Miscarriages are the termination or end of a pregnancy. A miscarriage can be intentional (often called an abortion by some), or non-intentional. Frequently, the health care community will use the term non-intentional abortion interchangeably for a non-intentional miscarriage. For simplicity the term non-intentional miscarriage, or just miscarriage, will be used and will be the center of attention.

Most of the woman even do not know what exactly is miscarriage and what are its causes. Some people have a myth that miscarriages are an uncommon reason for termination of pregnancy which is not true. Most of the miscarriages occur during the first twelve weeks or first trimester of pregnancy.

Symptoms:

Among the symptoms, the most common one is the vaginal discharge of blood and fragments of tissue, or sometimes of a sac-shaped tissue. Cramps and pelvic and back pain could mean the loss of the pregnancy, as well as the sudden stop of the pregnancy symptoms (nausea, sickness, tender breasts, please see Signs of Pregnancy). If you have pelvic or back cramps or light spotting during your pregnancy, call your midwife or GP at once. Sometimes the ultrasound will show the end of pregnancy before any symptoms occur.

Some people use common phrases that they consider would sympathize woman who suffered miscarriage but this is not true. Some of such phrases are:

1. "At least you didn't get to know your baby first."

2. "It was for the best."

3. "You can always have another baby."

4. "Something must have been wrong."

5. "Be grateful for the children you already have."

What does not cause miscarriage?

You will not lose a pregnancy through working outside your home, unless it is in a dangerous environment. Dangerous work environments include:

•Farms that use insecticides and herbicides known to interfere with reproduction

•Hospitals, especially sterilizers where the worker is exposed to ethylene oxide gas from 0.1 ppm to 250 ppm, laboratories, Nuclear Medicine, Radiology, and incinerator disposals

•Food processing plants with incinerators that produce CHCs

•Workplaces near a source of radiation that delivers more than 100 mSv during the pregnancy

Causes:

The causes of miscarriage are still somewhat unclear particularly when miscarriage occurs in the first trimester, as most miscarriages do.

As many as 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, often before a woman even realises she is pregnant. Most of these miscarriages occur when a pregnancy is not developing normally, and usually there is nothing that can be done to prevent it.

A small percentage of women will experience repeat miscarriages, and in some cases there can be an underlying problem that may require treatment. Most women go on to have a successful pregnancy after miscarriage.

It cannot be said clearly why miscarriages occur. Most of the times it is a genetic problem and not because of carelessness. The early miscarriages are generally due to genetics and cannot be prevented.

Some reasons of miscarriage could be heaving drinking and smoking. If you do not take proper care of yourself and take alcohol.

Another factor could be that you are undergoing a lot of stress.

At times medical tests could be the reason for a miscarriage.