What color is miscarriage bleeding
What Does a Miscarriage Look Like? Bleeding, Duration, and More
A miscarriage is a spontaneous pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of gestation. Some 8 to 20 percent known pregnancies end in miscarriage, with the majority happening before the 12th week.
The signs and symptoms of miscarriage vary from person to person. Symptoms may also vary depending on how far along you are. For example, a fetus at 14 weeks will be much larger than a fetus at 5 weeks of gestation, so there may be more bleeding and tissue loss with a later miscarriage.
Miscarriage symptoms may include:
- spotting or bleeding from the vagina
- abdominal cramping or pain in the lower back
- passage of tissue, fluid, or other products from the vagina
Read on to learn more about identifying a miscarriage and what to do if you suspect you’re experiencing one.
Bleeding may start as light spotting, or it could be heavier and appear as a gush of blood. As the cervix dilates to empty, the bleeding becomes heavier.
The heaviest bleeding is generally over within three to five hours from the time heavy bleeding begins. Lighter bleeding may stop and start over one to two weeks before it completely ends.
The color of the blood can range from pink to red to brown. Red blood is fresh blood that leaves the body quickly. Brown blood, on the other hand, is blood that’s been in the uterus a while. You may see discharge the color of coffee grounds, or near black, during a miscarriage.
Exactly how much bleeding you’ll experience depends on a variety of circumstances, including how far along you are and whether or not your miscarriage is progressing naturally.
While you may see a lot of blood, let your doctor know if you fill more than two sanitary pads an hour for two or more hours in a row.
What does a missed miscarriage look like?
You may not experience bleeding or other symptoms with a miscarriage, at least at first.
A missed miscarriage, also referred to as a missed abortion, happens when the fetus has died but the products of conception remain in the uterus. This type of miscarriage is usually diagnosed via ultrasound.
Just as with the amount of blood you’ll see, the duration of a miscarriage will vary from person to person and even from pregnancy to pregnancy.
In many cases, a miscarriage will take around two weeks to pass naturally. Your doctor may prescribe the medication misoprostol (Cytotec) to help a miscarriage pass more quickly. Bleeding may start within two days of beginning the medication. For others, it may take up to two weeks.
Once the miscarriage has started, the tissue and heaviest bleeding should be passed in about three to five hours. After the fetus has passed, you may still experience spotting and mild tissue loss for one to two weeks.
It may be difficult to tell a very early miscarriage from a late period. In fact, many miscarriages happen before a person even knows they’re pregnant.
In general, a miscarriage will cause more intense symptoms than a menstrual period. For example:
- Your menstrual flow may be relatively similar from month to month with heavy days and light days. A miscarriage can also have heavy and light days, but bleeding may be especially heavy at times and last longer than you’re used to.
- Bleeding from a miscarriage may also contain large clots and tissue you don’t normally see during your period.
- Cramps can be a part of your normal monthly cycle, but with a miscarriage, they may be particularly painful as the cervix dilates.
- The color of blood during your period can range from pink to red to brown. If you see a color you’re not used to seeing, it may be a sign of miscarriage.
Always contact your doctor if you’re pregnant and experience bleeding. While a miscarriage can’t be stopped once it starts, you doctor can run tests to help determine if you’re experiencing the loss of your pregnancy or something else.
To diagnose a miscarriage, your doctor will likely perform an ultrasound to look for the baby’s heartbeat, if you’re far enough along to see a heartbeat. Your doctor may also order a blood test to check human chorionic gonadotropin (hcG) levels to see if they’re rising or falling.
If a miscarriage is confirmed, your doctor may suggest “expectant management” or waiting for the miscarriage to pass naturally. This generally happens within two weeks.
Incomplete miscarriage
The miscarriage may be incomplete if:
- your bleeding is particularly heavy
- you have a fever
- an ultrasound reveals there’s still tissue in your uterus
If this is the case, your doctor may suggest a dilation and curettage (D and C), which is a surgical procedure done to remove remaining tissue. The procedure is done under general or regional anesthesia, and is considered safe. D and C doesn’t usually lead to long-term complications.
