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When does your first cycle of ovulation after miscarriage occur? If you’ve just experienced a pregnancy loss, you may be wondering when you can try for a baby again. This feeling is only natural and one that most expectant mothers experience.
But before we get into the particulars of ovulation after miscarriage, you should first understand that the miscarriage wasn’t your fault. This may be a time of grief as you come to terms with your loss.
While you deal with the emotions of miscarrying, you also have to grapple with the uncertainty of ovulation afterwards. It can take time for your hormones to go back to normal, and for your body to recover.
Let’s talk about what miscarriage means for ovulation and all about conceiving after a pregnancy loss.
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What is miscarriage?
A miscarriage is when a pregnancy ends unexpectedly, usually before 20 weeks. Miscarriages happen in the early stages of pregnancy, before a baby is able to live outside of the womb, and is estimated to be among the most common forms of pregnancy loss.
Miscarriages are more common than you may think. Experts believe that many miscarriages happen without our knowledge, before a woman even knows that she’s pregnant.
It is estimated that over a quarter of early pregnancies end in miscarriage, and many women may miscarry before they even know that they’re pregnant.
If you’ve just had a miscarriage, the grief you feel may lead you to believe that something you did during your pregnancy led to the loss. But know that you don’t have to blame yourself for what happened.
Miscarriages often happen without a direct cause, but they are linked with several risk factors:
- Maternal age greater than 30
- Prior history of miscarrying
- Extremely low or high body mass index (BMI)
- Hypertension, or high blood pressure
- Cigarette smoking
- High caffeine use
- Malnutrition
- Thrombophilia (a condition that makes blood clot)
In order to get pregnant again after miscarrying, your body will need to return to its fertility cycle and ovulate.
What is ovulation?
Ovulation is when the ovary releases a mature egg into the fallopian tube. In the tube, sperm can reach the egg to fertilize it and thus begin pregnancy.
In other words, an egg has to be released and then fertilized for pregnancy to begin. Which means, after miscarrying, you’ll need to successfully ovulate in order to get pregnant again.
A miscarriage resets your menstrual cycle. Women who miscarry before 13 weeks of pregnancy typically return to their menstrual cycle as early as two weeks after the miscarriage.
Women who miscarry after 13 weeks may take longer to return to baseline. Tell your doctor if you have still not returned to your regular cycle eight weeks after miscarrying.
On the other hand, just because you’ve gotten your period doesn’t necessarily mean you’re fertile again.
It’s possible to get your period after miscarrying without ovulating. You may have the hormone surges of ovulation, but no mature egg to release. This can happen for your first few menstrual cycles after miscarriage as your body works to return to its natural rhythm.
Using a reliable device like the Inito Fertility Monitor to track your ovulation after miscarriage is one way of being sure that you’ve gone back to this rhythm. Inito can tell you whether or not your ovary has really released an egg, or if your body is just attempting to ovulate.
How does miscarriage affect ovulation?
Miscarriage alters your menstrual cycles. Your body was putting energy and resources into pregnancy, and now it has to return to the regular menstrual cycles. For your body to go back to the baseline may take a few weeks or even months.
But you can be confident that your ovulatory cycle will return to normal. Miscarriage does not have long-term effects on your menstrual or fertility cycles.
When can I ovulate after miscarriage bleeding stops?
You can expect your ovulatory cycle to return to normal after a few months of miscarrying. For some women, this could be as early as two weeks after miscarrying.
When returning to your monthly cycle, it may be helpful to think of a miscarriage as a heavy period.
Your first day of miscarriage bleeding marks the first day of your menstrual cycle being reset. Ovulation generally happens around 14 days prior to your next period.
Still, this may not be true for many women. You may not ovulate for a few cycles after miscarrying because your hormones are still re-balancing. This is normal, and shouldn’t cause panic. This period can be an opportunity for your body to recover from loss, heal from grief, and prepare for your next pregnancy.
When am I most fertile after miscarrying?
The days around ovulation are when you are most fertile. Having sex during your fertile window will give you the best chance of getting pregnant again, miscarriage or no miscarriage.
The fertile window spans six days – four days before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and the day after ovulation.
Note that even if you have sex a few days before you ovulate, it’s still possible to get pregnant.
Sperm can live in the vaginal canal for five days after sex. So there could still be sperm in the fallopian tubes to fertilize an egg, even if you’ve have sex a few days ago. Pregnancy is only possible if you have sex in your fertile window.
How to check for ovulation after miscarriage?
The best way to know when you’re most fertile is by tracking when you ovulate. Many women can predict their ovulation by charting their monthly cycle over a period of time and paying attention to the known signs.
Check out these common signs of ovulation:
- Clear, liquid, egg white-like cervical mucus
- Bloating, cramping, or ovulation pain
- Breast tenderness
- Peak in basal body temperature (BBT)
- Darkening lines on repeated ovulation tests
For more, check out our guide on more symptoms of ovulation.
