Trying for baby after miscarriage

[Melissa]

It seems that there are a few of us in this same boat right now. Or perhaps you miscarried and then went on to have a baby.

I thought I'd put this "feeler" out to see if you're interested in sharing thoughts and hope.

My personal situation: I got pregnant in late September but found out by u/s last week (at 8 weeks along) that it didn't progress beyond 5 weeks. I'm waiting to miscarry naturally but have a d & c scheduled for this Friday in case I don't. (Nervous!) I'm 39 (40 next month) and having a second child is a very important dream for me and my partner (and our 8 year old son). We were all so disappointed. But I'm determined to try again until I'm successful and I've started a weblog about my baby quest too. (See signature below.)

Some things I'm looking into:
What can I do to make my eggs strong and healthy?
What can I do to balance my hormones after having miscarried?
What diet should I eat pre-pregnant and then pregnant? (I slipped big time with this last attempt...letting some processed foods, sugar, non-organic dairy, etc. slip into my diet. No more!)

If you want to share what your regimen is that would be interesting to learn.

Looking into herbal fertility teas (though getting pregnant has never been a problem...and this was my first and hopefully only miscarriage) and also acupuncture.

Thanks!

[eachpeachpearplum]

I have a great book specifically for those who are trying to ready their body for pregnancy, it's tucked away but I will go have look and get back to you.

All the best, :)

EPPP

[Ariella]

Melissa let me first say, i am so sorry about your miscarriage. they happen. I found out last summer when I miscarried that they were actually really common, I had so many women that reached out to me with warmth and compassion and shared their story. It did help me to feel a little better. Although personally I cried for a couple of months.

Anyway my story: last may 2004 (on mothers day) we miscarried a baby, I should have been like 12 to 14 weeks along but baby never developed beyond like 6 weeks.... I had been using a natural hormone cream because I knew that the pregnancy was not normal and was trying to keep my hormone levels up. I think that that pregnancy was not meant to be. I just went off the hormone cream and was totally wacked out for awhile but just tried to eat good and eventually things went back to being ok. We abstained from having marital relations for i think 2 months. I got pregnant about 6 weeks later with a healthy baby girl that we had at the end of july this year.

so there may not be a perfect answer to your questions. sometimes they just happen. we dont know if the egg didn't implant right or if there was some kind of defect in the baby, our bodies do know.

I stayed high raw throughout this last pregnancy. I just tried to listen to my body and what it wanted. I ate A LOT of fruit, watermelon especially appealed to me the last several months so i ate quite a bit of that! I mostly ate a lot of whole fruits and vegetables as juices and smoothies did not sound good or taste good. Prior to pregnancy though, I was juicing and drinking green smoothies. I believe that even now that is what is helping to level out my hormone levels. They are just now dropping from being pregnant. I was going through a few mood swings - not horrible - but I was still having them and them seem to be going away quickly.

I would think that for prepregnant and pregnant just consuming as much raw as you can is what is important. That is what is going to feeding and nourishing your baby and making it grow big. You want to feed them the best foods possible. :)

Anyway, be encouraged. There are so many that go onto have healthy babies after a miscarriage. I journal at www.ethicalcentral.com/main if you go there you can see what I ate at the time. It would have been teh may 2004 journal on.

Good luck to you and may you blessed soon with another little one!

Ariella


JUICE PLUS+
www.juiceplus.com/+dj73561

[SamL]

I have ,miscarried 2x this year. 1 around February, 1 around June

In the beginning of the year, I was eating a lot of everything raw.

Since my miscarriages I started to look more into food combining, supplements etc..

I decided to treat myself to some cleanses, first I worked rebalancing my intestinal flora, I suspected I had candida overgrowth, and read somewhere (I wish I could remember where) that it can lower progesterone.

I did this with a 10 day green juice fast (low gi)

I struggled with this, and wondered if it was necessary during each struggle. The more attempts at it, and failures, the worse reactions I would get, of skin rash, or blurry vision I would notice right after I'd pig out on fruits, dates to get a sweet fix.

I'm only talking from personal experience, and learning as I go. I could be wrong but I hope I'm doing the right things.

After my green juice fast, I have been working on eating lots of organic fruit and vegetables, green juices.

I read Jinjee's pregnancy diet and started to include some of her staples in my diet.

I was a little obsessed writing down all the nutritional properties of what I was eating, I think this is how I dealt with the stress of miscarriage. It did upset me, I feel so dissapointed and can't help wondering if it was my fault, my body wasn't able to cope.

Each day I drink a sesame seed milk with maca (really high calcium) I've also read that bee pollen helps with fertility.

I love tabouli with parsley, tomatoes, green onion, cilantro, a couple of times a day, with an avacado olive oil & lemon dressing

I eat a lot of dates and alfalfa sprouts which are high in folic acid

I'm so worried about miscarriage again, I went looking for some herbs that might help prevent it, & I found crampbark & nettle

I dont know if I'm right or wrong, but I'm hoping I'll get lucky soon.
I really do feel a lot cleaner.

Just as important I've been trying to work on my disposition. I found myself to be a bit stressed and I'm trying to benefit from yoga, and just loosening up a bit.

I hope you have success soon, I know how frustrating and trying it can be when you want it so desperately.

