Early Miscarriage: What Should One Know to Protect Yourself?

The desired pregnancy is joy and the meaning of life. But not all pregnancies end in a positive way. In some situations, it happens that the body rejects a new life. Usually, it happens in the first weeks of pregnancy. This is called an early miscarriage.

If you look at the statistics, a miscarriage occurs in about 20% of women, some of them even do not suspect that they are pregnant. From a medical point of view, miscarriage is a natural termination of pregnancy, which occurs no later than 22 weeks.

Early Miscarriage

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Whether the pregnancy was a long-awaited event or came unexpectedly, the absolute majority of women refer to this state as something divine and fateful. The trick of nature is that the birth of a new life in a woman’s body occurs when she does not yet know her situation and continues to lead a habitual way of life.

But it is these first days, weeks, and months that play a key role in the formation of the fetus and its further development. And the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is the period of the highest probability of such a serious event as an early miscarriage.

Such a condition in gynecology is called an early miscarriage. According to medical statistics, every fifth woman experiences at least one early miscarriage in life. But, still, many women do not even realize it. This is due to the fact that miscarriage in the early stages is very similar to profuse menstruation, which usually comes with a delay of several days. In this case, among the usual bloody discharge, a woman can detect something similar to a transparent or white bubble.

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A healthy female body most often copes with miscarriage at an early stage on its own, without medical assistance and medical manipulations. If there is a risk that the fetal particles remain in the uterus, the gynecologist will perform surgical procedures (cleaning) to exclude the development of the pathological process.

Probability of Early Miscarriage in Weeks

There are critical periods during gestation when pregnancy is under threat. The most vulnerable are the first trimester because the fetus just started developing:

  • 2-3 weeks. During this period, implantation of the fetus to the uterus takes place. That’s why it is advised to check health before conception, and if a fibroid, a scar or a trauma on the mucosa is revealed, they must be treated. Otherwise, the bearing will be threatened. Spontaneous miscarriage occurs if the fetal egg is not attached. In this case, the woman does not even know that she is pregnant, because she will think that menstruation has begun.
  • 4-6 weeks. At this time, the fetus is most vulnerable, because all the organs of the baby are formed.
  • 8-12 weeks. The development of the fetus affects the placenta, and it is possible that during this period there may be some anomalies. Miscarriage at this time may also occur due to progesterone insufficiency.

How Does the Miscarriage Occur?

As already mentioned above, many women do not even assume that they are pregnant, and they are completely unaware of anything. Expecting the onset of menstruation, a woman simply notices that she has a delay. After that, menstruation begins but is more abundant and painful.

In some cases, miscarriage is characterized only by the pain in the lower abdomen, as well as by excessive bleeding, but the woman does not consult a specialist if it quickly ends.

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If after the delay, menstruation begins, then it is very painful, and one day a blood clot comes out. In this case, you can definitely say that there was a miscarriage. If you look at the clot – it will look like a bursting bubble. This phenomenon frightens many women. After its release, you need to get a consultation from a gynecologist, because, perhaps, you will need cleaning.

Possible Causes of Early Miscarriage

Sometimes a woman faces this problem several times in a row (two or more). Doctors call this a recurrent miscarriage. The main causes include the following factors:

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  • Unfavorable conditions: problems at work, radiation, exposure to toxins, psycho-emotional background, etc.
  • Harmful habits: smoking, drinking alcohol, consuming large quantities of coffee, improper diet or unbalanced diet.
  • The age of a woman is also important.
  • Stressful situations are a serious threat to the baby. A woman should protect herself from all problems, without taking sedatives. It is better to consult a doctor and try to avoid stress.
  • Do not overexert yourself. Do not lift bags that weigh more than 5 kg. Sport exercise should also be performed with caution.

Medical Causes or Health Problems

  • Miscarriage is often provoked by genetic disorders or abnormalities in the fetus. A future mother may suffer from a hereditary form of pathology that leads to the death of the fetus. This is affected by viruses, adverse environmental conditions and many more.
  • Because of hormonal disorders, bleeding can also begin, and as a result, miscarriage. If the problem is detected on time, it can be fixed.
  • Any pathology from the immune system may lead to the termination of pregnancy. The most common symptom is Rh-conflict. If there is a threat, doctors prescribe immunomodulators.
  • Inflammatory diseases can also cause miscarriages, for example, such as rubella, influenza, tonsillitis with complications, etc.
  • During pregnancy, you can hardly take any drugs and even herbs. Never engage in self-medication, the consequences can be deplorable.

Symptoms of Early Miscarriage

Often spontaneous miscarriage in the early stages of pregnancy can be avoided if you seek medical help on time, but a pregnant woman needs to know the main signs of the development of pregnancy pathology and immediately consult an obstetrician-gynecologist.

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The main symptoms of early miscarriage include:

Bleeding

This includes the occurrence of signs of uterine bleeding (from minimal bloody discharge or drops of blood on the underwear).

At the beginning of the miscarriage, the bloody discharge is brownish. As the bleeding increases, the discharge becomes of bright scarlet color.

The severity of bleeding also increases over time without the timely provision of medical care and can be varied from a few drops to high-intensity bleeding. The bleeding can last for a long time, weakening the pregnant woman and contributing to the development of complications due to large blood loss. It may lead to a state of shock or DIC syndrome (intravascular coagulation of blood with the formation of multiple thrombi in many organs and systems). Therefore, in the event of uterine bleeding seek medical help immediately.

Pain Syndrome

Quite often, miscarriage is accompanied by severe pain in the abdomen. At the same time, there are also low-symptom (with migrating pain in the abdomen of low intensity) or asymptomatic forms of spontaneous miscarriages, especially at early pregnancy (2-3 weeks).

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Still, most often the pain syndrome with early miscarriage appears and disappears. As the intensity of bleeding increases, the pain also intensifies. Therefore, any pain syndrome in the back or in the lower abdomen during pregnancy cannot be ignored. This may be a sign of a threat of an early miscarriage or a signal of the onset of a miscarriage.

If any kind of pain and intensity occurs, especially when combined with vaginal discharge, you should immediately consult your doctor for a diagnosis. The timely prescription of adequate treatment may save your pregnancy.

The Main Stages of Miscarriage

  • The risk of spontaneous abortion – this can happen at any time, which is why very often women have to stay in hospital often. It is characterized by pain in the abdomen and back, as well as bleeding.
  • The second stage is the most serious – a miscarriage that has begun. At this time the fetal egg exfoliates from the walls of the uterus. Doctors believe that at this stage it is possible to save pregnancy by surgical intervention.
  • If the miscarriage is already happening then the fetus cannot be saved. The fetal egg immediately dies, and the cervix is ​​open – this is called incomplete miscarriage. Such a condition requires cleaning.
  • Spontaneous abortion is the last stage, and nothing can be done. Uterus involution causes miscarriage.

Treatment

In order to avoid any consequences, it is very important to follow the requirements of the doctor:

  • Carefully monitor the discharge from the genital tract, in case of changes, urgently go to a consultation
  • Measure body temperature: if it grows, it can mean that there is inflammation in the body
  • Wash sexual organs with solutions of antiseptics twice a day.
  • To establish a hormonal background, a specialist can prescribe special medications. Birth control pills are used for the prevention of repeated pregnancy. Also, doctors can appoint different anti-inflammatory drugs.