Chemical Pregnancy?

A Chemical Pregnancy is a very early miscarriage. It is a pregnancy loss that occurs before or around five weeks. ⁷⁴  

• Chemical pregnancy, miscarriage and spontaneous abortion are all terms that may be used to describe a very early pregnancy loss.
• If you don’t like the term chemical pregnancy, you may use whichever term you prefer. ⁷⁴

Is a Chemical Pregnancy a real pregnancy?

Yes.⁷³  this kind of pregnancy begins as usual with conception and implantation of the embryo in the uterus.

• Your body begins to produce hCG which gives you a positive pregnancy test.
• At some point, shortly after implantation, the embryo stops growing.
• It is unclear why the embryo stops developing.
• When the embryo stops developing, your body stops producing hCG, giving you a negative result on the next pregnancy test.
• In the next few days or weeks, you will have your period. It may be heavier than usual.

What are the symptoms of a chemical pregnancy?

You may have some of the following symptoms: ⁷³

• You have a positive pregnancy test, and then a few days later you get a negative test.
• You have a positive pregnancy test, and then get your period.
• Your period comes about a week later than expected, and may by heavier than usual.
• You have a positive pregnancy test, but don’t notice the usual signs of early pregnancy.

 How common are chemical pregnancies?

Chemical pregnancies are very common. ⁷³ According to the Cleveland Clinic:

• about 25% of all pregnancies end in the first 20 weeks.
• about 80% of those miscarriages happen early.
• Many people miscarry early without ever receiving a diagnosis or knowing they’re pregnant. The true rate of chemical pregnancy is hard to verify.

Why am I sad if it was just a chemical pregnancy?  You are sad because you just lost your baby.  Many people refer to it as a chemical pregnancy rather than a miscarriage or pregnancy loss, because they are trying to protect you or themselves from dealing with feelings of loss.  Web MD provides these tips for coping with a miscarriage or chemical pregnancy: ⁷²

• Realize your feelings are normal after a chemical pregnancy
• Allow yourself to grieve at your own pace
• Realize each person’s grieving process is different and allow yourself to grieve in your own way
• Consider joining a support group
• Consider speaking with a therapist
• Communicate openly with your partner about how you are feeling
• Realize that it is normal to feel fear around getting pregnant again
• It’s normal for emotional healing to take longer than physical healing

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