Losing your unborn baby is a distressing time for many families. Unfortunately, it is also extremely common; one in eight pregnancies end in a miscarriage at some point during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.
They usually occur within the first trimester and many women will not even realize that they have had a miscarriage. So, the question is what happens when you have a miscarriage?
Why do miscarriages occur?
There is no known reason why a miscarriage occurs, especially in the early stages. 50 percent of miscarriages happen due to the fact that the pregnancy would not have developed correctly. This is usually due to genetic problems or a defect chromosome.
However, the other 50 percent of miscarriages are yet unknown. There are some factors that can contribute, including high levels of stress, smoking, alcohol and high levels of caffeine.
There are also other problems such as mental illnesses and the age of the female plays a part in this. However, this does not explain what happens when you have a miscarriage.
The start of a miscarriage
First of all, it is very important to note that the symptoms of a miscarriage will vary between women. Some will suffer from extreme pain in the abdomen while others will not have any pain at all.
Part of this will all depend on the stage of pregnancy when the miscarriage appears in. There are also others that will have no symptoms at all, which is extremely distressing for many.
So, what happens when you have a miscarriage? Bleeding is the most common symptom and you should see your doctor the minute that it starts. Bleeding during a miscarriage can start off as spotting or it can come on heavily.
There are times when a pain is felt while there is bleeding. The pain can be light and similar to a normal period pain while others will feel extreme pain. This will also depend on the reason for the miscarriage.
Does it mean a baby is lost?
When looking into what happens when you have a miscarriage, you will also need to look into the chances of losing the baby. While bleeding is the most common symptom, it does not mean that you will definitely lose the unborn baby. During the first month of pregnancy, light spotting is often an implantation bleeding and is nothing to worry about.
There is also something known as a threatened miscarriage. This is when there is bleeding but there has been no harm to the baby. There are also times that you can stop the miscarriage from fully happening; this is done through rest and not worrying about it – even though this is extremely difficult to do.
Trying for another baby after a miscarriage
After a miscarriage, it is up to you and your partner when you start trying for a baby again. There are some that will prefer to wait months to get over the grief of losing the baby; however, there are others who will start trying immediately afterwards.
The chances of a second miscarriage occurring is not increased to more than one in eight after just one miscarriage but it is worth waiting one to three cycles until the menstrual cycle is back to normal; this will also help to give the uterus a chance to get ready for a baby.
