How Long to Wait to Conceive After Early Term Miscarriage?

My OB always advised me to wait at least 1 complete cycle (1 month) before trying again. It usually worked. But I understand the feeling of wanting to try again immediately!
Good luck to you!

From all of us who have had miscarriages for a variety of reasons, we know your worry and concern. The best advice is to follow your own instinct about YOUR body. Sometimes a miscarriage can 'prime' your body for the next pregnancy, as experienced below. Sometimes it can take a few months to recover, depending upon how late in the pregnancy the miscarriage occurred.

I've had 3 miscarriages and also have 3 beautiful, healthy children. The first miscarriage was very late, about 14 weeks, my milk even came in, and then I was pregnant again without ever having a period. I was also only 28 yrs. old. 2nd miscarriage ended very early, about 3 weeks and it took over a year to get pregnant again. But I had been in a boating accident. Then the 3rd miscarried at 12 weeks with an odd complication of part of the fetal material being stuck in the os, the cervical opening. Because my doctor wanted to let my body expel the pregnancy naturally. I wouldn't do that again! Again it took about 18 months to conceive, but then had 2 more children. I was also at the ripe age of 41 with my last.

But now we are a happy blessed family :)
Best of luck!

I had the opposite. I had a miscarriage, then I had a complication free pregnancy. After my miscarriage (at 11 weeks), my OB/GYN told me that I could try after my period. So it took my body about 2&1/2 months before I got a period. We tried and I was pregnant 4 months after my miscarriage. I think your body will know when it can get pregnant again. Don't push the issue or stress because you "can't get pregnant". It will happen when it is meant to. Good luck.

Hi E.-
I had about five early-term miscarriages. I had all the testing done, and there was nothing wrong genetically. I was able to conceive a child and carry him to term about a year later. My problem turned out to be stress- I quit my job, lowered my activity level, and remained that way for nine months. The stress caused a progesterone deficiency, which caused the miscarriages.

About half of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Usually, it is for the best, as in your case. Take your prenatal vitamins religiously, be calm and serene, really try to calm yourself. No alcohol, recreational drugs, anything that upsets you, anything remotely like aspirin, etc. I didn't use caffeine or take any meds whatsoever except my vitamins. Voila- healthy baby. Try after the miscarriage is over, and you have been on the prenatal vitamins for about three months. If the miscarriage is at the three-month mark, you may wish to wait a little longer to get a better grip on your emotions.

Hope it helps- S.

E.: I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I've walked through the grief and disappointment of miscarriage with many friends and patients over the last 10 years so my heart goes out to you. I said a prayer for you this morning.
In regard to your question, there isn't much research out there regarding when a woman should try to conceive after miscarriage. There is no magical number of days or months that one should wait. The only thing research supports is using some form of reliable contraception until after the first normal menstrual period following the completion of the miscarriage (ultrasound shows an empty uterus and/or pregnancy hormone levels --quantitative HCG-- are close to 0). If conception occurs before the first normal menstrual period following miscarriage, there is a higher risk of repeat miscarriage (some say as high as 35% chance of repeat loss). I used to tell my patients to wait 3-6 months because it takes time for the hormones to return to normal, but there's no hard evidence that one must wait more than 1 month. My reason for recommending 3-6 months wait was to give the woman time to restore any loss of iron stores and ensure a healthy folic acid level which may help prevent birth defects and further loss. My advice to anyone considering trying to conceive is to try to get your body in the best physical shape possible before getting pregnant. That means take those prenatal vitamins at least 3 months ahead of time, obtain a near perfect body weight, exercise regularly and try to eat nutritious foods in preparation for pregnancy. Pregnancy is like a marathon so you want to prepare for it before signing up to run the race.
I wish you the very best. R., happily married nurse midwife mom of 2. At home full time since 2005--and loving it!!

My doctor told me three months after my miscarriage. We ended up cheating after only two months and got pregnant, but carried full-term and delivered a healthy boy.

When I had my miscarraige, my doctor told me to wait at least three months so that my hormone levels could get back to normal for ovuluation purposes. Good luck and I'm so sorry about your miscarriage.