If you’re new to tracking these signs, know that it typically takes a few months of tracking to predict ovulation. A reliable way to track your ovulation is with the Inito Fertility Monitor. This trusty device accurately indicates your fertile window and period of ovulation, increasing chances of successful conception by a proven 89%.
Testing for ovulation after miscarriage
Testing for ovulation is a great way to know when you can retry for a baby after a pregnancy loss. You can start testing for ovulation as soon as two weeks after a complete miscarriage.
How accurate are ovulation tests after miscarriage?
Ovulation tests look at the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. LH rises leading up to ovulation, so it’s often used to predict your fertile window.
But after miscarriage, hormones like LH may be irregular for a few cycles. There are a few things that can throw off an ovulation tests after a miscarriage, causing a false-positive result.
- High Levels of hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin): hCG is the hormone that rises in early pregnancy, causing positive pregnancy tests. In the days and weeks after a miscarriage, hCG can still be elevated in your urine. Some ovulation tests that look for LH may be thrown off by hCG, causing a false positive result.
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: Women with PCOS may have high levels of LH throughout their cycle. This can cause false-positive results on ovulation tests.
To prevent false-positives, it’s important not to test for ovulation too soon after miscarriage. Two weeks after completing a miscarriage is an ideal wait time before you start testing for ovulation.
If you know you have PCOS, you can confirm ovulation by tracking progesterone as well as LH.
See our guide on getting pregnant with PCOS for more information.
Late ovulation after miscarriage
If your miscarriage happened after 13 weeks of pregnancy, you can expect ovulation to happen late. It may take as long as three months for you to ovulate, even if you have started getting your periods. This is normal for the first few cycles. After a few months, your cycle will return to your regular baseline.
Are you more likely to hyperovulate after a miscarriage?
Hyperovulation, or ovulating more than once in a cycle. This means releasing more than one egg in a cycle. But there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that hyperovulation is more common after a miscarriage.
A few studies suggest that women may get pregnant more easily in the first six months after miscarriage. But this evidence is preliminary and we need more research into this subject.
Will your period be regular after a miscarriage?
Probably not. This first period will most likely be irregular. Many women have heavier, more painful first periods after they miscarry a pregnancy. This first period will likely come about a month after a miscarriage, but this timing could vary from person to person.
Some women have menorrhagia or a heavier period. Others may have little bleeding but intense cramping. Flows may last longer than they usually do, and you may notice some spotting or bleeding between your first few cycles. This irregularity is because of your hormones fluctuating before returning to your normal cycle.
For more info on your first period after miscarriage, take a look at this article.
Will I be more fertile or less fertile after a miscarriage?
Miscarriages usually do not affect fertility.
Early pregnancy losses are usually one-time events, and most women who miscarry go on to have successful pregnancies. Miscarrying several times is rare. Even women who miscarry more than once often can still get pregnant successfully. Only about 1% of women have repeated miscarriages.
When can I try to get pregnant after a miscarriage?
If your miscarriage is complete and the bleeding has stopped, you can start trying to get pregnant again in as little as two weeks. Pay attention to the signs of ovulation we mentioned above to know your most fertile window.
Many clinicians recommend that women wait to get pregnant for at least three months after miscarrying. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends waiting twice as long.
But research shows that there aren’t different outcomes for women who get pregnant immediately.
If you’re wondering when you should try to get pregnant again, the best person to answer may be you.
Miscarriage is often traumatic and emotionally taxing. Taking some time between a miscarriage and a pregnancy may help you process the loss.
Ask yourself this: Do you feel ready for pregnancy again?
If you’re not trying to get pregnant right away, it’s important to use birth control until you’re ready to conceive.
On the other hand, if you are wanting to get pregnant again, we recommend taking a look at these helpful tips.
Tips for conceiving after miscarrying
It’s possible to have a successful pregnancy not long after a miscarriage. Here are a few things you can do to increase your chances of getting pregnant after miscarrying.
- If you’ve just miscarried or are in the process of miscarrying, wait a week or two before having sex. Having intercourse while you’re still miscarrying can put you at risk for infections.
- Track your ovulation to know when your fertile window is. This will give you the best chance of having sex when you’re likely to conceive.
- Be patient with yourself after a miscarriage. Know that most women who miscarry go on to have successful pregnancies afterwards.
Summary:
- Miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy, and it is common among early pregnancies.
- To get pregnant again after miscarriage, you’ll need to ovulate and release a new egg for fertilization.
- After miscarriage, ovulation can happen anywhere between two weeks and three months. You may start your menstrual cycle again without ovulating.
- Tracking your ovulation after miscarrying is a great way to know whether you can conceive.
- There’s no specified time you have to wait between miscarrying and conceiving. YOU are the best person to answer the question of when you want to get pregnant again.
- Miscarrying generally does not affect your chances of conceiving again, and most women go on to have successful pregnancies.
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