Types of Miscarriage

Missed miscarriage

Missed miscarriage (also called 'missed abortion') is usually early in the pregnancy and you may have no warning symptoms and discover through a routine scan that your baby has no heartbeat, the result of a non-viable foetus. If there is an empty foetal sac (called a 'blighted ovum') the egg was fertilized and attached itself to the uterine wall but unfortunately, even though it might have kept growing for a few weeks, no embryo ever developed.

Threatening miscarriage

Threatening miscarriage may be experienced for days or even weeks before you lose the baby. At this stage you could experience any of the following:

Light bleeding. Pain similar to period pain. Cramps The nausea and tender breasts associated with pregnancy may disappear. A sense of no longer 'feeling' pregnant. About 40% of bleeding episodes occur during early pregnancy, usually at 5 to 7 weeks, and is spotting (normally dark blood) at about the time your period would have been due. Sometimes a small amount of blood is lost when the placenta matures at about 7 weeks and takes over the progesterone production. This can be frightening but is quite common and in most cases your pregnancy will continue as normal without harming the baby at all. These situations only lead to a miscarriage in 20% of cases. Sometimes, if the corpus luteum is not functioning properly and is therefore not making adequate amounts of progesterone, you will miscarry.

Inevitable miscarriage

This is when the cervix opens and the placenta breaks free from the uterine wall. The most common signs are:

Pain is like bad period pain or birth contractions. Bleeding is heavy. Faintness and nausea. Passing pieces of placenta which look like blood clots or liver. You may see the foetus. If your miscarriage is due to an incompetent cervix, (from 16 weeks on) everything will happen very quickly and your baby may be born alive.

Incomplete miscarriage When some placenta remains inside the uterus you will need to be hospitalised for a few hours or overnight to have a dilation and curettage (D&C) operation. For this you will be given a general anaesthetic, your cervix opened and uterus emptied. Incomplete miscarriage occurs most commonly between 6 and 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Complete miscarriage Once the uterus is empty the cervix closes, the pain stops and the bleeding slows down and should stop by seven days. If you continue to bleed after that time, have a temperature, pain or there is an odour, check with your medical professional. You may have an infection and if not treated it can have an effect on future pregnancies. back to Miscarriage FAQs