Miscarriage unfortunately happens when a pregnancy stops growing and the pregnancy tissue will eventually pass out of the women’s body. In most cases there will be vaginal bleeding like a heavy period and some women will feel crampy, period-like pain. It is very common in the first few weeks of pregnancy. Studies show that up to one in five women, who know they are pregnant, will have a miscarriage before 20 weeks. Mostly this will happen in the first 12 weeks. The actual rate of miscarriage is even higher because some women have very early miscarriages without ever realising that they were pregnant.
Why does this occur:
About half of all miscarriages happen because the chromosomes (genetic code) in the embryo are abnormal and the pregnancy doesn’t develop properly from the start. In this case, miscarriage is nature’s way of dealing with an abnormal embryo. It is more common as women get older due to an increased likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities. Nothing can be done to prevent miscarriage from occurring if a pregnancy is unfortunately developing abnormally.
Occasionally, medical illnesses which aren’t well controlled like diabetes or thyroid problems can be related to miscarriage, as can clotting problems.
It is okay to have one or two miscarriages, however if you have three losses it can investigated to see if there is an underlying cause.
Diagnosis of miscarriage:
To confirm if you are having a miscarriage we will look at a number of things, including:
Ongoing pain and bleeding
Clinical Examination findings
Pelvic Ultrasound and blood tests
Management:
It depends on the assessment, whether it’s one of the following:
Complete miscarriage: All tissue has been passed and no further intervention is needed
Incomplete miscarriage: Part of the pregnancy tissue has passed however there are still some pregnancy products remaining in the uterus. A number of different management options are available including a wait and see approach, medical management of miscarriage and surgical management (suction evacuation/curette). We can discuss the results with you and talk about which option is best for you.
Missed miscarriage: Where there has been no pain or bleeding but the pregnancy has stopped growing. Again, this can be managed in a number of ways that we can sit down and discuss with you.
Dr Mansoor is happy to discuss things further and support you and your family in these stressful times.