Threatened miscarriage
It’s important to report any bleeding or pain you experience in your pregnancy to your doctor. In some cases, you may have what’s called a threatened miscarriage, and there may be certain treatments that can help. These include:
- hormone supplements if the bleeding is caused by low progesterone
- a cerclage (stitch in the cervix) if the issue is with the cervix opening prematurely
Speak with your healthcare provider if you’re looking to get pregnant again after a miscarriage. While it may be safe to start trying after your first normal period, you may want to schedule a checkup depending on the cause or the number of miscarriages you’ve had.
The reason for loss isn’t always known, but around half of miscarriages are caused by issues with the baby’s chromosomes.
Other possible causes include:
- uterine issues
- hormonal imbalances
- other health conditions, such as diabetes, autoimmune disorders, or polycystic ovary syndrome
After a miscarriage, you may have hcG in your blood for one to two months, which could lead to a false positive pregnancy test. In most cases, your period will return within four to six weeks, though you may start ovulating almost immediately following a miscarriage.
Speak with your doctor about birth control options if you don’t wish to become pregnant after a miscarriage.
Will I miscarry again?
Having one miscarriage doesn’t necessarily increases your chances of having another. The risk remains around 20 percent.
Two or more miscarriages is referred to as recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). The risk of miscarriage after two losses is 28 percent. After three consecutive losses, it increases to 43 percent.
Only 1 percent of people experience three or more miscarriages. About 65 percent of those with unexplained RPL go on to have successful pregnancies.
Activities like exercise, work, morning sickness, and sex don’t cause miscarriages. Even things like smoking or drinking alcohol or caffeine, which can lead to other complications, are also unlikely to lead to early pregnancy loss.
A miscarriage can be physically painful, and it may also cause a variety of emotions. While your body may recover in a few weeks, be sure to take time to process your feelings, grieve, and reach out for help when you need it.
Signs of Early Miscarriage | Obstetrics & Gynecology
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Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
News | Careers | Giving | UC Davis Health
- UC Davis Health
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Miscarriage Management
- Signs of Early Miscarriage
Early miscarriage refers to loss of a pregnancy in the first trimester. The majority of early miscarriages occur before the pregnancy is 10 weeks gestation. Some miscarriages happen very early, even before a woman is sure she is pregnant. Still, miscarriage can be a hard and sad experience, no matter when it occurs.
Miscarriage is more common than many people realize. About 10 to 20% of women who learn they are pregnant will have an early miscarriage. The rates of early miscarriage are even higher when women are checking home pregnancy tests very close to the time of their period and are finding a positive test VERY early. By chance alone, 1% to 4% of women will have two miscarriages in a row. However, it is very rare to have 3 or more miscarriages in a row, which is recurrent miscarriage.
In medical terms, early miscarriage is called an early pregnancy failure. This means that the pregnancy failed to develop. Almost all early miscarriages are due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, and were destined to happen before the woman even knows she is pregnant.
What are the symptoms of early miscarriage?
- Bleeding – light bleeding early in pregnancy is fairly common, and does not mean you will have a miscarriage.
- Brown discharge: This may look like coffee grounds. This “discharge” is actually old blood that has been in the uterus for a while and is just coming out slowly.
- Spotting, bright red bleeding or clots
- Passage of tissue through the vagina
- A gush of clear or pink vaginal fluid
- Abdominal pain or cramping
- Pregnancy symptoms, such as breast tenderness and nausea, begin to go away
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, or feeling faint
If you have any symptoms of a miscarriage, you should contact a doctor right away to have an evaluation. It will be important to have an ultrasound exam to look into the uterus to see if the pregnancy is normal or you are having a miscarriage. Even if you think you passed the entire pregnancy and are feeling better, you should see a doctor. Sometimes, passing tissue occurs with an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside of the uterus) which can be life-threatening if not diagnosed early.
