Early pregnancy loss is the loss of a pregnancy prior to 20 weeks gestation. The term is a broad one, encompassing chemical pregnancy, blighted ovum, missed miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, miscarriage and any other loss that occurs prior to 20 weeks.
There are many medical terms that describe how a pregnancy has ended, and these can often be confusing or distressing to hear.
Many women who have experienced an early pregnancy loss feel guilty and may blame themselves. In most cases, there is nothing that the mother did to cause this event and nothing that could have been done to prevent the loss with research showing that as many as 9 out of every 10 miscarriages have a genetic problem that affects all cells in the baby’s body. Because there is still a lot that is unknown about many early pregnancy losses, most parents do not ever find out the cause, and this can be difficult to accept.
The most common type of early pregnancy loss is a miscarriage, and this can include ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy or chemical pregnancy.
Many parents are surprised to learn that about one in five confirmed pregnancies end in miscarriage, with the highest risk of miscarriage occurring before 6 weeks and the risk decreasing as the pregnancy moves into the middle of the second trimester. While this statistic may provide little consolation, it does sometimes help couples understand that they are not alone in this experience. Parents react to miscarriages in different ways – there is no right or wrong way to feel.
In Australia a stillborn baby is defined as one showing no signs of life at birth at or after 20 weeks’ gestation or weighing 400 grams or more.
Sometimes medical professionals may say that a baby has died “in utero” –which means it dies in the uterus or womb. There are approximately 2000 stillbirths in Australia every year – that is 6 per day.
Not every stillbirth is preventable but there are three important things you can do to help reduce the risk of stillbirth:
-
Go to sleep on your side after 28 weeks of pregnancy
-
Be aware of your baby’s movements and contact your maternity care professional immediately if movements change
-
If you smoke, stop. And avoid being around other people’s cigarette smoke.
While we include stillbirth in all of our pregnancy loss content, we recognise that losing a pregnancy after 20 weeks can have a different recovery both physically and emotionally from earlier pregnancy loss, and the only treatment option may be delivering your baby.
Developed by Bare Mum in collaboration with Red Nose Australia.
recommended reads
