Miscarriage: Six Ways To Reduce Your Risk

Reduce Your Risk of Miscarriage With The Green Fertility Plan

While there are a number of key things you can do to reduce your risk of miscarriage - among them is not smoking and avoiding second hand smoke, reducing your alcohol consumption and eating a healthy diet - there are also some specific supplements and foods with properties that have been shown in studies to have protective effects against miscarriage. Here are six of those foods and supplements that can help.

The Anti-Miscarriage Supplements -

1.Folic Acid - While most women wait until they conceive to begin taking this essential pre natal supplement, the truth is that you may be pregnant 6, 8 or even 10 weeks before you know it - a time when your developing embryo can greatly benefit from this nutrient. In one major study published in the Journal of The American Medical Association, researchers found that the earlier a woman begins taking folic acid supplements, the greater her chance of avoiding miscarriage. The Green Fertility Plan Recommendation: Between 400 - 800 mcg daily, beginning one to two months prior to when you want to conceive.

2. CoQ10 - Studies have shown that directly following miscarriage, levels of this nutrient are exceedingly low - a fact
which has led to some speculation concerning the role of a CoQ10 deficiency in increasing the risk of miscarriage. While there is no direct evidence the supplement can prevent pregnancy loss, there is certainly enough validity to the research warrant suggesting supplement use to any woman at risk pregnancy loss. The Green Fertility Plan Recommendation: 60 -100 mg daily-starting one to two months prior to conception.

3..Zinc & Copper - While most of us give little thought to our daily mineral consumption, according to the Green Fertility Plan, paying attention to both zinc and copper levels may be key to avoiding miscarriage. The reason: First, zinc is an essential part of the genetic material found inside each egg you produce. When there is a zinc deficiency studies show chromosomal damage directly linked to miscarriage can occur within an egg. So the greater your zinc deficiency, the higher your risk of miscarriage. But don't overdo it on Zinc supplements. Taking too much will cause a copper deficiency, which can make it much harder to get pregnant. The Green Fertility Plan Recommendation: 30 mg of zinc balanced with 3 mg of copper daily.

The Anti-Miscarriage Foods

4.Grapes & Cherries: It sounds so simple it almost seems silly. But studies show that specific nutrients found in grapes and cherries have a protective effect against miscarriage. That nutrient is a flavonoid known as "quercertin", which works to keep tiny particles found in the blood from sticking together and forming microscopic clumps, which in turn can reduce or even block the blood flow from mother-to-baby, thus increasing the risk of miscarriage. Moreover, many doctors also now recommend taking 1 baby aspirin daily while trying to conceive, and during the first trimester, to help fight the formation of these same tiny clots. What can also help: The herb Dong Quai which has similar blood thinning properties.

5. Wheat Germ - The key here is a high concentration of both vitamin E and selenium, which studies show are essential to reduce the risk of miscarriage. Wheat germ is also high in vitamin B6, which can help balance female hormones and make your next conception faster and easier as well as healthier.

6..Raspberry Leaf Tea - One of the oldest herbs in recorded history, there are actually references to the use of raspberry leaf to reduce the risk of miscarriage in the Bible! Its primary mode of action is to relax the uterus and help prevent contractions that might otherwise expel a newly implanted embryo. Some naturopathic doctors also believe properties found in the raspberry leaf can help a newly fertilized egg to form a better attachment to the uterine lining also reducing the risk of miscarriage. The Green Fertility Plan Recommendation: One to two 400mg capsules of powdered raspberry leaf daily or up to 4 cups of raspberry leaf tea daily, brewed from the leaf, not the fruit.