Miscarriage
Miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks. It’s important to know that miscarriage is very common, especially in early pregnancy. You are not alone. In fact, about 10-20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. This means that 1 out of every 5 pregnancies ends on its own. (The actual number is likely higher because many miscarriages occur very early in pregnancy — before a person might even know she is pregnant) (1).
Call Clearway Clinic or your local pregnancy center to make a pregnancy confirmation appointment today
If you’re considering an abortion, it’s especially important to confirm your pregnancy via ultrasound. This rules out miscarriage before any abortion decision is made, as an abortion may not be needed if the pregnancy is ending naturally.
Some common symptoms of a miscarriage are vaginal spotting or heavy bleeding (filling more than one pad an hour), with or without abdominal pain/cramping, but sometimes there are no obvious signs. For this reason, it is important to have consistent checkups with your OB and confirm a viable intrauterine pregnancy as early as possible.
Any loss after 20 weeks is known as a stillbirth (2). Oftentimes, patients who experience stillbirth must go through the process of labor and delivery. According to the CDC, there were about 21,000 stillbirths reported in the US in 2020 (3). According to UNICEF, the latest data shows 13.9 stillbirths per 1,000 total births worldwide (4). Statistics can feel impersonal, but each of these numbers represents a woman, her baby, her family, and her community.
If you’re pregnant and worried that you could be experiencing a pregnancy loss, you may feel fearful or overwhelmed. If you were unsure about continuing your pregnancy, a miscarriage can bring a flurry of mixed emotions at an already difficult time in your life. Grief from both miscarriage and stillbirth can be devastating for parents. If you have gone through pregnancy loss, you are seen. You are not alone. We would love the opportunity to provide you with support and information as you navigate this difficult situation.
Reviewed by Rebekah B, MSN RN
Footnotes
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pregnancy-loss-miscarriage/symptoms-causes/syc-20354298
https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/miscarriage-loss-grief/miscarriage#:~:text=Miscarriage%20(also%20called%20early%20pregnancy,20%20percent)%20end%20in%20miscarriage.
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/stillbirth/data.html
https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/stillbirths/
