There is More Than One Way to Miscarry

There is no one way for how a miscarriage should look like.

Did you know that a miscarriage technically occurs before 20 weeks of pregnancy and anything after that is usually considered a stillbirth?

You may assume that when a miscarriage occurs, at least what you may have seen in movies and mainstream media, it is only a painful and bloody experience. However, there are different types and I think it is important to know. The better educated and informed you are, the more you can continue to advocate for yourself and educate others who may be uninformed.

The most common symptoms that can occur with miscarriages are vaginal bleeding, painful cramps and low back pain. But this is not the case for everyone.

Here are some types that you may not have heard about it…

Threatened miscarriage: this occurs when the three symptoms mentioned above occur, but does not mean that a miscarriage is imminent, especially if the bleeding is unexplained

Inevitable miscarriage: again, there is vaginal bleeding and painful cramps, but upon examination, the cervix will dilate indicating that the body is preparing for the pregnancy to end

Complete miscarriage: vaginal bleeding occurs as well as cramping and the entirety of pregnancy tissue is expelled from the body and a ceasing of pain and bleeding soon after.

Incomplete miscarriage: similar to a complete pregnancy, but not all of the pregnancy tissue has been removed and an ultrasound is needed to confirm

Missed miscarriage: this type occurs when the fetus dies very early in the pregnancy although pregnancy symptoms may still continue to be felt due to the placenta continuing to release hormones. Eventually the pregnancy symptoms decrease and the symptoms of miscarriage will occur

Blighted ovum: here a fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall but does not develop into an embryo. Via ultrasound, the gestational sac will be visible but empty

Chemical miscarriage: this typically happens without the person knowing they were even pregnant. Tends to happen around the 4th or 5th week of pregnancy and person assumes is just a delayed period

Ectopic miscarriage: unfortunately the embryo gets implanted in the ovarian or Fallopian tubes. Since the embryo cannot grow in that space, it will eventually cause bleeding and sometimes vomiting. Sometimes the tube can be spared, but it will usually be removed along with the embryo

Molar pregnancy: in this case, the pregnancy tissue has abnormal growth in the uterus and does not form into a fetus. This type does not typically have vaginal bleeding and cramping so it must be surgically removed.

Did you know that there were that many types?

Reference: parenting.firstcry.com