Missed Miscarriage Symptoms

Miscarriage or termination of the pregnancy spells a doom for every pregnant woman who goes through it. Most miscarriages are reported immediately after the fetus dies. However, in case of missed miscarriage, the woman continues to remain in a pregnant state, even though the fetus no longer exists inside her. The news can be quite devastating for the woman as she continues to live in her own world, anticipating the arrival of her baby. Missed miscarriage symptoms can be pretty confusing to decipher as some women may continue to experience pregnancy symptoms, in spite of the death of the fetus.

What is Missed Miscarriage

Missed miscarriage is the failure of the body to expel the remnants of the pregnancy. In a normal miscarriage, the pregnancy matter is expelled out of the body within few days of the death of the fetus. However, in missed miscarriage, the placenta, fetus and other pregnancy remnants continue to reside inside the woman's uterus. Thus, the termination of the pregnancy goes undetected for days or even weeks. The symptoms of missed miscarriage are ambiguous, which makes it even more difficult to detect.

Missed Miscarriage Symptoms

Cessation of the pregnancy symptoms is one of the most important missed miscarriage signs. However, this cannot be considered as the sole deciding factor, since many women who have a missed miscarriage continue to experience pregnancy symptoms like vomiting and nausea. The reason for this is that, even though the pregnancy has terminated, the placental tissue continues to produce pregnancy hormones. Thus, it is very likely that the pregnancy tests might turn out to be positive, during this phase. Certain missed miscarriage symptoms include discharge and cramping. The bleeding is initially light brown in color, but eventually turns bright red. Though, this can be one sure shot signs of missed miscarriage, there is still ambiguity, as some normal pregnancies may also report similar symptoms. However, it is most likely that your fetus stopped growing days before you experience these symptoms.

The most reliable test for detecting a missed miscarriage is an ultrasound. Four fifths of the missed miscarriages take place within the first 12 weeks (1st trimester). An ultrasound or a hand held Doppler can easily detect the absence of fetal heartbeat. Though reliable, this test can only affirm the miscarriage when the woman goes for a routine ultrasound. There are chances that the fetus stopped growing long before that. Another important symptom of missed miscarriage is that, since the baby ceases to grow, the size of the uterus does not increase. Thus, if you notice that your tummy is not growing as expected, then you should better consult your doctor, without any delay. The pregnancy remnants may induce some serious infections, therefore it is important to detect the missed miscarriage as early as possible.

Since, most missed miscarriages occur in the first trimester, genetic deformities are the prime cause for missed miscarriages. The chromosomal problem can be either in the egg or the sperm. Another, factors that also contribute to missed miscarriage are late pregnancy, previous history of miscarriages or even substance abuse in mother. Imbalance of the pregnancy hormones or lower levels of progesterone can also aggravate the chances of miscarriages. In rare cases, severe infections may also lead to missed miscarriages.

Missed miscarriage symptoms are always in the hindsight. Their ambiguity makes it almost impossible to detect them at an early stage. Hence, proper prenatal care is required to immediately detect anything that goes wrong in a pregnancy.