Chemical Pregnancy, a Very Early Miscarriage

Chemical Pregnancy, a Very Early Miscarriage

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A chemical pregnancy can be extremely devastating to a couple who has been trying to become pregnant. This is a pregnancy that occurs around the time you expect your period. So you may wonder if you start bleeding whether it is spotting or period. You may take a pregnancy test and receive a positive reading. However, after a few days, your period will return. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here

When you talk with your doctor, they will inform you that your pregnancy was just a chemical pregnancy. But, the truth is, with a chemical pregnancy, you still had conception and you experienced a miscarriage. However, the miscarriage occurred before you could begin to notice symptoms of the pregnancy.

What is a Chemical Pregnancy?

In reality, a chemical pregnancy is just like a normal miscarriage, except it happens extremely early in the pregnancy. The woman may learn she is pregnant before her normal period occurs, but the miscarriage will coincide with the timing of her normal period. This type of miscarriage will occur before a heartbeat will even register on an ultrasound.

 

The number of chemical pregnancies has actually risen since the creation of highly sensitive pregnancy tests. Now that women are able to determine their pregnancy extremely early, it is more common for them to know when they experience a chemical pregnancy. In the past, most women never even knew they had experienced one and simply thought they were getting their normal period.

Chemical Pregnancy Symptoms

Usually, women how experience a chemical pregnancy will not see any additional symptoms that she normally sees during her monthly cycle. This would include vaginal bleeding coupled with cramps and other common symptoms. If a blood test was drawn at this time, the woman’s hCG levels would be low and would continue to decrease.

The exact cause of these types of pregnancies is unknown. However, doctors do believe that it is caused when the fetus has chromosomal abnormalities. Unfortunately, this is nearly impossible to determine because doctors don’t normally have access to the tissue to test.

Are These Pregnancies Common?

Unfortunately, since they are so difficult to study, it is difficult to determine the frequency of a chemical pregnancy. However, researchers do estimate that chemical pregnancies occur about 70% of the time. In fact, they also estimate that about 50 to 60% of first pregnancies end in miscarriage before the woman even realizes she is pregnant.

Most of the time, these types of pregnancies are not avoidable. However, if you experience multiple chemical pregnancies, you need to speak with your doctor to attempt to determine what is causing them. It is possible that your doctor will determine that a particular treatment is necessary.

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Dr. Renee Hanton, MD
Dr. Renee Hanton, MD | ConceiveEasy
Dr. Renee Hanton is ConceiveEasy's Senior Physician with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility. Dr. Hanton specializes in the endocrine causes of infertility, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

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