An early pregnancy loss is known as a miscarriage. This represents any pregnancy that ends on its own in the first 20 weeks of gestation. Experts estimate that 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. There are several classifications of miscarriage: Show
Other problems can also result in an early pregnancy loss:
The most common symptoms of miscarriage are bleeding and cramping. But they don’t necessarily mean you’re having a miscarriage. Up to one-third of pregnancies come with some bleeding early on. About half of those result in normal pregnancies. If you have any bleeding or cramping in your first trimester, call your doctor. There are other common signs that indicate you may be having a miscarriage. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor right away:
In some cases, the cause of your pregnancy loss is unknown. Often, it is a random problem with chromosomes that happens at conception. You might be afraid that you did something that caused your miscarriage. But things like working, exercising, having sex, or morning sickness do not cause miscarriage. Any kind of fall or blow is rarely to blame. The research on the effects of alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine is unclear. So, there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. It is not the result of anything you did or didn’t do. You should never blame yourself for a miscarriage.
Your doctor will start by asking you questions about your symptoms and when they started. They will do a physical exam. Your doctor might do an ultrasound. This can reveal if the embryo is still growing, and it can check for a heartbeat. They may also order blood tests. These can measure pregnancy hormone levels. This can give your doctor an idea if you are losing the pregnancy.
There is no conclusive research that says there is anything you can do to prevent a miscarriage. You didn’t cause it, so you couldn’t have prevented it. Risk factorsPatients who are pregnant and who have had a miscarriage are at greater risk of having another one. Your risk also increases as you get older. You are at highest risk when you are age 35 or older. Some medical conditions also increase your risk. These include:
Even if you have one of these conditions, you can’t do anything to avoid having a miscarriage. Many patients who are pregnant and have these health conditions have healthy pregnancies.
There are two main types of treatment for miscarriage: non-surgical and surgical.
Non-surgical In many cases, your body passes all of the pregnancy tissue naturally. This could take a few days up to a few weeks. No treatment is needed. If it is taking a long time, your doctor can give you medicine that can help pass the tissue.
The process of passing the tissue can involve heavy bleeding, cramping pain, diarrhea, and nausea. Your doctor may give you pain medicine to help ease your symptoms. If you are in your first trimester, the tissue will be small. It will look like a blood clot. It will not look like a baby. Your doctor may do an ultrasound or blood tests after you are finished with the miscarriage. This will confirm that the miscarriage is complete, and no tissue remains. Surgical Surgical treatment is usually done if there are complications with your miscarriage. Complications could include:
Common surgical treatments include:
After treatment, your doctor may recommend you not put anything into your vagina for a few weeks. This includes using tampons and having sex. This helps prevent infection. Signs of infection include:
Call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms.
Everyone handles loss differently. Some patients who are pregnant may have trouble coping with the feelings that can go along with miscarriage. If you are very upset or feel like you need help, there are resources available. Talk to your doctor. They may be able to refer you to a local support group. There are also national resources you can access, such as SHARE: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support. It lists local support groups and offers online resources that could help you. Can you miscarry at 8 weeks and not bleed?Can you have a miscarriage without bleeding? Most of the time, bleeding is the first sign of a miscarriage. However, a miscarriage can occur without bleeding, or other symptoms may appear first. Many women prefer the term pregnancy loss to miscarriage.
Is it normal to lose pregnancy symptoms at 8 weeks?It's not uncommon for morning sickness and other early pregnancy symptoms to decline or change as the end of the first trimester approaches. If you're worried that something is wrong, you should reach out to a healthcare professional.
How common is a silent miscarriage at 8 weeks?Missed miscarriage after heartbeat
Following a healthy scan at eight weeks the chance is less than 2%.
Is it normal for pregnancy symptoms to suddenly disappear?If pregnancy symptoms go away, is that a sign of miscarriage? The sudden disappearance of pregnancy symptoms like nausea or cravings can also sometimes be a sign of miscarriage. But this doesn't necessarily mean there is a problem. Some women don't get many pregnancy symptoms anyway.
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