Types of early miscarriage
Early miscarriage is a non-medical term for lots of different types of events that might or might not actually result in pregnancy loss. The types of miscarriage include the following:
Spotting or bleeding in the first trimester in which the patient and the doctor are not yet sure if the pregnancy will miscarry or not. About 1/3 of all women will bleed in the first trimester, but only about half of those women will have a miscarriage.
The entire pregnancy is passed from the uterus, most commonly with bleeding and cramping, and no additional treatment or observation is needed.
The pregnancy is definitely miscarrying, but only some of the pregnancy tissue has passed. The tissue that is still in the uterus will eventually pass on its own. Some women may need emergency treatment if there is also heavy vaginal bleeding. Otherwise, women can use medicines to cause the rest of the tissue to pass or simply wait for the rest of the tissue to pass from the uterus.
With this type of miscarriage, the pregnancy implanted but the embryonic tissue (the part of the pregnancy that will develop into a fetus) never developed, or started to develop and then stopped.
With this type of miscarriage, the early embryo (or fetus once 10 weeks pregnant) stops developing and growing.
This is an uncommon type of miscarriage today. With a missed abortion, the pregnancy stops developing but the pregnancy tissue does not pass out of the uterus for at least 4 weeks. Sometimes, dark brown spotting or bleeding occurs, but there is no heavy bleeding.
Some miscarriages occur with an infection in the uterus. This is a serious condition that requires urgent treatment to prevent shock and death. With septic miscarriage, the patient usually develops fever and abdominal pain and may have bleeding and discharge with a foul odor. Antibiotics and suction evacuation of the uterus are important to start as quickly as possible.
What causes early miscarriage?
Almost nothing you can do will cause an early miscarriage. Avoiding sex or heavy work will not impact an early pregnancy. There are a lot of changes that need to occur with the cells and genes in a developing pregnancy, and sometimes those changes do not happen perfectly. There are some health conditions or habits that can increase the chance that an early miscarriage will occur, including:
- Heavy smoking
- Use of illicit drugs, especially cocaine
- Poorly controlled diabetes
- Hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism
- Physical problems with the uterus, including fibroids or abnormalities of development of the uterus
Why see our specialists at UC Davis Health?
Our specialists can evaluate you quickly in an office setting. Any laboratory testing or ultrasound examinations that need to be done can be performed easily and conveniently. We perform our own ultrasound examination in the office and can share the results with you immediately.
If we do confirm you have a miscarriage, we can discuss expectant management or treatment options with you immediately. Should you need blood testing to evaluate the pregnancy, the laboratory is in the same building as our office.
If you are having very heavy vaginal bleeding or are feeling very sick, you should go to the Emergency Room to see our physicians.
Treatment of early miscarriage
Not all miscarriages “need” treatment. The choice of whether to wait for the pregnancy to completely pass without any treatment is up to you. Our doctors are committed to providing options for all patients, including the pros and cons of all available options when miscarriage is diagnosed. All patients with Rh-negative blood, regardless of which option they choose, need treatment with Rh-immune globulin, an injection that prevents a woman from forming substances in her blood that may attack the baby during a future pregnancy.
When a diagnosis of miscarriage is made, options include:
This means that you will not receive any treatment; just continued follow-up. In an early miscarriage, with time, most women will pass the pregnancy completely. The main issue is time – there is no way to predict exactly when this will occur. You will typically have heavy bleeding and severe abdominal cramping when the pregnancy does pass. Should you want this option, our doctors can review exactly what to expect, how much bleeding is too much bleeding, and what pain medications can be used once the pregnancy begins to pass from the uterus.
This treatment uses medicines to cause the pregnancy tissue to pass from the uterus. The medicines cause cramping and bleeding, just like what will occur with natural passing of the pregnancy tissue. Using the medicines is like expectant management, except that you know when the pregnancy is going to pass. Most women will pass the pregnancy within 24 hours of taking the medication. Similar to expectant management, our doctors can review exactly what to expect, how much bleeding is too much bleeding, and what pain medications to use during treatment. If the pregnancy does not pass, you can repeat the medical treatment, have a suction aspiration, or continue to wait.
