Ovulation after miscarriage: When can you start trying again?

Miscarriage, no matter when it happens, can be really difficult. It’s normal to feel confused by what’s happened, not know how to talk about it, and want the space to mourn your pregnancy. If you’ve been trying to conceive, then you may feel that the best way for you to heal is to try to get pregnant again. You may also be concerned about whether or not your body is ready and able. 

All these feelings and questions after a miscarriage are totally natural, and you are far from alone — just over 10% of women globally have had a miscarriage. Knowing the facts can help you feel more prepared to try to get pregnant again. So, let’s find out how quickly your cycle will return after miscarriage and when your body will be ready to conceive. 

Key takeaways

• If you’ve experienced pregnancy loss, rest assured that miscarriage itself does not affect your fertility — most couples will go on to have a successful pregnancy after an early pregnancy loss. 
• Pregnancy loss can bring up feelings of grief, and you may want to take some time out from trying for a baby to process it. But, if you feel ready, you could ovulate and get pregnant again as early as two weeks after a miscarriage.
• Your doctor may suggest that you wait to have sex for around two weeks after a miscarriage to prevent an infection. But getting pregnant soon after your miscarriage — even in the first cycle — will not cause you or the baby any harm. 

Does miscarriage affect fertility? 

Having a miscarriage can be a really difficult and confusing time. It may leave you with doubts, fears, or a sense of anxiety that you may not have experienced before. You may not be in the headspace of trying for a baby again. However, if you think you might want to get pregnant in the future, then a common worry can be that your experience might harm your chances of having another healthy pregnancy. But it’s important to know that most people get pregnant again after they miscarry.

The odds that you’ll miscarry again after one miscarriage — about 20% — are actually similar to the odds of miscarrying generally, which are about 10% to 20%. “After a first miscarriage, there is no increased risk for subsequent miscarriage,” says Dr. Jenna Flanagan, academic generalist obstetrician and gynecologist, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts, US. So, when it feels hard to stay hopeful about your chances of starting a family, remember that the stats are on your side. 

“Generally speaking, a miscarriage doesn’t inherently change your fertility,” says Dr. Flanagan. “But if an infection occurs during the miscarriage, or if multiple procedures are completed in the setting of miscarriage, this can cause scarring in the uterus that can decrease fertility until the scar tissue is removed (a condition known as Asherman syndrome).” 

Asherman syndrome is more likely if you have had what doctors call a dilation and curettage (D&C) after a miscarriage later in your pregnancy. A D&C is a procedure where your obstetrician and gynecologist uses a small tool to remove tissue from the uterus. If you’ve had a D&C in the past, then this might sound really scary, but try not to panic. Complications from the procedure are rare.  

Importantly, while miscarriage itself doesn’t affect fertility, underlying conditions could impact your chances of having a miscarriage. Dr. Flanagan explains: “If a person has recurrent miscarriages (two or more miscarriages in a row), then this can be a risk factor for infertility, but it is the underlying cause of the early pregnancy loss and not the miscarriage itself that decreases fertility.” 

Some underlying health conditions that can impact fertility include:

• Genetic conditions (in either you or your partner) that raise the risk of chromosomal abnormalities and having a miscarriage 
• Other health conditions like uncontrolled diabetes, thyroid disease, or uterine and cervical problems. If you recognize and have been diagnosed with any of these conditions, then speak to your doctor. They will be able to support you in becoming pregnant and answer any of your questions and worries. 

It can be scary to question your fertility after experiencing pregnancy loss. So please remember that most of the time, a miscarriage is a random event and doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you. 

When do you ovulate after miscarriage? 

Everyone’s bodies and cycles are slightly different, so it can be hard to give definitive answers about how pregnancy loss can impact your cycle. However, some people will ovulate and be able to get pregnant as soon as two weeks after a miscarriage. 

Dr. Flanagan explains that once a fertilized egg has implanted into the lining of your uterus (a process known as implantation), your human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels rise. HCG is a crucial pregnancy hormone that rises throughout your 1st trimester. If you lose a pregnancy, then your hCG levels drop again. This can take a couple of weeks. 

Your elevated hCG levels in pregnancy help to put a pause on ovulation, but they aren’t the only hormone responsible for changes to your cycle during pregnancy. However, Dr. Flanagan says that after miscarriage, “Hormone levels change to allow ovulation to happen. Those hCG levels drop from tens of thousands to approximately below 500. However, the “magic” number that the hCG needs to fall to for ovulation to happen is different for every person and is not predictable.”