I hope we both have some good news to share soon.

[Autumn]

I will be very interested in the responses here and will follow this thread closely. I have had 5 definite miscarriages and suspected 2 others. The one child I gave birth to died shortly after birth from complications/premature birth after a drunk driver hit our car (passenger's side, where I was sitting) at 6 a.m. while my ex-hubby and I were on our way to work. I am at the point now that I am afraid to get pregnant, so I rarely have sex with my husband. I have thought on and off about adoption as well. However, I really am interested in seeing what others have to say about preparing your body for pregnancy and creating the ideal prenatal 'home' for a child.

[Melissa]

I'm thinking of each of you and your stories, and I'm drawing strength from you. Autumn, I'm especially saddened to hear how much you've gone through. For all of us, let's not give up but instead help each other move towards what is best for us, what nourishes our dream.

I wanted this pregnancy to go forward so badly...I've waited 6 or 7 years to have a second child. My marriage went through a terrible time because my partner didn't want another baby and I did so much. Then she changed her mind and really embraced the idea and I got pregnant right away (same donor as with my son, so full sibling) We three were SO happy and excited. The miscarriage was such a disappointment including for our wonderful 8 year old son who shed some tears. But it's also brought us even closer and made us realize how ready we are to welcome a little one into the family. We're determined to try again.

Having others in the same boat to connect with really helps...I'd love it if we could support eachother. I'd love that book info, EPPP. Ariella, I'm so happy to know you have a healthy little girl! What a gift. Did your doctor tell you to wait 2 or 3 menstrual cycles before trying again? That's what mine is saying but I'm so eager I don't know if I can wait, at least not 3 months. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I have to get through my d & c tomorrow morning. I was scheduled to have one last Fri but we decided to wait a week and see if I'd miscarry naturally but I haven't. I'm scared about tomorrow, general anaesthesia, and the feeling of finality and loss. On the other hand I do want closure so I can move on. Please wish me luck, okay? Sorry this is so long. I have questions about wheat grass, fasting and royal bee jelly...Any of you try those? I'm thinking of a juice fast with lots of green juices after tomorrow. What do you think?

[Autumn]

Melissa,
Thank you for your kind words. I hope tomorrow goes as well as it can for you. Regarding the green juice fast: I just read a lot of info on Victoria B's website about greens and green smoothies that you might want to check out: www.rawfamily.com. Take a look at the back issues. Also, I agree with SamL about reading Jinjee's raw pregnancy journal/diet at www.thegardendiet.com. She has gone through 4 raw pregnancies and is just amazing. Perhaps you could contact her with specific questions.

You'll be in my thoughts tomorrow. Hope all goes well. :)

[Sharon in Colorado]

After my mother's hystorectomy, I brought fresh juices to the hospital and then I stayed with her for a week, giving her fresh juices the whole time. I believe it quickened her recovery time, so it is always a good idea.

[SamL]

So sorry to hear about your struggles Autumn.


I was raw for a while and still suffered candida symptoms, there's so much conflicting views about candida, I think because everyone's body is different, for me it seemed that high fruit & nuts was making it difficult for me to get rid of the candida, I decided to take a severe approach and accelerate healing by doing the green juice fast, my thinking also if there was anything else underlying that I wasn't aware of it would be a good cleanser. It was harsh, I suffered a lot with detox symptoms. & I thought I was very healthy, so it surprised me & confirmed my suspicion I had candida.

I think if your candida free, or don't have any dis-ease symptoms, I'd be more keen to stay raw with the addition of more green smoothies.

I really enjoyed reading Jinjees raw pregnancy stories. WOW just look at her pictures, can't call her unhealthy. I re read her story many times, soaking up her words like she's a mentor of raw pregnancy.

I wish there was more information on raw pregnancies.

Gabriel Cousens has a section on pregnancy in his Conscious Eating book.

Interesing that his advice for preparation for pregnancy begins with praying and meditating and creating inner peace. Sunlight daily. Lots of rest & nutritionally he strongly recommends a juice fast as a powerful way to remove toxins. (fruits & vegetables)

I think my biggest challenge at the moment is with the peace and calm, meditating and deep breathing. I"m trying really hard to get into a yoga routine, I can be a bit overworried, so I need a lot of work there.

sending you all lots of positive vibes.

[Rawkinlocs]

Ladies, my heart goes out to each and every one of you!!

I have never experienced this, so I cannot imagine what you must have gone through or how you feel now. I had (she's no longer with us) a good friend who had numerous miscarriages due to her body not "being able to hold the baby" or something to that degree. But she and her husband didn't want to give up. They had adopted two children (a young boy and his biological sister) and then after years, they tried again and successfully gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.

Wasn't really sure if posting that was okay or not, but just wanted to share a story of hope from someone I knew personally who went through similar things. She didn't do anything to prepare her body in the manner that you are doing, so I think it can definitely be a plus!

[SamL]

Thanks for sharing that story. I hear many positive stories like your friends and continue to have a lot of hope.

I read somewhere that doctors are ok with you trying soon after m/c, some recommend waiting up to 3 months more for emotional healing.

I seemed to have needed more emotional healing time when it first happened, I was more ready to start trying again after the second time.