- This brief procedure can be done in the office or the operating room. The following steps occur regardless of the location:
- The woman is in the same position as during a regular pelvic exam, like when a Pap test is done.
- A speculum is placed in the vagina
- A cleansing antibacterial solution is applied to the cervix and vagina
- Numbing medicine is applied to the cervix to decrease cramping
- The cervix is dilated (opened) with thin rods; with early miscarriage, the cervix does not need to be opened much to complete the procedure
- A thin straw-like tube is placed through the open cervixThe pregnancy is removed using a mechanical suction pump attached to the tube
- Everything is removed from the vagina when the procedure is done
You may choose to have the procedure in the office or operating room based on your preferences – different women have different needs.
Office procedure:
- A spouse, partner, friend or relative can be in the room with you
- If desired, oral medications can be taken before the procedure to help you feel more relaxed
- You can eat or drink anything you want before the procedure
- The suction used in the office is most commonly a syringe that creates the suction so no noisy machine is used
- You will usually goes home 15-30 minutes after the procedure and can resume relatively normal activities
- Operating room procedure
- The procedure is done in an outpatient operating suite or in the main hospital
- You will be asleep during the procedure
- You cannot eat or drink anything after midnight on the night before the procedure because you will be receiving anesthesia
- You will feel sleepy for the whole day after the procedure and will need someone to be able to drive you home and be with you for the whole day after the procedure
- The operating room is more appropriate for women with certain medical conditions
After treatment for a miscarriage
Bleeding may continue for several weeks after a miscarriage but tends to be much lighter with a suction aspiration. Any bleeding may change in color from bright red to pink or brown. Lower abdominal cramping in the few days after treatment is also common. You should contact a doctor right away if the bleeding gets heavier after the miscarriage instead of lighter, if a fever develops, or if vaginal discharge or a strange or unpleasant vaginal odor occurs. Avoid intercourse, douching, or using tampons for one week. Regular activities can be resumed right away, based on how you feel. Importantly, if you want to delay getting pregnant after the miscarriage, it will be very important to start an effective method of contraception.
Frequently asked questions about miscarriage
Having one miscarriage does not increase your chances of having another. If you have had only one prior miscarriage, the rate of miscarriage in the next pregnancy is similar to the overall rate in the general population.
No. Working, exercise and sexual activity do not increase the risk of miscarriage.
Patients were told years ago to wait one or two menstrual cycles to wait to get pregnant. We know that it is highly unlikely that any problems occur with a next pregnancy if you get pregnant right away. How soon you decide to try again will depend on whether you want to be pregnant right away and if you feel you need time to recover emotionally from the miscarriage. Ovulation can resume as early as two weeks after a miscarriage, so if you do not want to get pregnant right away, you need effective contraception immediately.
Since most early miscarriages are caused by problems specific to that fertilized egg, and miscarriage overall is relatively common, most experts do not recommend special testing until you have had three early miscarriages (or two miscarriages in women 40 years and older). At that point it is termed "recurrent" miscarriage and further testing may be needed. Studies have shown that even after a woman has experienced three consecutive miscarriages, her chance of the next pregnancy being normal is still about 70%. All women who have a pregnancy loss later in pregnancy should have further testing.
Tips to help support parents after pregnancy loss
UC Davis Health social worker Brenna Rizan, who works within the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology provides supportive tips and advice for grieving parents, family and friends after pregnancy loss.
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Miscarriages are more common than people think - KCRA (Interview with Brenna Rizan)
Facebook Live: Discussing miscarriages with Dr. Mitch Creinin
UC Davis Early Pregnancy and Miscarriage Center
Miscarriage. What to do after a miscarriage?
When a woman finds out about her pregnancy, she changes her rhythm of life, especially if the pregnancy is desired. However, depending on many circumstances, miscarriage , that is, a natural termination of pregnancy, may occur. Statistics say that up to 20 percent of pregnancies end in pathological abortions. Often a woman may not know that she was pregnant, as a miscarriage sometimes occurs at a very early stage and seems to be just a normal delay in menstruation followed by heavy discharge.
