A miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy also known as a spontaneous abortion. A miscarriage is a pregnancy that ends on its own, usually during the first 10-12 weeks of the pregnancy, and up to the 20th pregnancy week. Up to 50% of all pregnancies and 20-30% of diagnosed pregnancies will end in miscarriage. The majority of miscarriages occur so early in pregnancy, shortly after implantation, that many women did not realize that they were pregnant. Many of these women didn’t even know that they were pregnant. Most miscarriages are due to a chromosomal abnormality (a damaged egg or sperm), and the older a woman is the more likely a miscarriage will happen. Only few miscarriages happen because of hormonal problems, trauma, improper implantation, exposure to toxic substances, radiation, substance abuse, or severe malnourishment.

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