First of all take a big breath.
Close your eyes, focus, and stop looking at Google.
If you are starting to have cramping, or experiencing spotting it can be terrifying. Immediately you start to think the worst, you can see all of the hopes, dreams, and future you had imagined for your yet to be born child being swept away in the wind, that a miscarriage is inevitable.
I have experienced miscarriage. I know this pain and fear all to well.
Sadly I also know many more women in my circles who have too.
Some were fortunate, and it was merely a warning. Some like me were not, and we lost our babies to miscarriage.
There are many reasons that a woman may lose her baby during the early stages of pregnancy, it may be because her body is not in a balanced state. Or, it may be that the baby has an issue so the body hits a reset (may be genetic, an abnormality, or a million other causes!). Most of the time when we get the warning symptoms (spotting/bleeding, or cramping/pain), we don’t know the cause, we don’t necessarily want to know the cause. We just want it to stop. If you were to go to your doctor or an ED you will more than likely be told to rest, come back if the bleeding increases, and that is it.
As a mother nurturing a child within you that is not enough. In your heart you feel like a fraud, you are terrified. You feel completely helpless at saving the baby.
Take another breath.
You know what? There ARE other things you can do.
Some may seem a little strange or hippy, but really when you are trying to save a baby I would prefer that you have more tools at your disposal than not.
Please remember, that it is important to keep your care provider informed of any issues you are experiencing regarding your pregnancy.
Rest & Relax
Rest is super important, I completely agree with other medical professionals who tell women that they should rest when there is a risk of miscarriage. When I tell a woman to rest, I mean REST.
Go home, lie down.
Don’t get up again.
Stay in bed for a day or two.
If you are questioning how this is possible if you are working, have a think about your priorities. You are only able to grow this child once. Once. You can get another job, you can get take out, you can clean the house later. Everything else can wait. If you have other children, then consider asking someone to come and help out for a few days.
Relaxation is also a key component here. Try to stay as relaxed as you can- the more stressed you are, the more stressed your body is, which means the less resources it can put into trying to maintain your pregnancy. Big deep breaths, and lots of them, regularly.
Try not to pick up your toddler, or anything heavier than a kg or two, if possible, set yourself up in bed for a couple of days with books, or a good tv series so that your body is able to recuperate as much as possible.
Magnesium
Magnesium is the mineral responsible for muscle contractions in the body, if you are deficient or low you may experience cramping. Most commonly cramping will occur in the calf or leg muscles, but it may present as painful uterine cramps as well. If you have regular muscle cramps that are worse at night then you may benefit from supplementing with magnesium to help increase your levels.
Magnesium is also fantastic at helping to reduce stress in your body which goes hand in hand with helping you to relax and rest.
There are many different ways to increase your magnesium levels, the ones that I like the most and will recommend to patients are either a bath with a cup of Epsom Salts (found at the super market, generally around the laundry isle), or Mag Phos which is a tissue salt (found at most health food shops as either a spray or pillule).
Vitamin C
Vitamin C plays a vital role in connective tissue repair and formation. Healthy connective tissue is imperative for a healthy pregnancy (thus helping to prevent miscarriage). By upping your dose of Vitamin C you will be able to aid your body in repairing any possible damage that may be occurring or has occurred within your uterus.
Folate
Low levels of folate have been associated with early miscarriage. Folate is a B group vitamin that is required in higher doses during pregnancy. B vitamins are all water soluble which means that they aren’t stored within the body- they are used by the body immediately, and any excess is excreted (generally in urine which is why it turns a fluro colour after a multivitamin). It is recommended that you increase your folate levels when you are pregnant as par for the course, if you suspect a threatened miscarriage then you may want to think about increasing your intake to help prevent it from occurring.
Rescue Remedy
This is another fantastic way for you to reduce your stress. Rescue remedy is a Bush Flower Essence which works on a vibrational level. You can either have it as drops, topically, or as lozenges. I recommend putting a couple of drops into a large bottle of water that you drink throughout the day, that way every time you have some water you will be getting some rescue remedy as well. You will be able to purchase rescue remedy (or emergency essence) at most health food shops, or some larger chemists stock it as well.
Meditation
While you are resting in bed, try to close your eyes and connect with your baby. Close your eyes, and rest your hands gently over your lower abdomen. Imagine that you have a channel of white light coming in through the top of your head, and it is going down and surrounding your baby. Talk to your baby, let it know that it is loved and welcomed in your family. Tell the baby about your family- who will its sisters and brothers be, who you are, who your partner is. Ask the baby questions, then sit and rest and see if any answers come to you.
Imagine that you have an orb of golden light circling and encasing your baby.
Avoiding Cold
From a Western Medical perspective, when you are pregnant you naturally have a slightly elevated core body temperature due to the increase in progesterone in your body. In Chinese Medicine cold is seen as causing a lot of problems within the body, especially in women. It is recommended that you avoid any contact with cold, as it may increase your risk of miscarrying. There are a few things you can do to including;
- Avoid all food or drink that is colder than room temperature. If you want something from the fridge, then leave it out for a few minutes to take the chill out before consuming
- If there is a draught or breeze keep the back of your neck covered (with a scarf or keep your hair down if it is long enough)
- Wear socks, or shoes when walking on tiles or floor boards. There is a point on the bottom of your foot which easily allows cold to enter up into your body
- Don’t sleep with the air-conditioner or fan on
Pull on the hair at the top of your head
There are a few acupuncture points which may help you. The first one that always springs to mind is known as Du20 or Baihui, it is located on the top of your head (imagine you were hanging from a string- where the string would be attached is where the point will be). You can gently pull your hair around this point to stimulate it (not so hard that you pull the hair out, but enough that you feel it). Du20 has a very strong lifting energy, and can help to prevent the downward energy that can cause a miscarriage.
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