If a woman finds out that she is pregnant and wants to become a mother, she should be very attentive to her condition. The threat of miscarriage often occurs in the early stages of pregnancy and therefore it is necessary to know what symptoms and signs precede a sudden miscarriage.
Signs
The main sign of a suspected miscarriage is bleeding from the uterus. They happen not abundant, pale scarlet or gray-brown. The discharge most often gradually increases and is characterized by sudden spasms or pulling pains in the lower abdomen. These symptoms may last for some time.
The pains are often so mild that the woman simply does not pay attention to them. They are able to be interrupted, and the woman simply forgets about them, especially if the discharge also stopped, and before that they were insignificant. Meanwhile, the very first symptoms should alert you and you should urgently go to the gynecologist for examination and consultation. Even if the process has stopped, after a few days you can feel a sharp deterioration in health, and then you can no longer save the life of the unborn child. Be sure to pay attention to what exactly comes out with the discharge, if there are tissue fragments, it means that miscarriage has already occurred. Therefore, one should not hesitate to go to the doctor, the fetus may come out, in whole or in parts, there may be white particles or a round gray bubble. When the body is completely cleansed, the pain will subside, but before that it may continue for some time.
Terms of miscarriages
A miscarriage is classified as early if it occurred before twelve weeks from the onset of pregnancy. Starting from the 22nd week, if a spontaneous miscarriage has occurred, it is considered late. If the termination of pregnancy occurred before thirty-seven weeks, then this is already called premature birth. All subsequent fetal rejections are called term births and are generally considered normal, since during this period, mostly able-to-survive children are born. In modern medicine, children born after 22 weeks are nursed and subsequently do not differ from those born at term with normal weight.
Types of miscarriages
Specialists have identified several types of miscarriages.
- Complete or inevitable - characterized by pain in the lower back and dilatation of the cervix, hemorrhages from it. The fetal membrane necessarily bursts, and the pregnancy is terminated. The fetus comes out of the uterus, and all discomfort in the form of pain and bleeding stops.
- Miscarriage is different in that the fetus died, but remained in the mother's body. This can be detected by a doctor when examining a woman and when listening to the fetal heartbeat.
- Repeated miscarriage is rare, it occurs only some time after the first and can occur up to three times in a row in the early stages.
Causes of spontaneous abortion
The vast majority of women, having learned about their pregnancy, want to give birth to a healthy baby. And if there is a spontaneous miscarriage , then for a failed mother this is a real tragedy. Many, having experienced an abortion, try to conceive a child faster again, but first you need to know the reasons for what happened in order to save the fetus in the future. According to statistics, the largest number of miscarriages occurs precisely in the early stages.
There are several reasons for this:
- Violations in genetics.
This is the most common cause of miscarriage. This is not due to heredity, it is a consequence of the mutation of parent germ cells, which accidentally ended up in unfavorable conditions. This is also the influence of radiation, poisoning, viruses, that is, temporary situations that affected the quality of germ cells. The body thus gets rid of a weak non-viable fetus. It is impossible and unnecessary to prevent such spontaneous abortion. It is only necessary, having decided to become pregnant, to try to cleanse your body of possible harmful influences.
- Hormonal disorders
The cause of a miscarriage at a very early stage is also a lack of the hormone progesterone, or the fact that a woman has an excess of male sex hormones that suppress the production of estrogen and progesterone in her body. In this case, the fetus can be saved medically by administering the necessary medicines to the woman. The work of the adrenal glands, as well as the thyroid gland, affects the production of hormones, so a lot depends on the work of these glands throughout the pregnancy process.
- Immunological causes .
In this case, the vitality of the fetus is directly affected by the Rh conflict. The embryo will inherit the positive Rh of the man, and if the partner has a negative Rh, then her body simply rejects cells that are foreign to him. A similar situation can be prevented by injecting the expectant mother with a variety of progesterone, a process called immunomodulation.
