Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Miscarriage... Is There an Answer?

I think so, and I want to write a book about it!

Several years ago, I was contacted by several women who were having repeated miscarriages. They desperately wanted to have a baby. These women found their hopes soaring several times a year when they would find themselves pregnant, only to be harshly crushed a couple of months later when they began spotting... bleeding... cramping.... staying in bed, calling their doctor or midwife.... and then miscarrying.

Some of them would call me sobbing, saying, "All I want is a live baby! Why can't anyone tell me what's wrong with me? Why doesn't my doctor know what to do? I've done every test that modern medicine has invented and they still don't know why this keeps happening!"

I didn't know any more than their doctors did.
All I could say was, "I'm sure there's an answer somewhere. Obviously, something's wrong, and usually when there is something wrong, there is almost always a way to fix it..."

Their agony of miscarriage after miscarriage compelled me to try to find answers. I read books.
I spent days and months online, researching. I waded through big, fat textbooks, and boring Swedish studies on reproductive health. I read fertility books. I talked to mothers and their doctors and midwives.

I began to find bits and pieces here and there... things that sounded reasonable and helpful. I began forwarding articles and information on to my friends who were struggling with miscarriage.

Before long I began receiving calls - I'm four months pregnant and I'm doing fine!"
Mothers would beam, "This baby is our miracle baby!" and then they'd tell me about taking vitamins, drugs, herbs, hormone supplements, additional testing - all kinds of things that I had found info on.

One of those success stories!

I began to see things that were working for some of these women. They were solving their own problems with lots of information in front of them. They started passing my number on to their friends. Soon I found myself besieged with calls from desperate women from across the country who would call me at all hours, apologizing for their call, but explaining that they were spotting or cramping and thought maybe I could help them because their friend had told them about me.

I really couldn't "prescribe" anything to them. I couldn't tell them what to do. I wasn't a medical professional, and I wasn't their caregiver. But I had several big folders, packed with studies, articles, recommendations from both the medical field and alternative healthcare practitioners.
And now, I had personal stories from women who had live, healthy babies, and credited it to what they had done with both modern medicine and things as simple as herbal teas and healthy foods.

I decided to find the best book to recommend to these women... And I began searching for a "miscarriage bible" - an all encompassing book, explaining miscarriage and it's many causes and a whole range of possible solutions. When I realized it didn't exist, I began looking for a book from the medical model, focused on miscarriage and how to prevent it and a book from the holistic perspective as well. I bought most of the books I could find, but none of them seemed to be what these mothers needed.

So, I decided that I would write the book, since no one else has. I have a lot of information. I need to find a lot more. I need to know more of the most puzzling questions about miscarriage and what women want to know about it. My work on this project has been on hold for nearly two years now, as I have had other things to focus on. But, I want to get back to work on it shortly, because I know that every day there are women looking for answers, and I want them to find them somewhere...

If you have any suggestions, or questions about miscarriage that you would like to see answered, or if you have ideas for studies that you wish somebody was doing, or... whatever you think would be most helpful in the arena of miscarriage, I'm looking for more material and questions.

If you know of anyone who is currently researching miscarriage, or who has a special "remedy" or unique information in their practice, I'm anxiously waiting to hear more!

I'm interested in anything and everything that can be done to prevent a miscarriage - drugs, herbs, surgery, vitamin and mineral supplements, hormones, nutrition, family relationships, essential fatty acids....

I'd like to know what testing is most helpful and practical, and what has not be helpful in determining the causes of miscarriage.

I'd also love to include stories of women who have struggled with miscarriage, and of course, some success stories!

Email me at: betterbirth4you {at} gmail {dot} com.

1 comment:

jl said...

Have you heard of the studies that just came out that link caffiene with miscarriage? I've also heard (and it seems to hold water in my case and the few I know) that having been on birth control pills prior can contribute. We really thought at the start of the pregnancy with Malea, it would end up in another miscarriage. But, a combo of red raspberry leaf tea, tinctures and progesterone cream for the first 3 months resulted in our beautiful daughter!