A miscarriage is a condition where the pregnancy is spontaneously terminated by the woman's body. In most cases a miscarriage occurs when there is an abnormal chromosome detected in the fetus. This is the natural method for the body to avoid delivering a deformed or abnormally formed child based on the abnormal genetic structure. It is also done out of concern for the safety of the mother because if an abnormal fetus is growing in the uterus, it could cause complications for the mother, seriously affecting her health. There are also other causes for a miscarriage such as vigorous exercise, any impact injury, drug alcohol and tobacco use, and so on.
When a couple loses their baby through a miscarriage, they often wish to try again quickly because of their desire to procreate. For this, the woman's reproductive system needs to reset itself and resume normal functioning. Normal functioning means that the menstrual cycle resumes. This includes all the various components of a healthy menstrual cycle such as ovulation, uterus wall thickening, and the like. The resumption of the normal functioning of a woman's menstrual cycle after a miscarriage is not guaranteed to follow any time frame. This means that predicting an ovulation may be difficult. Another factor which makes it difficult to predict ovulation is the fact that the cycle may be variable for a few months after a miscarriage. This confuses the issue further as conception can be tricky when the period of ovulation is unknown.
Ovulation tests after miscarriage are likely to be inaccurate for the first few weeks. This is because the hormone levels in the woman's body tend to fluctuate quite a lot until the cycle becomes settled again. False positives are possible during this time although a false negative is unlikely because the LH surge has to occur before ovulation takes place. In general the normal functioning of the hormonal system resumes 2 weeks after the miscarriage and ovulation may take place within 4 weeks of a miscarriage. The complications occur due to the hormone hCG which prevents the secretion of ovulation hormones while pregnancy is in progress. When the pregnancy is terminated, the hCG levels take up to 2 weeks to subside, allowing the normal functioning of the reproductive system to resume.
If these guidelines are followed, an ovulation test after miscarriage can be conducted within 3 to 4 weeks and the results will become increasingly more accurate as the weeks after the miscarriage pass.