Sexually transmitted infections such as toxoplasmosis, syphilis, trichomoniasis, chlamydia and others are of great danger. External infection: bacteria and viruses infect the fetal membranes, and the body will inevitably reject the embryo. Therefore, before becoming pregnant, you should be examined to know for sure that there are no infections, and if the result is positive, undergo treatment.
In addition, all inflammatory processes, various diseases of the internal organs, which are accompanied by a persistent high temperature, can also lead to unexpected rejection of the fetus. Rubella is especially dangerous, and viral hepatitis is common. But even a sore throat, mild pneumonia, appendicitis sometimes play a key role and lead to a miscarriage, so the expectant mother must undergo a thorough examination even before the child is conceived, and then beware of all kinds of infections and weakening of the body.
- Medical abortion.
If a woman had an abortion in a hospital and then became pregnant and decided to give birth, there is a danger that she will have a miscarriage. Abortion is a stress factor for the body, ovarian dysfunction is often observed, inflammatory processes in the female genital organs can begin, and all this will lead, at best, to miscarriage and subsequent repeated miscarriages, and at worst, to infertility. Therefore, you need to think very seriously before going for an abortion.
- Medicines and certain herbs.
It is advisable for a pregnant woman not to take any medication at all, especially during the first three calendar months. Medicines and herbs can cause various defects in the fetus, which in turn will lead to its rejection. Analgesics and uncontrolled hormonal contraceptives are especially dangerous. Parsley and nettle should be eaten with caution - they cause a high tone of the uterus, which in turn can reject the fetus.
- Stress.
It is no coincidence that in ancient times, pregnant women were protected from unrest, they were created comfortable conditions, and they tried to give as many positive emotions as possible. Now the direct dependence of the health of the unborn baby on the mental state during pregnancy has already been proven. Any stress, fear and overstrain can cause an unexpected termination of pregnancy. If you have a problem (death of a loved one, divorce, etc.), you need to find sedatives with the help of a doctor, they will help you cope with this period.
- Unhealthy lifestyle.
Of course, the intake of alcoholic beverages, an unhealthy lifestyle, smoking, even coffee consumption in large quantities, improper diet - all this can lead to a transient miscarriage. Therefore, the expectant mother should prioritize and change her rhythm of life in advance in order to give birth to a healthy child.
- Sexual intercourse, falling, heavy lifting.
All of these factors can affect the fetus, so you should protect yourself and your baby by avoiding these activities.
What to do after a miscarriage?
Having experienced the tragedy of losing a child, parents often intend to immediately conceive a new baby, but they are afraid that everything will happen again. In this case, you do not need to make independent decisions, but consult a doctor. And first of all, it is necessary to identify the cause that led to the miscarriage. For this, the expectant mother needs to undergo as thorough an examination as possible.
If no obvious cause is found, the fetus most likely has a chromosomal abnormality. In this case, you should not worry, since the next conception will occur with a different set of chromosomes, which means that there will be no repeated miscarriage. If the miscarriage was repeated, it is necessary to contact a geneticist and conduct a study of the set of chromosomes of both parents. If it turns out that the cause was an infection, then it is necessary to fully recover. If we are talking about sexual infections, then both parents need to undergo therapy. It is necessary to take tests for hormonal studies, hemostasis systems and determine the immune status.
After a miscarriage, should be treated, if necessary, and pause between conceptions. During pregnancy, you should not take medications to prevent re-spontaneous pathological termination of pregnancy. Therefore, you can become pregnant only after the end of the course of treatment. If the cause was hormonal abnormalities, then the expectant mother should take special drugs to stabilize the background, and at this time she should never become pregnant. During the pause, you need to choose contraceptives with the help of a doctor. You can go to a specialized clinic where you will be prescribed a full course of rehabilitation.
