After my first miscarriage in Frankfurt, we waited a few months to start trying again. In the meantime, I started to push for more attention to be given to my short luteal phase, which I was convinced could be a cause of my fertility and miscarriage issues, with the low progesterone indicated by the luteal phase defect meaning that the lining of the womb did not develop enough during the second half of my cycle to be able to support the developing embryo during the first trimester, before the placenta takes over.

I spoke to a couple of the doctors at my GP surgery at the time, who were quite dismissive of both the luteal phase defect and the miscarriage. If I had to hear once more that ‘one miscarriage is really common’ or ‘it’s just one of those things’, even ‘you may even have another miscarriage, that’s common too’ – aargh! It’s such a brilliant starting point from which to tackle an issue that happens to so many people, basically cancelling out its importance due to the high likelihood of its occurrence. When the hell else does that ever apply – ‘I’m sorry, we won’t investigate that because it has to happen to you three times before we take it seriously’?

I was very lucky at this time, in that I knew someone with expertise in fertility issues, who did validate my concerns and was able to give me the confidence to push the doctor to prescribe progesterone tablets to try and lengthen my luteal phase. Looking back, I am very appreciative that my GP did listen to me in the end, and that a simple prescription could be the answer. It angered me, however, that other women did not have access to this sort of information. The lack of support during miscarriage in the UK combined with a lack of access to knowledge that could make all the difference, is something I found, and still find, incredibly frustrating.

I had just picked up the first prescription of progesterone, however, when I discovered I was pregnant for the second time, six months after my first miscarriage.

Image from Pixabay