Miscarriage – what you should know

A miscarriage is the heartbreaking loss of an unborn baby. Miscarriages happen for a whole variety of reasons, often through no fault of the mother. A woman could live the healthiest lifestyle and still have a miscarriage, although alternatively, if you do smoke, take drugs or drink whilst pregnant, you do increase your risk of birth defects of a miscarriage.

Symptoms of a miscarriage

• Vaginal bleeding. It’s normal in the first fourteen weeks to have light spottign of brown discharge or a bit of red blood, but heavy bleeding including clots and lower backache imply the worst
• Sometimes your baby will die in your uterus and not be expelled from your womb, your symptoms of pregnancy will stop and you will feel ‘less pregnant’. A small operation can be performed to empty your uterus, although you can wait for your body to deal with it yourself.

Different types of miscarriage

A Threatened miscarriage, this is when you early symptoms of miscarriage, such as cramps, lower back ache and light bleeding (or brown discharge). However if an ultrasound shows that your baby is of average size and his or her heart is still beating, your pregnancy stands a good chance of continuing.

An inevitable miscarriage,thisis when you suffer from stomach cramps and pains in your cervix, accompanied by relatively heavy bleeding. The miscarriage could vary in length, and you may bleed for ten days.  Should you continue to bleed for longer than this, or you carry on having to endure stomach cramps, or have odorous, pinky discharge, you should seek medical attention immediately. These symptoms suggest that you still have some tissue from the pregnancy inside your uterus, potentially leading to an infection or haemorrhage

A missed or delayed miscarriage, is when you lose your baby inside your womb, but remains inside you. Symptoms of this include possible brownish vagianl discharge. You might feel less pregnant and suspect that something is wrong yourself, or you might have no idea of this devastating news until your next scan.

After a miscarriage

Within a few hours or a few weeks, your body will naturally flush out your uterus, however you can go under general anesthetic and have a minor operation to have your uterus emptied. It is natural to feel distressed, depressed or mournful as you deal with your bereavement. You can seek counselling and support groups to help you through this difficult time.