Miscarriage
Overview
A miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy during the first 23 weeks.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a miscarriage can include vaginal bleeding and cramping and pain in your lower tummy. Sometimes you may not have any symptoms, and you’ll only find out you’ve had a miscarriage at one of your routine pregnancy scan appointments. If you have any symptoms of miscarriage, it’s important to get medical help. Find out more about vaginal bleeding in pregnancy and what can cause it
Causes
There are potentially many reasons why a miscarriage may happen, although the cause is not usually identified. The majority are not caused by anything you have done. It's thought most miscarriages are caused by abnormal chromosomes in the baby. Chromosomes are genetic "building blocks" that guide the development of a baby. If a baby has too many or not enough chromosomes, it will not develop properly. In most cases, a miscarriage is a one-off event and most people go on to have a successful pregnancy in the future.
Treatment
Expectant management (wait); Medication (to pass tissue); Surgery (MVA). Support/counselling.
Prevention
The majority of miscarriages cannot be prevented. But there are some things you can do to reduce the risk of a miscarriage. Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs while pregnant. Being a healthy weight before getting pregnant, eating a healthy diet and reducing your risk of infection can also help.
When to see a doctor
Call GP/Midwife/111 if: bleeding/pain in pregnancy. A&E/999 if severe pain/heavy bleeding/faint.