#146 | 8 Hidden Causes of Recurrent Miscarriage Your Doctor Isn’t Testing For and How To Finally Stay Pregnant

Have you been told your miscarriages are just “bad luck”?

If you’ve experienced two or more pregnancy losses and your doctor says it’s common or nothing to worry about yet, you’re not getting the full picture. Miscarriages are not random. There are hidden, testable root causes that conventional fertility care often overlooks—things like thyroid dysfunction, clotting disorders, infections, hormone imbalances, and even sperm DNA fragmentation.

In this episode, you'll...

– Discover 8 overlooked causes of recurrent miscarriage that could be standing in your way of a healthy pregnancy

– Learn what advanced testing can reveal that standard fertility workups miss

– Walk away with clear next steps to advocate for deeper answers so you can protect your next pregnancy and finally carry to term

Listen now to uncover the real reasons behind recurrent miscarriage—and take back control of your fertility journey with answers that truly matter.

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🌟Follow and connect with me on Instagram @the_wellness_pharmacist to fast-track your fertility so you can finally get and stay pregnant naturally!⁠

Finally Get Pregnant Naturally is your go-to TTC podcast for holistic fertility support to help you get pregnant naturally by addressing the root cause of unexplained infertility, secondary infertility, and recurrent miscarriage. Hosted by Dr. Katie Wood, a pharmacist and holistic fertility practitioner, this show offers natural fertility solutions for those on a fertility journey struggling to conceive, navigating miscarriage, or dealing with endometriosis, PCOS, low sperm count, or failed IUI or failed IVF. Whether you're trying to conceive, increase egg quality, optimizing sperm health, or healing after a miscarriage, each episode delivers practical guidance to support your fertility journey. Learn how to improve fertility, balance hormones, regulate your fertile window, and conceive naturally through root cause healing, emotional wellness, and mind-body tools—because true fertility starts from within.

DISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use it as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. This podcast offers information to help the listener cooperate with physicians, mental health professionals or other healthcare providers in a mutual quest for optimal well-being. We advise listeners to carefully review and understand the ideas presented, and to consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having. Under no circumstances shall Pharm to Wellness LLC, any guests or contributors to the Finally Get Pregnant Naturally podcast, or any employees, associates, or affiliates of Pharm to Wellness LLC be responsible for damages arising from the use of the podcast. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Episode Transcript

Katie (00:00):
In this episode, we're talking about why your recurrent
miscarriages aren't just bad luck,as well as the answers and solutions
that your doctor is missing.
Welcome to the finally GetPregnant Naturally Podcast.
The podcast helping women identifythe real reasons you haven't
conceived or stayed pregnant, soyou and your partner can finally

(00:23):
grow the family of your dreams.
I'm your host, Dr.
Katie Wood.
Let's dive in, shall we?
In this episode, you're going to learn the overlooked
physical and functional root causesbehind repeat pregnancy loss.
Why standard testing often missesthe real issues and what advanced

(00:45):
functional testing can reveal andactionable steps to advocate for deeper
investigation so you can finally.
Carry a healthy pregnancy to term.
So often recurrent miscarriageis brushed off as bad luck.
It's common, it just happens.

(01:05):
But I'm here to tell you, there is nosuch thing as bad luck when it comes to
your body's ability to carry a pregnancy.
There are.
Reasons, and in most cases,they're completely missed by
standard fertility workups.
So today I'm going to share the hiddencauses of recurrent pregnancy loss that

(01:26):
almost no one is testing for, and whatyou can start doing today to uncover them
so you can protect your next pregnancy.
So if you have experienced two or moremiscarriages, you've likely been told.
It just happens.
Sometimes this is normal, right?
Or maybe it's just bad luck.

(01:49):
You can try again and hopefullynext time will be different.
And maybe your doctor even told youthey won't do any testing until you have
experienced two or three or even more.
Miscarriages, and that is absolutelyridiculous because repeating the

(02:12):
same thing, the same plan withoutuncovering the root causes, means
you're gambling with your heart,your emotions, your body, your time.
I have had women take quite a longtime to actually have their cycles
reregulate after a miscarriage.