It will depend on the reason for the miscarriage. You should probably call your dr's office and leave a message for the nurse to return your call. I had multiple miscarriages and it was always a different answer.

Hi E.,

I was like you. I had a problem-free first pregnancy. After my 1st miscarraige, I waited about a year for personal reasons. Then after my second, I was told to wait 6 months (my OB from my hometown told me to wait 3 months). We waited 6 months to try the third time. I would have tried sooner, but my husband is in the military and would be gone for two weeks stints. Glad we tried again though because we now have a beautiful 18 month old daughter who is so very perfect.

I had a blighted ovum miscarriage and we only waited a couple of weeks. I had one period and then got pregnant again with our son, now 2 1/2 years. Blessings!

I'm so sorry for your loss. My doctors told me to wait 2-3 cycles before trying again to ensure the HCG levels returned to normal.

First of all, I am so sorry for your loss... I went through the same thing with my second pregnancy... We'd even found out it was twins about a week b4... I decided the experience is something that I wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy... if I had one that is... :-)

Just a little tip I was given at the time - give yourself permission to grieve and don't forget to make sure daddy knows he has permission to grieve too. That helped me a lot at the time.

If I remember correctly the doctor told me to wait till I'd had at least one period... (mine was a result of eggs landing on "bumpy ground") But well we ended up getting pregnant right away... I didn't have a period at all. The pregnancy went just fine. From what I understand its actually rather common to end up pregnant right away after... Honestly I recommend asking your Dr what they recommend they know your case specifically and can advise you better than any of us in the medical aspect. Although, at the same time that I say that, I feel quite often the best thing is to just follow your heart. If it is supposed to happen right away it will if its not then it won't. If you are a religious person, just think of it as leaving it in the Lord's hands.

Good luck and God bless.

Hi E.,

I'm sorry about your loss. My mom had multiple miscarriages and got pregnant the month after each one (they were all mid to late first tri-mester). I had a miscarriage and was again 3 weeks later. I have always been told that as long as your body is healthy and the miscarriage itself didn't have complications then the best time to try again is right after a miscarriage. That being said, I would check in with your Dr first to make sure all is well.

First of all I want to say I'm sorry for what you are going through. I went through a miscarriage at about 9.5 weeks in November and it was very difficult.

My first reaction was to want to start trying to conceive again and my doctor said technically there is not reason to wait, but that it is a good idea to have your body experience one period cycle before trying again for dating purposes and stuff. I have also read that there are signs women may be more fertile the first three months following a miscarriage. On the other hand, my doctor (and others) advised me to wait until I was emotionally ready. At the time I thought I would either never be emotionally ready or becoming pregnant again would make me emotionally ready.

Well since then I have come to realize that I have needed the time to fully contend with the lost pregnancy and restore my mind and body before trying again. It has not been until very recently that I honestly do feel ready to begin trying again - but we are going to wait a couple months more due to other constraints.

Whatever you do I wish you the best in a successful pregnancy!

They usually tell you to wait for awhile...
not sure how long since they always got mad at me for getting pregnant right after the miscarriages....
my 4 miscarriages were all under 20 weeks....
I used to tell them that my pregnancy right after a miscarriage is the only way I can hold on to the baby.
I have 3 living children but 2 were babies conceived right after a miscarriage.
I had 2 miscarriages then a birth, another miscarriage and another birth, then married my current hubby after having a divorce from the other childrens father, then had another birth and then finish off with another miscarriage.... I am done.... no more for me even though I LOVED BEING PREGNANT and LOVE BABIES!

I'm sorry to hear about the miscarriage. I was told to wait at least 3 months after mine. That was also about 5 years ago and you know how these things can change! My advice is talk to your medical professionals about your condition and what they recommend. Next, gather info from from friends, family, and of course reliable internet sources and then make the decision that makes the most sense for your family.

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I had to normal pregnancies followed by a year of nursing each that I had no periods during. When I quit bf my second I got a surprise right after my first period. I lost that one after 6 weeks. The doctor said it was probably because my hormone levels hadn't reached normal yet after bf. For that reason I was advised to wait three normal cycles before trying again. We haven't tried because it was unplanned but plan to in a few more months. I think if nothing else, you need to wait until you are emotionally ready because it takes quite a toll.