The first week after a miscarriage women often experience pain in the lower abdomen, heavy bleeding, so you should refrain from sexual intercourse with a man. If there is severe bleeding, acute pain in the lower abdomen, convulsions, high fever, palpitations, nausea, vomiting, then you should immediately consult a doctor to identify the cause of this condition. It is necessary to plan a subsequent pregnancy not earlier than three months after this situation, but preferably six months later. Until that time, it is worth reconsidering your outlook on life, giving up hard work, eating right and wisely, taking vitamins, exercising, losing weight if you are overweight, stop smoking, drinking alcohol, think over your daily routine.
It is very important during this recovery period to have a positive attitude and confidence that the next attempt will be successful. This is harder to do than to say, because after a miscarriage the woman is in a depressed state and is afraid of a repetition of the situation. You can’t get hung up on your problem, during this period it’s better to do some favorite thing, relax, change the situation, travel, visit the city more often. The modern ecological situation in cities has a bad effect on women's health, so private trips to nature, a trip to the sea, to friends in another city can distract from painful thoughts. An important role in this case is played by the woman's relatives and, above all, the husband, who can surround her with care and attention, creating peace of mind.
You may need to contact a counseling psychologist or psychotherapist. Yoga classes, self-education, visiting theaters, exhibitions and temples have a very beneficial effect on the psyche of a woman and help to distract from her problems. Helping others who have a difficult life situation, caring for the sick can also have a beneficial psychological effect and help you look at your problems from the outside.
Remember, the human body is a self-healing system, it just needs a little help.
Early miscarriage help
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In a miscarriage, the fetus is shed from the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus. According to experts, two out of 10 clinically established pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion. It is necessary to understand in more detail the causes, symptoms and methods of dealing with miscarriage.
How an early miscarriage occurs
There are three steps in this process. First, the fetus dies, after which it detaches from the endometrial layer. This is manifested by the fact that bleeding begins.
At the third stage, everything that has exfoliated is removed from the uterine cavity. The process may be complete or incomplete. In the early stages - five to six weeks - the process resembles ordinary menstruation. They are characterized by painful and much more unpleasant sensations. You can find out that it was just an early miscarriage by taking tests for the ratio of hCG in the blood.
Miscarriage symptoms
Abdominal cramps, cramps or spotting are signs of miscarriage. However, they do not always appear. It is necessary to note the most typical manifestations of the presented state and their main characteristics.
Temperature
For a short period of time, hyperthermia may well not be observed. Fever is not the most common symptom. In some cases, the thermometer readings really rise to 38 degrees or more.
At the same time, when hyperthermia is accompanied by a number of additional symptoms, a septic miscarriage is likely. These are its signs:
- severe pain in the abdomen and in the depths of the vagina;
- increase in the tone of the uterus, which is felt by shocks inside;
- pungent, pungent and unpleasant odour.
All this indicates that the infection has joined. In such a case, emergency hospitalization is strongly recommended to stop the development of the process. It is better not to engage in self-medication or the use of folk recipes.
Discharge
Early miscarriage can indeed be accompanied by discharge. They may be habitual, as during menstruation. Also, the discharge may be smearing, insignificant.
Brown, scanty secretion, much less likely to end in spontaneous abortion. Most often, this is indicated by abundant and bright red discharge. It is blood that normally appears when the fetus is rejected from the inner layer of the uterus.
Pain
The severity of unpleasant and specific sensations may differ from each other depending on the duration of pregnancy. Probably the accession of pain, similar to menstruation. Most often, a similar symptom indicates an early miscarriage - no more than six weeks.
Probably cramping pains in the abdomen, which pull in the back. Their strength can vary from subtle to much more pronounced. In the rarest cases, when the clinical picture is complicated by a long course, this leads to a state of shock.
Another typical manifestation of pain is discomfort in the back or abdomen. Only then are the discharges identified. A similar situation is most typical for spontaneous abortion at the seventh or eighth week of pregnancy.
