Health & Medicine

How Long Should You Wait To Try And Conceive Again After A Miscarriage?

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jan 13, 2016 07:55 PM EST

New research suggests that couples who try to conceive again within three months following an early miscarriage may be more likely to have a successful live birth.

The study findings go against previous research which suggests that couples who experience a miscarriage should wait three months or longer before attempting to conceive again.

During the study, researchers followed close to 1,000 couples after an early miscarriage. Women who began trying to conceive again within three months had a 71 percent higher chance of having a baby than those who waited longer.

Furthermore, the study results show that out of the 765 couples that started trying to get pregnant within three months, 77 percent gave birth to a live baby when compared to 23 percent of the 233 couples who waited to try again.

"Recommendations to delay pregnancy attempts for at least 3-6 months among couples who are psychologically ready to begin trying may be unwarranted and should be revisited," the study authors wrote, according to TIME. (The authors also acknowledge that a couple may still want time to heal emotionally after the loss."Although emotional compared with physical readiness may require individual couple assessment," the researchers added, "previous research has found that a speedy new pregnancy and birth of a living child lessens grief among couples who are suffering from a pregnancy loss."

The study is published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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