Miscarriage. It is a subject no one wants to talk about. Yet, everyone knows at least one person who has experienced one, and the general public still knows very little about the facts surrounding this devastating event in a person’s life. We have compiled five myths about miscarriage that are commonly thought of as true.

Miscarriage is rare – The unfortunate reality is that miscarriages occur in 1 out 5 known pregnancies. And that statistic does not account for the number of pregnancies which ended before the woman knew she was even pregnant! Even though it is fairly common, the majority of people believe miscarriage is rare, thinking it’s only 5% or less of all pregnancies.

Your physical activity or stress levels caused the miscarriage – According to the American Pregnancy Association, exercising regularly (approved by a doctor, of course) may lower your chance of miscarriage. Normal, daily stress levels are also not cause for a miscarriage. However, bigger stressors or events, like a death of a loved one, may cause the body to react in such a way to cause a miscarriage. Though, scientists and doctors have not definitively proved this.

It’s all my fault… – Most early miscarriages occur because of a genetic abnormality or developmental issue with the unborn child. It has nothing to do with what the mother did or did not do. But women consistently blame themselves for what happened and carry the guilt around for a long time afterwards. Truth is most miscarriages are completely random.

Grief over a miscarriage isn’t a really a thing – Most people who have not experienced a miscarriage do not think the grief is equivalent to that felt after a loss of a child. In actuality, miscarriage is a devastating event in a person’s life and it takes time to process through. There is no “correct” way to grieve, but there are helpful suggestions.

No one wants to hear about it – Because our culture has put a taboo stigma on miscarriage, we are wired to believe no one wants to hear about what we’re going through. It has left women (and their partners) feel isolated and lonely as they try to come to terms with what just happened. The truth is your story could help others who are going through the exact same thing you are.

Many women who experienced multiple miscarriages have successfully carried pregnancies to full term through embryo adoption. To learn more, visit EmbryoAdoption.org.

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