How do you know if you've had a natural miscarriage?

[Mrs.Banks]

Hi, I was wondering if any of you women out there have ever had a natural miscarriage. And no I'm not talking about the miscarriages where you are three months and you lose the baby. But I learned that some women have what's called a "natural miscarriage". It's when things inside just don't work out and the development of the baby never really starts. Some people say they had a lot of blood loss during their period. So I was wondering if there's a way if you know that you had one...?

[curly123]

theres really no way to know, lots of women have these it happens all the time and theres no way to tell, just that something doesnt go right.

[Ronda D]

My second miscarriage was a lot of bleeding and took nearly two weeks to clear out of my body. I was about 10 weeks along. I had severe cramping with it. My baby developed a little before it died and when we had a check up at 6 weeks it had a really slow heart beat.

[Bonnie C]

i was only 10 weeks when i had my miscarriage and first i started out spotting with cramps and when i got up the next morning to go pee i noticed a bigger glob and sure enough it was the baby, i only know this because i took it to the hospital so they would know exactly what i was talking about and they told me i had a miscarriage and that i didnt need a d&c that my system took care of it naturally

[Natalie]

I had a "complete miscarriage"... at around 9 weeks... and yes, a lot of blood... more blood than in a period toward the end when I expelled the baby.

and about the whole having a miscarriage before you know it...i think that many women never find out if they miscarried if it was around the time they expected their period.

[Alexandra S]

There currently is no way to be certain, but my OB said at least 1 natural miscarriage will occur in 8 out of 10 women.

[Jenna M]

I was about 8 weeks when I miscarried.

I started cramping and bleeding, rushed to the doctor who (incredibly helpful - NOT) told me I *may or may not* be miscarrying. They ordered blood tests for the following week to see what my hCG levels were doing.

That was Tuesday. Thursday afternoon I went to the toilet and after my usual business, I felt something "fall out" I checked, and sure enough there was a large clot with tissue in it - resembling a small egg sized sponge.

My bleeding stopped the next day.

That's a natural miscarriage.

Hope this helps

:)

[Yasmine]

Yes i had one. I knew because I went to the doctor...And yes there was a LOT of blood and it lasted for some time... :( If you take a pregnancy test at just the right time it will be positive but negative soon after...

[Mommy of 5]

I think your talking about an early miscarriage.
Usually your period will just be heavier and may contain some clots
hope that helps.

[Lindy_Lou]

I had a miscarriage in November = I was 8 weeks and ended up needing a D&C, I have had a couple friends who have had a possible miscarriage - my understanding is that the period is heavy - and there are usually some blood clots/tissue (TMI?) Did you do a pregnancy test? With a pregnancy the body creates HCG which in early home pregnancy tests can be detected over certain amounts. Hope it helped.

[AV]

Are you talking about a chemical pregnancy? A chemical pregnancy is one in which the egg is fertilized but doesn't implant itself, and is lost in what women think is just a heavier "period".
I've had a couple of these. I knew that I was "pregnant" since I had taken a pregnancy test and they were +. But a couple of days later I had a "period"... but really they were miscarriages of a kind.

There is something called a blighted ovum, which is an empty sac. A woman is very much pregnant with one, there is a + pgcy test, there is HCG present, and a gestational sac... however, the sac remains empty, the baby never properly forms. However, this sort of loss occurs later than a chemical pregnant. I had a miscarriage due to a blighted ovum back in 2/98. I was 10 weeks along when I lost it, but my sac measured only 5.

A natural miscarriage is a miscarriage that happens just so... naturally. A missed miscarriage is one that occurs but doesn't expel itself, and a D&C is necessary to remove the tissue so as to prevent infection.

[DMRny]

I think the terminology here may be what is a bit confusing, a natural miscarriage is any m/c that is spontaneous, occurring before five months (at which point it would become a stillbirth) and unnassisted by medication/surgery.

What you're talking about sounds like it could be either a blighted ovum, chemical pregnancy, or simply a very early miscarriage, but my bet is from what you're describing, is a chemical pregnancy.

Essentially, in each type of m/c the body purges what would most likely be a chromosomally problematic pregnancy before it can develop further. A blighted ovum is a pregnancy that develops without a fetus inside (and resolves itself typically by 12 weeks), a chemical pregnancy is a pregnancy that can resolve itself so early that a woman miscarries around the time her next period would be due (plus minus a few days) and sometimes is not ever detected as a miscarriage and an early miscarriage is some other variation of the two.

The best way to know if you've had a miscarriage is to time/know your cycle, have a close relationship with your GYN/OB, and take note of changes to your cycle, etc. Typically prevention is difficult as I'm certain they happen as they should essentially as mother natures way of ensuring healthier pregnancies, but knowledge, a good diet, and proper self-care is key.

Good luck in your intentions. Hope this proves helpful.

[perfectlillyau]

I had a natural miscarriage yesterday, hence the reason i found your question, I was 7 weeks pregnant and 3 days ago started light spotting then the last 2 days i started getting cramping very similiar to a bad period, at one point i had a huge pain and passed the entire sack i actually saw it, A natural miscarrige is when the body expells everything itself.
I was lucky i only bleed like a heavy period some women suffer much more bleeding.