Miscarriages during the first trimester of a pregnancy are relatively common. In fact some miscarriages occur right around the time the woman is expecting her period and she may never know she was ever pregnant. Once a woman is able to hear the babys heartbeat with a Doppler the likelihood of miscarriage drops by 50% and then at 20 weeks the percentage drops by 95%. Miscarriages do happen in about 10-15% of all pregnancies that have been confirmed.
Experts believe that a miscarriage has several known causes. These causes include hormonal imbalances, viruses, genetic factors in the baby, systemic factors in the mother (such as lupus), infections or immunology causes like diabetes.
The signs of miscarriage will depend upon how long youve been pregnant. There are several guidelines you can follow. Once aspect of figuring out if you are having a miscarriage is to be aware of your signs of pregnancy. Many women have reactions to the increased hormone levels in their bodies that results in breast swelling and tenderness, abdominal bloating, urinary frequency, nausea, and dizziness. The absence of any of these symptoms in the beginning may not be a sign of miscarriage but having these symptoms that suddenly disappear can signal a miscarriage.
A threatened miscarriage can happen when a woman may have one or two signs of a miscarriage, such as spotting and cramping, but then carries the baby to term.
If you are 6 weeks pregnant the signs of an early miscarriage are often bleeding that looks like a heavy period. If you are at home you should try to save anything that is excreted that looks like tissue that can be red or gray in color. Place it in a jar and into the refrigerator for your doctor.
Signs of a miscarriage later in the first trimester, between 6 and 12 weeks will also include pain and cramping as well as bleeding. After 12 weeks you will likely have bleeding and pain that almost feels like you are going through labor.
Signs of a miscarriage that occur, cramping and bleeding or spotting, can result in a complete or incomplete miscarriage. In a complete miscarriage the doctor believes that all of the tissue has been expelled from the womans body. Miscarriages during the first trimester are more likely to be complete while miscarriages during the second trimester are more likely to be incomplete where tissue remains in the womans body and a D & C is necessary to prevent infection.
If you believe you may have had or are having a miscarriage you should contact your practitioner immediately. They will be able to confirm or deny the miscarriage using ultrasound.
In some cases when a woman is threatening a miscarriage the physician may be able to determine it is from an abnormally low hormone level and with correction and bed rest the pregnancy may end in the delivery of a healthy baby. Although there is no cure for a miscarriage the chances of a full term baby being delivered increase if you contact your practitioner when symptoms of miscarriage first begin so there is time to prescribe any treatment that may be possible.
