Conceiving After Pregnancy Loss

Miscarriages are heartbreaking. But trying to conceive again quickly may increase your chance of success. Talk to your doctor. Here’s what you should know.

After the loss of a pregnancy, you may wonder when it’s safe to start trying to conceive again.

Miscarriages are usually a one-time occurrence. Most women who miscarry later have a healthy pregnancy. Only a small percentage of women have repeated lost pregnancies.

The American Pregnancy Association advises waiting at least two to three months for your “uterus to recover and the endometrial lining to become strong and healthy again.” You shouldn’t have sex for two weeks after a miscarriage to prevent infection.

Some doctors will recommend you wait longer to try to conceive, anywhere from six months to a year, to make sure you’re healthy enough to carry a pregnancy to term. 

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If you’d like to start sooner, solid research supports you. For example, one study drew on data in Norway from 49,058 births following a previous miscarriage and 23,707 births after an abortion. The researchers concluded that those women did not have more difficulty with their pregnancies if they began trying to become pregnant within three months.

Other research involving 165,617 births concluded there was no risk to the pregnancy if the mother had an abortion or miscarriage within six months previously.

There is some evidence that trying to conceive earlier might be a plus. Published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, the study concluded that healthy women who tried to conceive within three months after a miscarriage improved their chances of a live birth. That wasn’t true if diabetes or a uterine problem caused the miscarriage.

The study looked at 1,083 women between the ages of 18 and 40 who had a miscarriage by or before 20 weeks of gestation. None of them had experienced an ectopic (or tubal) pregnancy or the growth of abnormal fetal tissue, known as a molar pregnancy. The researchers followed them for up to six menstrual cycles and until the birth if they became pregnant. 

More than 76 percent of the group said they began trying again within three months of the miscarriage. Nearly 70 percent became pregnant during the study. More than half gave birth.

Among the women who waited longer than three months, only about half became pregnant, and 35 percent gave birth. The two groups showed no differences in pregnancy complications. 

The researchers point out that it’s important to be “psychologically ready” to risk the chance of another loss. Some couples feel less grief if they quickly move on to a new pregnancy and child. But that won’t be true for everyone. You may need more time to grieve.

You may also find that you are very worried about something going wrong with your next pregnancy. 

To make sure you are both physically and emotionally ready to conceive again, talk to your doctor and your partner. You can also seek support for pregnancy loss recovery from a community organization or mental health professional. 

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