Dr. Rachel Mandelbaum was recently quoted in an article written by Stephanie Anderson Witmer for Today’s Parent titled “Miscarriage Causes: Factors That Increase the Risk.”

While most pregnancies result in healthy babies, there’s always a risk of miscarriage. It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but it’s not rare, occurring in as many as one in five known pregnancies.

Miscarriage, or pregnancy loss, is defined as the spontaneous loss of an intrauterine pregnancy before 20 weeks gestation. It’s estimated that 80% of miscarriages occur before 12 weeks. Some common causes of miscarriage include chromosomal abnormalities, maternal age, hormonal imbalances, uterine abnormalities, infections, chronic conditions, and environmental factors.

After symptoms begin or a miscarriage has been diagnosed by ultrasound, the body then must get rid of the pregnancy tissue. “In cases where the body expels pregnancy tissue on its own without intervention, the cervix will open and the uterus contracts, causing cramping and bleeding until the pregnancy tissue has been expelled,” says Rachel Mandelbaum, M.D., FACOG, a board-certified OB-GYN and reproductive endocrinologist at HRC Fertility in California.

If you are interested in learning more about the causes of miscarriage, read the article in its entirety here.