking care of yourself and your new pregnancy.

I would take a few cycles to allow your body time to rest which is also just as important. Good luck.

Answer 2

I could be wrong...there is really no proof, but I will tell you my story, Shiraz.

When I got pregnant with twins, I was walking/running about 2 hours a day, and working out 1 hour a day. I was on extremely low fat regimen. I miscarried at 12 weeks. The twins had been in perfect shape...their hearts had just stopped. The ob had no other explanation.

I DO blame it on lack of nutrition. However, I was also having more relationship stress in my life than any woman should have, and I was working in the middle of the night. My internal clock may have been messed up. I went a day or so without eating anything due to stress, and I definitely cannot rule out that the father possibly put something in my food to kill the babies. (sounds paranoid, but he was a bad person).

My ob says that I cannot blame myself....there is no proof that what happened was due to anything I could have done wrong.

I now have a 10 month old beautiful baby girl, and the husband of my dreams. All the past is just a bad dream now.

With my daughter, I made it a point to take prenatal vitamins about 3 months before trying to conceive, and ate to my heart's content throughout the pregnancy. My gut feeling is that I did the right thing (I also stopped excercising, which many think is wrong, but I felt better doing that.)

If your doc hasn't done this yet, he should check you for any thyroid disorders. That causes miscarriage. It also causes preeclampsia, which I was unfortunate enough to get before my daughter was born. Finding out could save a world of pain.

Answer 3

i also had a miscarraige. i am always relaxed at home and had a cushion job ( secretary, always sitting down). Those 2 weeks i got pregnant i took time off and i invented to paint all the house, washed all the curtains, going up and down the ladder and scrubbing the floor. i killed myself and washed the floors everyday cause of the dust. After, when i was finished from everything i noticed a missed period and was pregnant. Obviously i wouldn't have done all that if i knew i was pregnant. it just happened and i wasn't on prenatal vitamins or folic acid. after a week it ended into a miscarraige.

I know exactly how you feel. i did the same questions like you did. Honestly i was blaming myself. all the doctors at the hospital reassured me that nothing of all that hard work has to do with the miscarraige. they told me, that my body wasn't prepared and either the egg or sperm where not perfect so the body just rejects it.
the first month i just cried all a day. and i can give you soem tips to help you get out of all those thoughts.

my doctor explained that when a miscarraige occur, apart from that it wasn't your fault, you feel, just to blame yourself. after anger, anger with yourself and after that pity for yourself. its ok to feel like that and cry as much as you feel. you need friends and family to talk with. at the end, you just have to give a name to your little angle and leave all behind and pray he will send a brother or sister.
The next 5 months i took folic acid, prenatal vitamins, all ordered by the doctor and got healthy because i lost a lot of blood.

What i what to say is that you need this 3 to 5 months for yourself and to prepare yourself for another pregnancy. Nurses at the hospital told me be happy that you got pregnant. Honestly that was the only thing that kept me going.

Before you know it, you will be pregnant. when trying for the baby, try to limit your workout. although they say it won't harm your baby, i just felt better with myself when i was more careful.

now i am 5 weeks pregnant and scared. its normal to feel like that. beleive me you will be pregnant in no time and leave all the past behind you.

wish i got help more.

take care of yourself and prepare youself for another baby!!

Answer 4

My heart goes out to you. I suppose the answer to your dilemma is that every person's body is different. I cocooned myself after 3 miscarriages but recall a picture in the newspaper of a woman marine going over an assault course. When you fall pregnant again, exercise more gently - lots of walking and swimming perhaps - on the advice of your doctor. I wish you well.

Answer 5

the first trimester of a pregnancy is the most delicate....your body is changing completely...hormones are increasing, and a human being is trying to attach itself to your uterus and try and begin developing....

women do workout succesfully while pregnant...but they are in their 2nd or 3rd trimester and do not do as vigorous of a workout as normal....

i am almost 37 weeks pregnant and just recently stopped working out due to the fatigue (and the fact that i can drop at any moment)....but pregnant women have to be careful and watch for things like their heart rate going too high (which can put the baby into distress), and not lifting or pulling too much (which could cause a number of negative reactions like going into pre term labor!!!)

Answer 6

i dont know for sure but i would think so. all that tedious work for your system cant be normal at most times, let alone when pregnant

Answer 7

I'd ask my doctor