Silent Miscarriages are mostly detected on routine ultrasound scanning
Finding out that you are pregnant is one of the best feelings in the life of a woman. So it is understandable that loosing a pregnancy to miscarriage is the worst fear of every pregnant woman. Even though we pray that it never happens to anyone of us, it is a medical fact that some pregnancies do lead to miscarriages. Here we are listing some facts about miscarriage and what to do if you are experiencing any of the signs.
1. Bleeding:
Bleeding or spotting is the most obvious sign of something going wrong. The colour of spotting may vary from fresh red to dark black or brownish. If the discharge is brown to black, it simply means the bleeding is not fresh and body had time to digest the blood. This may be seen in both threatened and silent miscarriages. Bleeding or spotting in pregnancy should never be ignored.
2. Cramps in lower abdomen
Pain that moves like waves or comes and goes may point towards an impending miscarriage, specially in early pregnancy. Cramps sometimes also feel like pain felt in periods.
3. Signs of pregnancy begin to disappear
If a miscarriage occurs, progesterone levels begin to gradually return to their pre-pregnancy levels. So signs related to elevated harmones like nausea, vomiting, increased smell sensitivity etc, also tend to disappear.
4. Silent or Missed Miscarriage
Not all miscarriages produce any signs or symptoms. Some miscarriages are only detected when you visit your doctor and examination reveals no progress or growth. Silent miscarriage is most commonly revealed on an ultrasound scan where no heartbeat is found. Biochemical tests confirm the decreased levels of pregnancy harmones in such a case.
5. So what happens next?
Weather the miscarriage is evident or silent, your doctor is the best person to advise you on the correct future course of action. Treatment delay can lead to sepsis and can become life threatening for the pregnant mother. It is therefore very important to visit your doctor for routine check ups and to report immediately if any signs of miscarriage appear.
6. Say NO to Dr Google!
Avoid relying on social media opinions and insist on a clinic visit with your doctor instead. In certain fortunate cases, these symptoms may point towards a threatened miscarriage only, in which there is a chance that pregnancy can still be salvaged!
7. Dealing with Pregnancy Loss
If however the pregnancy could not be saved, do not loose hope as many women with miscarriages go on to have healthy subsequent pregnancies. Your doctor may advise on some follow up tests to learn the cause of miscarriage to prevent future losses. If your blood group is rhesus negative (eg. B-ve, A-ve), make sure you receive Anti D immunoglobulin injection after the miscarriage.
Hope these were helpful for those looking for some answers! No matter what life brings your way, remember that better things await you in the near future!
