how does a missed miscarraige work

kirstynstraub

I just have a question. I see this term "missed miscarraige" used a lot on the boards, and now this is my biggest fear (I know I shouldnt worry but I do) are most missed miscarraiges caught at the first doctors visit? because my doctor (unless she was lying to me) told me that since we saw a heartbeat and a baby and the baby was growing at a normal 8 week pace, my risk of miscarraige was 5 percent, but then I see that this can happen. what is the cause for this, and is it extremely rare?

jenb_99

I wondered the same thing and found this article in one of my searches:

https://www.ourmiscarriage.com/missed_miscarriage.html

SockMonkeySam

Percentages mean nothing in Pregnancy. 1 in 4 woman suffer a loss, it's just fact.

But a missed miscarridge is when the baby just stops growing and you have no signs ( spotting, cramps, blood) it can happen at any time.

jesaker

This.  My MMC was diagnosed at my first ultrasound, when i was supposed to be 7w6d and the baby was only measuring 6w3d with no heartbeat.  The doctor said maybe my dates were just off (i was charting, so that didn't seem likely to me), and had me do two rounds of betas and come back for a follow-up u/s the following week.  my betas had flattened out (they increased only a couple of points between the first and the second), and at the second u/s I was still measuring 6w3d, so they diagnosed a MMC and ordered a D&C.

 I definitely understand the fear, but it's one of those things that you literally can't do anything about, so try not to stress yourself out about it.  having had one before, it's still one of my biggest fears, but i'm trying to just go with it this time (10w4d now and going strong!).

as for what "causes" it, the same things that cause "regular" m/c.  that is, a lot of the time they just don't know.  since it was "only" my first, they didn't do any testing, so i'll never know what caused it.

jesaker

This.  My MMC was diagnosed at my first ultrasound, when i was supposed to be 7w6d and the baby was only measuring 6w3d with no heartbeat.  The doctor said maybe my dates were just off (i was charting, so that didn't seem likely to me), and had me do two rounds of betas and come back for a follow-up u/s the following week.  my betas had flattened out (they increased only a couple of points between the first and the second), and at the second u/s I was still measuring 6w3d, so they diagnosed a MMC and ordered a D&C.

 I definitely understand the fear, but it's one of those things that you literally can't do anything about, so try not to stress yourself out about it.  having had one before, it's still one of my biggest fears, but i'm trying to just go with it this time (10w4d now and going strong!).

as for what "causes" it, the same things that cause "regular" m/c.  that is, a lot of the time they just don't know.  since it was "only" my first, they didn't do any testing, so i'll never know what caused it.

ETA:  sorry, I was trying to quote the PP, but apparently the quote got lost!

ababymaybe

It is pretty rare.

While, like another posted said, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in a loss, it's not like those odds stay the same throughout the pregnancy. It is skewed to the earlier weeks of pregnancy. The number of pregnancies that end in week 4-5 is pretty high (lots of times women don't even realize they were pregnant) and then, as I understand it, it tapers off. Of course, you are never fully 'in the clear' and later losses sadly can happen. But I would say making it to 8 weeks and seeing a heartbeat is a good sign.

 I'm a worrier too, but worrying won't help anything so I'm trying to take it day by day.

Karen1998

ababymaybe:

It is pretty rare.

While, like another posted said, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in a loss, it's not like those odds stay the same throughout the pregnancy. It is skewed to the earlier weeks of pregnancy. The number of pregnancies that end in week 4-5 is pretty high (lots of times women don't even realize they were pregnant) and then, as I understand it, it tapers off. Of course, you are never fully 'in the clear' and later losses sadly can happen. But I would say making it to 8 weeks and seeing a heartbeat is a good sign.

 I'm a worrier too, but worrying won't help anything so I'm trying to take it day by day.

Actually, some reports say that if you include chemical pregnancies (the ones highlighted often fit into that description), the frequency can be as high as 50%.  I remember when I was researching miscarriage around the time of mine that they don't have good solid statistics on this as many women just don't know that they've lost a child, so some statisticians estimated that it was up to 50% of pregnancies ended in miscarriage.  The statistics do change as you get farther along in pregnancy, though having been on the wrong side of them before, I don't find much peace in them. 

As for the OP, there is literally nothing you can do to prevent it, so do your best to not worry about it.  You have zero control over this.  Some women have it diagnosed early, but others don't find out until the end of the first tri or later.  There's not much rhyme or reason to it.