Miscarriage Symptoms, Types, and Risks

Knowing miscarriage symptoms can help you get the necessary mental/physical treatment to recover faster. A miscarriage can be a traumatic event in the life of a mother. All of the time, energy, and hope and suddenly losing the baby with no discernable reason can be frustrating and depressing. In this article we are going to walk you through some miscarriage symptoms so that you can better prepare in the unfortunate event that a miscarriage occurs.

What is a Miscarriage?

A miscarriage, also known as a spontaneous abortion by medical professionals, is when the pregnancy ends on its own and the fetus does not survive. A miscarriage occurs before 20 weeks of pregnancy, and approximately 85% of miscarriages occur before the 12 week mark. Miscarriages are more common than many people may think and studies have shown that as many as 1 in 4 recognized pregnancies end in a miscarriage. The number is most likely even higher than these statistics because some miscarriages before the mother knows she is pregnant. Many women tend to think that something is wrong with their bodies when a miscarriage occurs, but that is rarely the case. Most miscarriages occur because the fetus was not developing properly.

Miscarriage Symptoms

The main symptoms of a miscarriage are vaginal spotting/bleeding. In addition, you may experience:

• Severe Cramps
• Stomach Pain
• Back Pain
• Discharge of white/pink mucus, or tissue that looks like blood clots
• Weakness
• Fever

If you experience any of these symptoms contact your doctor. They will help you determine the correct course of action. You may experience some of these symptoms without having a miscarriage, but your doctor will want to evaluate you.

Types of Miscarriages

After you have gone to your doctor, and they have determined you have had a miscarriage, they will diagnose you with a specific type of miscarriage. There are six main types of miscarriages.

• A complete miscarriage: Your body has expelled all fetal tissue from your body.
• An incomplete miscarriage: Your body has expelled some, but not all fetal tissue, from your uterus.
• A threatened miscarriage: Your may be bleeding and having cramps but your cervix has not dilated. This points to the possibility that you will experience a miscarriage, but you also may continue your pregnancy.
• An inevitable miscarriage: You are bleeding and cramping and your cervix has dilated meaning a miscarriage is going to occur.
• A missed miscarriage: The fetus dies, or was never formed, but the tissue remains in the uterus with no bleeding or cramping.
• A recurrent miscarriage (RM): When the woman experiences three or more miscarriages in a row within the first trimester.

Reasons for Miscarriage

There are some activities or things that increase the risk of having a miscarriage, in most cases a miscarriage could not have been prevented. Your fetus grows from your body’s supply of hormones and nutrients, in many cases the fetus does not develop naturally and therefore the pregnancy is lost.

One of the main reasons a miscarriage occurs is due to chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus that do not allow the baby to develop. About 50% of miscarriages occur because the fetus does not receive enough or receives too many chromosomes. These problems occur when the embryo splits and develops, not from any problems with the parents’ DNA.

There are four main types of chromosomal abnormalities that can occur and result in a miscarriage.

• Blighted Ovum - No embryo forms
• Intrauterine Fetal Demise - Embryo forms, but stops developing and dies.
• Molar Pregnancy - Both sets of chromosomes come from the father, and not one from the mother and one from the father.
• Partial Molar Pregnancy - The embryo gets one set of chromosomes from the mother, but two sets of chromosomes from the father.

Risks of Miscarriage

While most miscarriages are not preventable, there are some things that can increase the risk of a miscarriage. This includes:

• Drug abuse
• Alcohol abuse
• Bodily trauma
• Smoking
• Exposure to harmful chemicals
• Caffeine consumption
• Chronic conditions such as diabetes or Polycystic Ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Being Overweight or Underweight
• Problems with the uterus or cervix
• Infections
• Hormonal problems
• Thyroid Conditions
• STDs

A woman may also be more likely to experience a miscarriage if she is over the age of 35, or has already had two or more previous miscarriages.

Symptoms after a Miscarriage

Experiencing a miscarriage can be both mentally and physically draining. Many women experience intense feelings of guilt, sadness, grief, and anxiety surrounding future pregnancies. This is on top of recovering from the physical stress of recovering from a miscarriage such as, bleeding a discomfort.

Seek out help and support from loved ones and medical professionals. Talk about your emotions and experience, it will help you to overcome them. There are even pregnancy loss support groups online and in your communities. You are not alone and you have endless resources at your disposal.

Prevention

There is no way to prevent a miscarriage. Just try your best to avoid the risks that may increase your likelihood of a miscarriage. Stop drinking alcohol and smoking, stop using drugs, limit your caffeine intake, and try to get any underlying health conditions under control. Try your best to stay healthy and make sure you get all the necessary nutrients, by taking a prenatal vitamin.

Bellefit is here to help you through the good times and the bad times. Check out our website for some great articles on staying healthy during your pregnancy, and try out our comfortable panties and leggings. We want you to be comfortable and happy.