When Do You Ovulate After Miscarriage: Plan Your Next Baby Accordingly
Miscarriage has a way of resetting the menstrual cycle. And when a woman wants to conceive after losing their baby, the first thing they do is look out for the symptoms of ovulation. Pregnancy loss is a different experience for everyone. Many require time to get back to the normal flow of life, and some want to conceive immediately after that. Only you have to decide when do you want to ovulate after miscarriage?
In this article, we are going to talk about how a miscarriage affects ovulation and the menstrual cycle. But if you are worried about when do you ovulate after miscarriage, then the precise answer to that would be two weeks. Mostly, bleeding because of a miscarriage resolves within a week. However, it might take a little longer to stop the bleeding if the miscarriage happens during the later part of the first trimester or the beginning of the second trimester.
How Can A Miscarriage Affect Ovulation?
After you have a miscarriage, the cycle restarts, and most women get their periods in the next 4-6 weeks. However, it could be months before you get back to the menstrual cycle the way it was before you were pregnant.
There is nothing unusual if you lose a lot of blood after you lose the pregnancy. The first day you bleed is day 1 and the beginning of a new cycle. Spotting or bleeding might continue to occur about a week after this.
But when do you ovulate after miscarriage? Ovulation happens around two weeks into this new cycle. Ovulation typically happens around the 14th day of the menstrual cycle for women who get their menstruation daily.
According to ACOG or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a woman can start ovulating in 2 weeks after a miscarriage. This is true when you lose the pregnancy in the first 13 weeks. If miscarriage occurs in the later part of the pregnancy, it might take a little longer to adjust the cycle.
But, it varies from person to person when they will again start ovulating. For instance, if a woman used to get their periods irregularly before the pregnancy, she might notice that they are still getting their periods irregularly.
Signs Of Ovulation
There are a lot of signs of ovulation. It is easy to track some of those, while those could be non-reliable. Those include:
- The color and texture of the vaginal discharge could change. It might be clearer, wetter, and gloopy than usual.
- Breast tenderness
- Abdominal cramping and bloating
Some of the other signs of ovulation require a little more effort to track them. These include regularly recording the basal body temperature and the luteinizing hormone level.
Track The Basal Body Temperature
By tracking the basal body temperature regularly, people can track when they are going to ovulate roughly. For most women, the temperature rises by 0.5 to 1 degree Fahrenheit when they are ovulating. The basal body temperature goes back to normal in 1 or 2 days when a woman starts menstruating.
To follow the method, a person would be required to record their temperature with a basal body thermometer. It is best if the reading is taken at the same time every morning, specifically before getting out of bed.
Rectal thermometers are more reliable than the oral thermometers. The change in the temperature is very small, so it is important to get a thermometer that will give an accurate result.
Test For LH
There is another way of predicting ovulation which is by testing the LH levels in the urine. The ovaries release the egg when the LH level rises in the urine. The LH levels start to rise mostly before 36 hours of ovulation. The ovulation detector kits are available in the market as well as online.
The kit includes a number of test sticks as well as a sterile container. Urinate on one of those strips and keep the strip in the container. If the color changes or a plus symbol appears, then that is an indication that you are ovulating.
When Is It Safe For You To Conceive After A Miscarriage?
It is upto the woman and her personal opinion when she wants to try again and conceive. Some might prefer to wait, while some might want to try again immediately. WHO, or the World Health Organization, says that you should wait at least for about 6 months before you conceive to reduce the chances of maternal anemia, low birth weight, and preterm weight.
One of the reviews that were done back in 2017 showed that when a woman conceives within 6 months of miscarriage might have a lower risk of preterm birth and miscarriage. Also, according to ACOG, there is no possible reason to wait before you try to conceive after a miscarriage. However, they also explain that waiting for the first period could make a lot of things easier, like calculating the due date.
Is It Possible That You Might Have Another Miscarriage?
Even though it is possible to lose a pregnancy more than once, multiple pregnancy loss is rare. According to reports from ACOG, 1% of women go through repeated miscarriages. 60% of the miscarriages occur randomly. Mostly there are no medical reasons behind it. But sometimes, it happens because of medical conditions and genetic problems, which also increase the risk of having repeated miscarriages.
Women who have already gone through a miscarriage should consult a doctor and discuss the possible reasons behind the miscarriage. If you have more than one miscarriage, that does not mean that having a baby is impossible for you. Almost 65% of women who had an unexplained miscarriage, and more than one for that matter, have conceived healthy babies.
Tests For A Better Pregnancy
In some women, the causes of a miscarriage are more serious than others. With these underlying reasons, a woman might be more at risk of experiencing repeated miscarriages. This not only puts physical trauma on the body but mental trauma as well.
To know about these underlying reasons, it is better to get some blood tests done to see if there is something to be concerned about.
These tests may include:
- Blood tests: A simple blood test checks your hormonal levels, autoimmune disorders, blood clotting disorders, etc.
- Genetic tests: Also called karyotyping, genetic tests take a look at the genetic variation in either of the partners that might affect the chromosomes during conception. A genetic test of the discharge itself is also a feasible thing to do.
- Ultrasound: Abdominal or transvaginal ultrasound helps in examining the ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes.
- Hysterosalpingogram: Hysterosalpingography is a process of visualizing the uterus and the fallopian tubes, where the uterus gets an iodinated dye for an X-ray reading.
These are some of the most common tests done on women to confirm their chances of pregnancy after a miscarriage. The other kind of tests may include:
- Sonohysterogram
- Hysteroscopy
- Laparoscopy
Once again, there is no confirmation that you will get to know the reasons behind your miscarriage even after getting these tests done.
While this is upsetting and concerning, the good news is that even after three consecutive miscarriages with unknown causes, about 65 percent of people tend to experience one successful pregnancy.
What Else Is There To Do?
It is necessary to understand that you can’t just prevent a miscarriage. Around 50 percent of miscarriages in the first trimester happen because of what we call chromosomal abnormalities.
People more than the age of 35 experience more miscarriages because the eggs tend to bear more chromosomal abnormalities with age.
Still, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be of benefit towards fostering a healthy pregnancy:
- Try to drink as much water as you can. Experts believe that pregnant women drink around 10 cups of fluid and around 300 calories every day from the beginning of the second trimester to support their pregnancy.
- While you are maintaining your daily fluid count, make sure to add multivitamins every day along with folic acid to maintain the nutrient stores.
- Engage in moderate exercise for at least 150 minutes every week. Jogging, walking, yoga, swimming, and Pilates are very good exercise choices during pregnancy. There are certain activities that you might want to stay away from, like contract sports, any activity with the risk of falling, or hot yoga that overheats the body.
- Absolutely avoid substances like nicotine, alcohol, and drugs. Caffeine is another thing you need to keep in check. You do not have to cut down on your coffee consumption while pregnant, but make sure to lessen it to only 200 milligrams every day.
- Keep up with the prenatal appointments and call the doctor regarding any concerns you have about your or your baby’s health.
- You need to keep your health in mind as well. Make sure to properly medicate yourself in case of chronic illnesses. This will make sure that your pregnancy plan continues in a nice and healthy manner.
The Bottom Line
So now that you have the answer to “when do you ovulate after miscarriage,” take your time to heal from the trauma emotionally. It is definitely a difficult time for you and your partner, so take as much time as you need, or try immediately after you get your first period.
But it is best to discuss your feelings with your partner, friends, and family members and get the help you need from a doctor. A doctor would be able to get in touch with a support group after pregnancy loss.
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