(02:34):
And just remembering that recurrentmiscarriages is not a random event.
It's a message from your body sayingsomething here needs to be addressed.
So here are eight hidden causesthat no one is testing for.
So number one.
Undiagnosed thyroid dysfunction.
So even a quote unquote, normal thyroidlab can mask problems, and I've had

(03:01):
so many women tell me in the dms onInstagram, their thyroid is normal, but.
We actually don't have the wholethyroid picture, and that's a problem.
So TSH in the higher range above 2.5,
even above two, can increase miscarriagerisk even if your doctor says it's fine.

(03:24):
Having antibodies present, especially withHashimoto's, can attack pregnancy tissue
without causing any obvious symptoms.
And honestly, standard labs thatyour doctor is running often skips
thyroid antibody testing entirely.
So an action step for you is advocatingand requesting a full thyroid panel.

(03:49):
So this would include TSH.
Free T four, free T three, reverseT three and thyroid antibodies.
A full thyroid panel is something thatI'm doing with every single client.
Number two, hidden infectionsand chronic inflammation.

(04:11):
So vaginal infections like bacterialvaginosis, chronic yeast urea,
plasma mycoplasma, even gum disease.
Can trigger an immune responsethat interferes with implantation
or fetal development.
If you have low grade uterineinfections like endometritis, this

(04:31):
can often go undiagnosed unless youspecifically request testing and
you may not even have any symptoms.
So an action step for thisis you can discuss the
possibility of a uterine biopsy.
Or pursue vaginal microbiome testing,especially if you've had multiple
miscarriages with no explanation.

(04:53):
So a vaginal microbiome test issomething I do with every single
client, and I do have a currentclient who has had five miscarriages.
And when we got her results back, shehad a lot of vaginal dysbiosis going on.
She had a couple of strains of bacteriathat are not fertility friendly,
and she didn't have any protective

(05:15):
flora present in hervaginal microbiome either.
So we worked on this together andnow she is currently pregnant.
And it has been a viable pregnancy,a healthy pregnancy so far.
Number three, M-T-H-F-R,and methylation issues.
So this is about your body'sability to process folate and manage

(05:39):
homocysteine levels, which directlyimpact blood flow to the placenta.
M-T-H-F-R gene variants can meanthat you're not able to convert folic
acid into active folate efficiently.
Now, this is especially an issue ifyou are taking a prenatal supplement

(06:00):
that contains folic acid insteadof a methylated folate vitamin,
and unfortunately conventionaldoctors are still recommending
folic acid for whatever reason.
And elevated homocysteine levels can belinked to clotting and pregnancy loss.
So some action steps here are, you canrequest a test to see if you have any

(06:22):
M-T-H-F-R mutations, which over 50% of thepopulation has some degree of a mutation
there, and your homocysteine levels.
And if present, you canswitch to methylated folate
and methylated B vitamins.
And I also recommend avoiding foods thatare enriched with folic acid as well.

(06:47):
Number four, blood clotting disorders.
So these are very rarely checkeduntil you've had three or more
losses, and that is just unnecessary.
Okay, so this could looklike factor five lighten.
Prothombin gene mutation, antiphospholipidsyndrome, all can cause tiny clots in the

(07:08):
placenta, and this can prevent the embryofrom getting optimal oxygen and nutrients.
So an action step here is you canrequest a comprehensive thrombophilia
panel after your first or secondmiscarriage, not your third or beyond.
Number five, hormonal insufficiencies,especially progesterone.

(07:31):
So progesterone's job.
Is to maintain the pregnancy, andif levels are too low, the uterine
lining can't support the embryo.
So the problem here is standard labsoften check progesterone once instead
of over the entire luteal phase.
Another issue is a lot of times we'retesting on cycle day 21, assuming that

(07:55):
ovulation happened on cycle day 14.
But if you ovulated later or earlier,then cycle day 21 is not gonna.
Give you the an optimalprogesterone result.
So an action step here is you canask for consecutive progesterone
testing, ideally three to four drawsafter ovulation, and advocate for