So you could ovulate just a couple of weeks after a miscarriage, but everyone is different. “Ovulation can be delayed until three to four weeks after a miscarriage due to the fluctuations in hormones,” says Dr. Flanagan. “If ovulation is delayed, then your next period will be delayed. This means that your first period after a miscarriage can happen after six weeks instead of the normal four weeks between menstrual cycles.”

While it may vary by a week or two from person to person, the menstrual cycle and ovulation can return pretty quickly. But is it safe to get pregnant again immediately after miscarriage? 

Your doctor might recommend that you put a pause on having sex for around two weeks after you’ve lost a pregnancy. This is simply to prevent you from developing an infection in your uterus. The length of time that you may want to wait to get pregnant again can look really different depending on your doctor. Doctors previously advised waiting for three months after an early pregnancy loss to give the body time to recover. The World Health Organization takes an even more cautious approach and recommends waiting for six months. 

However, recent research shows that immediate pregnancy after a miscarriage — even before you’ve had your next period — will not cause you or the baby any harm. 

“Generally speaking, after an uncomplicated miscarriage in the 1st trimester, it is safe to become pregnant,” says Dr. Flanagan. If your miscarriage did have complications or happened in the 2nd trimester, she recommends speaking to your health care provider about the best time to start trying to conceive again. 

For the majority of couples, the question of how soon to start trying again is about when you feel ready. “It’s important to focus on physical and mental health,” says Dr. Flanagan. “Once someone is physically recovered from the miscarriage and emotionally ready to try to conceive, there is no minimal amount of time that is recommended.” 

For you, it might feel important to take time out to grieve your pregnancy. Alternatively, you might feel like trying again right away helps you move through the experience. There are no right or wrong answers — it’s about what feels right for you and your partner. 

How to track ovulation after miscarriage

When you’re trying for a baby, it can be helpful to track when you’re ovulating. This is no different after you’ve experienced a miscarriage. Your fertile window includes the five days before ovulation and one day after, so these are the days to aim for when you’re planning conception sex. Here are some of the most reliable ways to predict when you might ovulate.  

Look for signs of ovulation 

Your body may let you know when you’re most fertile through some of the possible signs of ovulation: 

• Changes to your discharge or cervical mucus, which will become clear and slippery, a bit like raw egg whites 
• Changes to your basal body temperature (BBT, your temperature when you’re completely at rest)
• Changes in the position of your cervix

While not everyone feels the same around the time of ovulation, you might also notice that: 

• Your breasts feel tender.
• You have minor cramping or ovulation pain.
• You feel bloated.
• You have light ovulation bleeding or spotting.
• You have an increased sex drive.
• You’re experiencing mood changes.

Try ovulation-tracking methods 

Looking for changes in the way you look or feel can be tough to do alone. Using one of these other methods alongside this can help you understand your cycle better. The following methods can then help you pinpoint your fertile window. For more information on each one, check out our guide on the best ovulation-tracking methods. 

Ovulation tests

These tests work by detecting a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) (the sudden rise in this hormone triggers your body to release an egg) and are up to 99% effective if you use them correctly. Depending on the type of test that you have, you can either hold the testing strip in the steam of your pee, a bit like how you would in a pregnancy test, or dip the test strip into a cup of your pee. 

Basal body temperature (BBT) tracking

Your basal body temperature is your temperature when your body is completely at rest, and ovulation causes it to rise very slightly. This means that recording your BBT every morning using a specialist thermometer over a period of a few months allows you to see when you tend to ovulate. 

Use an ovulation-tracking app

Trying to do your cycle math can be confusing. An ovulation-tracking app like Flo can predict your fertile window based on your previous cycle lengths. Not only that, but with Flo, you can also log your symptoms, BBT readings, and ovulation test results in the app. 

It can be much easier to have all that information in one place, especially if you’re someone who likes to use a combination of methods to track ovulation. Plus, Flo includes lots of expert medical advice as well as the chance to discuss your trying-to-conceive journey with others via Secret Chats. 

However, something to keep in mind is that many tracking apps use your previous cycle data (like the length of your cycles) to predict when you might ovulate. If you’ve had a miscarriage, this information may be slightly inaccurate for that cycle. You may need to wait, as it can take a few more cycles for your tracker to be reflective again.