Am I having a miscarriage?
What is miscarriage?
Miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy at any time in the first 20 weeks of the pregnancy.81 There are many terms used for the loss of a baby during pregnancy, and many are related to the length of time you were pregnant.
- Pregnancy loss at or before 5 weeks may be called a Chemical Pregnancy
- Early Pregnancy Loss refers to pregnancies that end before 12 weeks.
- A miscarriage in the second trimester (weeks 13-23) may be called a late miscarriage.
- Spontaneous abortion is a medical term for miscarriage at any stage.
- Pregnancy loss after 23 weeks is called stillbirth, or a stillborn baby.
What are the symptoms of miscarriage?
- Bleeding that progresses from light to heavy. 81
- Cramps and abdominal pain, usually a bit worse than menstrual cramps.
- Low back ache.
- A decrease in pregnancy symptoms.
- Call your doctor or midwife if you develop these symptoms.
What is the treatment for miscarriage?
Treatment for miscarriage may include medications, surgery, or just waiting for your body to return to normal on its own.
- Your provider may prescribe medication to help your uterus expel any remaining pregnancy tissue.
- If you are past 10 weeks of the pregnancy, or have heavy or extended bleeding, your provider may recommend surgery to remove the remaining pregnancy tissues.
- If you prefer to have surgery to complete the miscarriage in a timely manner, let your provider know that you prefer immediate treatment.
- The Cleveland Clinic does a nice job explaining the options.
What causes miscarriage? Is it my fault?
About half of early miscarriages happen when the embryo does not develop properly.82 This is usually related to chromosomal problems.81 ACOG provides this reassuring list of things that do NOT cause miscarriage:
- In almost every case, miscarriage is not a woman’s fault.
- This is important to understand. Miscarriage usually is a random event.
- Working, exercising, stress, arguments, having sex, or having used birth control pills before getting pregnant DO NOT cause miscarriage.
- Few medications can cause miscarriage.
- Morning sickness—the nausea and vomiting that is common in early pregnancy—also does not cause miscarriage.
- Some women who have had a miscarriage believe that it was caused by a recent fall, blow, fright, or stress. In most cases, this is not true. It may simply be that these things happened to occur around the same time and are fresh in the memory.82
Grief Resources
The loss of your baby is hard. Even if you weren’t too sure about being pregnant, you will likely feel a sense of loss. Everyone deals with grief differently. The American Pregnancy Association describes emotions after miscarriage as a roller coaster.
- Read the full APA article After a Miscarriage: surviving emotionally
- Try a support group in person or online. https://chasingtherainbows.org/peer-support-groups/
- Your church or pastor may offer grief support.
- CPC provides postpartum doula services, which includes support after miscarriage.
Call today to speak with our Postpartum Doula.