A frozen pregnancy is the termination of intrauterine development of the fetus and its unexpected death. The risk of a frozen pregnancy is most likely in the first trimester of pregnancy, but it can also occur during a longer gestation. It should be noted that sometimes this phenomenon happens unnoticed for the pregnant woman herself, especially in the early stages. In Russia, a woman is diagnosed with recurrent miscarriage after two unsuccessful pregnancies, in contrast to Western countries, where the examination begins only after the third termination. If such a tragedy happens to a woman who is impatiently expecting a child, first of all, she begins to worry about the main two questions: what is the reason for the frozen pregnancy, how to avoid such a turn of events during the next gestation? In fact, there can be many reasons for a frozen pregnancy.
Genetic disorders
The most common cause of a frozen pregnancy is genetic abnormalities in the fetus. Almost 60-70% of miscarriages before the 8th week of pregnancy are associated with the presence of chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus. Such a pathology can be inherited from a child from either parent, or it can occur with an unsuccessful combination of parental genes. This reason is especially evident if several pregnancies freeze in a row.
Hormonal Disorders
Also, a common cause of freezing pregnancies is hormonal disorders in a woman during gestation. The most common hormonal disorder leading to spontaneous abortion is a lack of the hormone progesterone in the body of a pregnant woman, without which it is almost impossible to justify an embryo in the uterus in sufficient quantities. Also, pregnancy freezes if a woman has hyperandrogenism – an increase in the level of male hormones androgens. These disorders are checked by hormonal status during pregnancy planning.
Infection
Infection is in almost 30% of cases the cause of a frozen pregnancy. Pregnancy is characterized by a depressed state of immunity, as a result, the body may not cope with an infection that has got into it from the environment. In such a situation, the risk of intrauterine infection of the fetus can greatly increase.
Cytomegalovirus and rubella virus are especially dangerous for the fetus, which cause irreversible changes and multiple fetal malformations, up to and including death. Also, for a pregnant woman, the influenza virus is considered quite dangerous: ordinary ARVI can proceed with the most severe complications, since the immune system is weakened. At the same time, the danger comes not only from the virus itself, but also from the main symptoms of the disease: high fever, intoxication, and others. The baby may not have enough oxygen, as a result of which he will die.
IVF pregnancy
It is a fact that the greatest probability of pregnancy freezing is observed with IVF, in contrast to pregnancy, which occurred with ordinary conception.
Wrong way of life
A woman may have a spontaneous miscarriage if she has suffered severe stress or led an irregular lifestyle: she drank alcohol, smoked, drank a lot of coffee, was sedentary, and ate irregularly. These conditions cause a variety of complications of pregnancy, for example, early placental abruption or increased uterine tone, as a result, the pregnancy freezes.
It should be noted that a frozen pregnancy in most cases is the result of an unfortunate combination of several circumstances. That is why doctors recommend that women take care of their pregnancy in advance and approach its planning according to all the rules: check carefully, pass all the necessary tests, strengthen immunity, give up bad habits and start leading a healthy lifestyle at least half a year before conception.