Causes of miscarriage
The first factor is genetic abnormalities in the development of the fetus. It is they who most often lead to miscarriage in the early stages. Violations can be expressed in qualitative or quantitative failures in chromosomes. In this regard, the female body recognizes the defect, and therefore does not allow such a fetus to develop further. Most often, such rejection is noted in the third week of pregnancy.
The next reason that an early miscarriage has developed may be disturbances in the work of the endocrine gland. Hormones determine not only the success and regularity of the cycle, but also how well the fetus is attached to the mucous surface of the uterus. If, due to a malfunction of the thyroid gland, the endometrium is not able to provide the fetus with all the necessary components, the pregnancy will not go well. Most often, a miscarriage occurs at the beginning or at the end of the fourth week.
Other reasons why pregnancy is terminated:
- Rhesus conflict. If the parents have different Rh factors, then the risk that a miscarriage will occur after the first weeks of pregnancy increases significantly. This happens if a woman has a negative Rh, and the child has a positive, inherited from the father. In such a situation, the female body recognizes the fetus as a foreign object. Therefore, it is excreted from the uterus. Timely diagnosis allows you to save the child through full-fledged drug therapy.
- Sexually transmitted diseases, other infections. Similar problematic conditions also lead to spontaneous abortion. In this case, the embryo is infected at a very early stage. That is why the body will perceive it as a foreign object. In this regard, a miscarriage will occur already in the fifth week.
- Previous abortions. Another common reason why a miscarriage occurred. Abortion is a huge stress for the reproductive system, which leads to thinning of the lining of the uterus. That is why the risk of miscarriage may be greater.
Abdominal injuries should not be excluded from the injury list. Sharp pressure on the peritoneum, including when lifting weights, can provoke an abortion. Also on the list are severe stress, anxiety and depression. Anything that violates the normal state of a woman can lead to serious consequences.
How to avoid miscarriage
The main goal of treatment is to relieve tension in the uterus. It will be equally important to stop the bleeding and prolong the pregnancy, but only on the condition that the fetus is viable. The sooner medical assistance is provided, the higher the likelihood of preserving the fetus, without the need to determine the expected timing of miscarriages.
Our specialists will help you with this. Only we have the most qualified and experienced doctors who know exactly how to treat even the most difficult cases. They will conduct a full diagnosis and prescribe the most effective, effective medicines.
Drug treatment
Hormonal drugs are used. They at an early stage determine the normal course of pregnancy. Medicines based on the hormone progesterone are effective.
- The use of hemostatic drugs. In the case of pregnant women, droppers are used with drugs such as Dicinon or Tranexam. They are needed to stop bleeding.
- Antispasmodics. Experts recommend injections of Drotaverin, followed by a switch to painkillers such as No-shpa. Papaverine suppositories, droppers with the addition of magnesia are also used. All of them are necessary in order to remove a number of signs of a pathological condition, namely, an increased tone of the uterus and pronounced pain.
- Use of Tocopherol. Vitamin E is an indispensable component for women, including pregnant women. It ensures the normal and full functioning of the ovaries. Tocopherol also strengthens the vascular walls, eliminates the formation of blood clots.
- Sedatives. Use motherwort or valerian tincture. The presented measure is recommended for increased irritability or nervousness of a pregnant woman.
To prevent miscarriage at an early stage, the specialists of our clinic recommend glucocorticosteroids. Apply Dexamethasone or Metipred. They are prescribed to patients with diagnosed immune disorders that can lead to early termination of pregnancy.
Optionally, a special relief ring can be installed. The presented procedure is carried out in the second trimester, or rather after the 20th week of gestation.
Remove such a device not earlier than 38 weeks. It is necessary for a woman to maintain the correct position of the uterus. Also, the unloading ring helps to prevent premature birth.
Additional measures
To prevent early miscarriage, it is recommended to stop physical activity. Especially when it comes to jumping, lifting weights. Rest, lack of sudden physical activity and adherence to bed rest will help to keep the pregnancy.
Another measure of prevention will be the exclusion of sudden movements. At any stage of pregnancy, they can provoke detachment of the embryo or lead to serious complications in its development.