(08:16):
luteal phase support if needed.
Number six is poor egg qualityfrom nutrient deficiencies and
oxidative stress, so egg quality.
Isn't just about age, right?
That's not something that justgoes down because of your age.
It's about the environment.
Your eggs maturing and deficienciesand nutrients and minerals

(08:41):
can affect chromosomal health.
And then also oxidativestress from toxins.
Poor diet or unmanaged stress candamage eggs before fertilization.
So an action step here is you coulddo functional testing, like an
organic acids test or micronutrientpanels, which can pinpoint where

(09:02):
your body needs the most support.
So these are, these are tests thatI do on every single female client.
So we're looking at your micronutrientstatus, but also what specific
antioxidants can help reduce.
Oxidative stress on your cells.
Okay, number seven isimmune dysregulation.

(09:25):
So overactive natural killercells or an imbalanced immune
response can attack the embryo.
This is controversial inconventional medicine.
So many doctors don't even mention this.
As an action step, you can seekout a reproductive immunologist or
integrative practitioner familiarwith immune related pregnancy loss.

(09:49):
Number eight is DNA fragmentation.
So research shows that this can be ahidden culprit behind pregnancy loss,
even when a semen analysis looks.
Normal, quote unquote, normal highfragmentation can be caused by
oxidative stress, environmentaltoxins, smoking, high heat exposure,

(10:12):
infections, and even poor sleep.
So as an action step here, you can requesta semen analysis or do a reliable at-home
test that includes DNA fragmentation.
So every miscarriage has a reason.
Sometimes it's chromosomal, sometimesit's environmental, sometimes it's both.

(10:37):
But labeling someone's losses as badluck or this is normal, it just happens.
This is closing the door on any.
Investigation into is there anythingunderlying that we can address?
And I have personally seen womengo from multiple losses to having a

(11:02):
healthy full-term pregnancy simply byuncovering and addressing the hidden
root causes that was going on for them.
So what you can do next.
Document your journey, your history.
Write down every pregnancy outcome,your symptoms, any testing that you

(11:22):
have had either prior or after the loss.
Demand, and advocate foryourself for comprehensive.
Testing even if your doctorthinks it's unnecessary.
And unfortunately, many doctors justdon't even realize that these are
things that they could be looking at.
They don't really know whattests to order or look at.

(11:42):
So then in this case, I wouldrecommend working with someone
like myself who looks at the whole.
Picture your hormones, your immune system,your nutrition, your emotional health,
your internal and external environment.
So let's recap why recurrentmiscarriages aren't just bad luck.

(12:04):
Recurrent miscarriage has root causes.
It's not just bad luck.
There are often hidden testable issuesthat go undiagnosed in conventional
fertility care testing matters.
Digging deeper into factors likeclotting disorders, thyroid function.
Hormone imbalances, autoimmune conditions,uterine abnormalities, nutrient

(12:28):
deficiencies, infections, and sperm.
DNA fragmentation can uncover thereal reasons for repeated loss, and
just knowing that knowledge is powerby identifying and addressing these
hidden causes allows you to takeback control to create a targeted.
Personalized plan and improve your chancesof carrying a healthy pregnancy to term.

(12:54):
So if you've been told, it'sjust bad luck, it happens.
I want you to know this.
Your body is wise.
Your body was created to conceiveand carry a healthy pregnancy,
and your losses are not random.
You deserve real answers.
You deserve a team that willdig deeper alongside you on your

(13:16):
journey, and you deserve to protectthe health of your next pregnancy.
With every tool available and the righttest could change everything for you.
So thank you so much for listening.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
And stay tuned for Thursday'sepisode where we're gonna be diving
deeper into the vaginal microbiome.

(13:39):
Are you ready to finally discover why youhaven't been able to get or stay pregnant?
The Ultimate Fertility Blueprint is aquick, insightful quiz designed to reveal
your overall capacity to conceive and helpyou discover potential root causes and
areas to address to improve your fertilityso you can finally get and stay pregnant.

(14:03):
You will find the link in theshow notes as a quick reminder and
disclaimer, this podcast is foreducational purposes only and is
not a substitute for medical advice.
Always consult your doctor orhealthcare provider before starting
any new supplement or protocol,especially if you're actively trying
to conceive or undergoing treatment.