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A Look At Miscarriage

by Anna Wood  
1/05/2009 / Health

When you have suffered a miscarriage, your doctor or other medical personnel might refer to it as an abortion or a spontaneous abortion. In medical terms, "abortion" simply refers to any death of the fetus (Latin for baby) prior to birth--whether intentional or unintentional. Because many women resent the use of this word which is most often associated with the intentional death of an unborn child, some in the medical community are now avoiding the word "abortion" and are using the word "miscarriage" out of respect for women's feelings.

A miscarriage is considered the death of a developing baby before the 20th week of pregnancy; the death of a baby after the 20th week would be considered a still-birth or a premature birth with a neo-natal death.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF MISCARRIAGES:

THREATENED MISCARRIAGE: describes bleeding that begins early in the pregnancy; bleeding is sometimes from implantation. The cervix remains tightly closed. Most likely the pregnancy will continue. Sometimes bed rest is recommended for a while.

INEVITABLE MISCARRIAGE: refers to bleeding that begins early in the pregnancy with the cervix open. Once the cervix is opening, the miscarriage cannot be stopped.

COMPLETE MISCARRIAGE: refers to a pregnancy that has been lost, with the miscarriage complete; the uterus is emptied and the cervix closed.

MISSED MISCARRIAGE: sometimes refers to a blighted ovum; this is a pregnancy that, at some point, stopped progressing but no bleeding occurred at the time. Later there is a small amount of dark-brown blood lost and pregnancy symptoms disappear. Sometimes, there are no symptoms at all.

MISCARRIAGE STATISTICS:

If you have never had a miscarriage, your chance of one day having a miscarriage is 10%.

More than 500,000 women in the United States miscarry their child during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy each year.

Approximately 75% of all miscarriages occurs during the first trimester (the first 12 weeks of pregnancy).

More than 25,000 women lose their child after the 20th week but before the child can survive outside of the womb.

Approximately 80 percent of women who miscarry can expect it to be their only miscarriage.

One out of every 50 couples trying to conceive children will experience more than one miscarriage.

Up to 120,000 women each year suffer their third (or more) consecutive miscarriage.

It is thought that 20 to 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Some women miscarry before receiving a positive pregnancy test thus making this statistic even higher. This type of loss would result in a somewhat heavier than normal period.

After miscarrying a first pregnancy, the chance of a repeat miscarriage is 13%.

If you have had two successful pregnancies and two miscarriages, your chance of a repeat miscarriage is 40%.

If you have had three pregnancies and three miscarriages, your chance of a repeat miscarriage is 60%.

RECOVERING FROM MISCARRIAGE:

Your body can take up to several weeks to fully return to its pre-pregnancy state. It can take your mind, your heart, your emotions even longer to accept the miscarriage and to fully come to grips with the death of your baby. If you have wanted this baby for a long time, your mind might "fight" acceptance of the loss of the child. It is extremely important to take care of yourself at this time and to have support as your body heals and you are grieving. If possible, get a friend or family member to help out with your other children (if any) and with the cooking and cleaning for a few days. If someone offers you help, take it. If they don't know what to do for you, point them to the dishes and the laundry. If they offer a meal, say "thank you". Don't worry about diets now (unless it is for health reasons) and don't feel that you are intruding on someone who is helping you. There is a blessing in servanthood. However, if help is not available, this isn't the time for you to worry about how messy the house isor to worry about what you look like or if you remembered to wash your hair. Take time off, even if the house gets messy and your family has to eat frozen pizza or frozen dinners.

It is very important to nurture your spirit, your heart and your body as you heal. Take a nap when you need one; journal; take long, hot baths and read a good book; spend some time with a friend who will just let you talk; talk to your husband and get him to talk to you; take a few days off of your normal schedule and indulge yourself just a little; listen to some good music; take a walk. More important than anything, though, in your healing, is to get alone with God and talk to Him and search out His Word. He loves you; He cares for you and He feels your pain. God, too, once lost a Son. He can relate to your grief like no one else can.

Anna Wood is a Christian wife, mother of 9 children, homeschooler and writer. Her desire is to know, love, and obey God and bring Him glory and help others to do the same. Her website is called The Apples of Gold and is at http://theapplesofgold.com

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