The loss of a pregnancy is always distressing and can be devastating if you have been trying to get pregnant for a while. We are here to help you understand why you have experienced early pregnancy loss. You may find the information below helpful in understanding more about early pregnancy loss.
Miscarriage is when a pregnancy is lost any time up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Miscarriage is not talked about very much but is actually very common. More than one in every five pregnancies ends in miscarriage. This is most common before 12 weeks and very often much earlier.
About half of all early miscarriages .are caused by one-off genetic faults in the mother’s egg or the father’s sperm, or in how the fertilised egg develops. These pregnancies are not normal and are naturally lost because they are unhealthy.
It is very rare for miscarriage to happen as a result of an action (something you did or didn’t do). Often no specific cause is found and your next pregnancy (if you choose to try again) normally results in a healthy baby.
If you know that you have just had a miscarriage or suspect that this may be happening, we are here to help. In an emergency, you should contact your GP or local A&E department for assessment and advice. If you have had treatment at Leeds Fertility to conceive this pregnancy, please call one of our nurse specialists for advice on 0113 206 3102.
How common is it to have a miscarriage?
Miscarriages are very common. In most cases, the miscarriage is not caused by something you did or didn’t do. There is often no cause found and the next pregnancy (if you choose to try for another pregnancy) normally results in a healthy baby.
About half of all early miscarriages before nine weeks of pregnancy are caused by ‘one-off’ genetic faults in the mother’s egg or father’s sperm or in how the fertilised egg develops.
There are less common causes of miscarriage. These are usually discovered in women who experience repeated miscarriages (three or more miscarriages in a row with the same partner).
If this has happened to you, we can offer investigations to look into these causes.
Read more in our patient information booklet.
There are some less common causes of miscarriage. These are usually identified with special tests in women who experience repeated pregnancy loss (three or more miscarriages in a row with the same partner). Leeds Fertility has a specialist clinic to offer careful assessment and management of couples suffering this distressing sequence of events, based upon the latest scientific research and evidence.
There are multiple factors which can affect pregnancy loss. For further details please see our patient information leaflet.
Under natural circumstances, the sperm meets the egg in the fallopian tube and fertilisation happens here. The embryo then has about 5-6 days to travel into the heart of the womb where normal implantation should take place and the baby can grow to full size and deliver successfully. Sometimes a pregnancy can get stuck in the wrong place, such as in the tube. It continues to grow and divide but the tube is too small to contain it and support it properly. This is a dangerous situation which can lead to the tube bursting and life-threatening bleeding. It requires urgent hospital treatment, and often an operation.
Ectopic pregnancies are a specific type of miscarriage and it is normal to feel a similar sense of loss when this happens.
Please read our patient information booklet for more information.