For many Asians, it's inauspicious to announce the news of a pregnancy before the end of the first trimester. There might be something in this: studies reveal that between 10 and 25 per cent of all pregnancies end in miscarriages during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.
Sandra Ng had a miscarriage in the fifth week of her second pregnancy. "It was extremely traumatic for me, more emotionally than physically. I still wonder, had I not told everyone prematurely, could it have been averted," she says. "I know it was still embryonic, but to me it was still my baby."
Ng's miscarriage had less to do with superstition than science. Sporadic miscarriages occur in 15 per cent of pregnancies due to a chromosomal abnormality that prevents normal development.
A small group of women have recurrent losses. "There are a number of reasons why women have multiple miscarriages," says Dr Sangeeta Senapati, who is an obstetrician gynaecologist with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago.
"Anatomical issues like uterine malformations or a weak cervix can cause repeated losses, says Senapati. "Chromosomal or immunological disorders, a propensity for blood clots (thrombophilia), chronic hormonal variations, and prolonged exposure to toxins such as drugs, alcohol and smoking can all cause repeated losses."
Age is another factor. With women marrying and conceiving later in life, the chromosome abnormality rates of the egg and hence the baby increase, making it more difficult to conceive and carry to full term. By the age of 40, 60 per cent of the eggs are chromosomally abnormal. It increases by about 10 per cent each year.